THE BEATLES
The Beatles, popularly known as the Fab Four, began in 1956 in Liverpool, England, as the Quarrymen, with John Lennon as the leader. Paul McCartney joined in 1957. With the joining of George Harrison and Stu Sutcliffe in 1958, the group changed its name first to Johnny and the Moondogs, and later to the Silver Beatles. Shortly after adopting the name The Beatles in 1960, they recruited drummer Pete Best. Thus the group was a quintet until Stu's departure in 1961; just months after leaving the group, Stu died of a brain hemorrhage. Although some fans jeered the replacement of Pete by Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey) in 1962, the resentment would shortly pass, and by the time the year closed, the group had their first UK Top 20 hit, "Love Me Do." Their popularity later spread to the United States and the rest of the world. They took turns singing lead; on most albums, George sang lead on two songs, and Ringo sang lead on one. The guys began building solo careers in 1969, but the group officially split in 1970. John had a successful solo career until 1980, when he was murdered in front of his apartment building by a deranged fan. The surviving Beatles briefly reunited in 1994-96 for the compilation of the three Anthology volumes. George survived an assassination attempt in 1999, but died in November 2001 after battling cancers of the throat and the brain.
Beatles albums and singles (UK)
All songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney unless otherwise noted.
Post-Beatles albums
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