Process of formation and Components

In this part of the page we include very briefly how the group was formed, a really short summary of the biography of each of the members of the group and some links to extensive biographies and videos.

Process of formation:

 In 1957 Paul McCartney met John Lennon in Liverpool, who invited him to join to his group “The Quarrymen”. George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and the drummer Pete Best joined them the following year. Pete Best was later was substituted by Ringo Starr and Stuart Sutcliffe suffered a brain hemorrhage in 1962.

Once that we have seen how the group came to be what it is nowadays, we are going to see a short review of the life of each member. As they were, and keep being, so popular, it is easy to find a lot of information regarding their lifes. However, we had to be really careful when deciding what information we should include and which should not, because most of the information we found on the web belonged to blogs or were just rumors.

John Lennon:

John Winston Lennon was born in 1940 in Liverpool, England. When he was young, his parents separated and he went to live with his aunt. Some years later, John's mother Julia died. When he was only sixteen, he created the group called “The Quarrymen". He went to an art school where he met a Cynthia Powell, who later became his first wife. They had a son together and divorced two years later and John remarried later to Yoko Ono.

In 1970, the Beatles broke up, when Paul McCartney announced he was leaving. After this, he and Yoko Ono carried on solo careers until 1975 when he disappeared from the public eye. Five years later he was shot and died. However, “John's memory will live forever in the hearts of his fans.” (John Lennon Biography, 2014.)

Related links: 

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/john-lennon/biography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_ghOG9JQM

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/extras/2011/12/08/dec-8-john-lennon-shot-killed-1980/

Ringo Starr:

As well as John Lennon, Ringo Starr was born in 1940 in Liverpool. His parents divorced when he was three. During his childhood he suffered from many illnesses and operations that ruined his education. According Steve Shelokhonov (2014), “at the age of 15 he could barely read or write”. So he finally left school and got a first job. He decided to become a drummer and his stepfather bought him a new drum kit, and Richard promised to be the best drummer ever (Shelokhonov, 2014). In 1957 he started his own band called 'Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group' and five years later he substituted Pete Best in The Beatles. “Ringo's musical originality as well as his inventive drumming patterns, time signatures and accentuations became essential to the sound of The Beatles.” (IMDb, 2014.)

He married Maureen Cox and had three children. The couple split up after ten years and he married actress Barbara Bach.  After the breakup of The Beatles he started a solo career, he appeared in various TV shows with his wife. “During the 1980s, after having a long period of troubles with alcohol, Ringo and his wife attended a rehabilitation clinic, and came back to the scene sober.”  (Mcmenzie, 2013)

In 1994, after Lennon’s death he reunited with George Harrison and Paul McCartney to work on the Anthology project.

Related links: 

http://www.ringostarr.com/tour/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7kc3Zhee10

Paul Mccartney:

Paul McCartney was born in Liverpool in 1942. As John Lennon he also lost his mother being just a child. According to The Beatles Bible he had trouble playing the bass at the beginning because he was left-handed. He took music lessons for a while, but preferred to learn by himself. Some years later John invited him to be part of The Quarrymen. They became friends and began writing and performing songs together.

Paul met his first wife Linda in a night club, she was also a musician and a photographer.

McCartney announced the band's break up in April 1970. As the rest of the members, he started a solo carrier and formed a band called Wings with his wife He retired from live performances for a while until Lennon’s death when he reunited with the rest of the group to work on the Anthology project.

Accordindg to The Beatles Bible (2008) “Today Paul McCartney holds the record of being the most successful musician and composer in pop music history.”

Related links:

http://www.beatlesbible.com/gallery/paul-mccartney/

http://www.lifetimetv.co.uk/biography/biography-paul-mccartney

George Harrison:

He was born in 1943 in Liverpool. George Harrison attended to the same grammar school than Paul McCartney. However, he was not very interested in studying. He started playing the electric and taught himself to play it.Paul McCartney and Lennon invited him to be part of The Quarrymen.

“Largely referred to as the "Quiet Beatle" Harrison took a back-seat to McCartney, Lennon, and to a certain extent, Starr. Still, he could be quick-witted, even edgy.” (IMDb, 2014.) After the breakup of the Beatles, Harrison, as the rest of the members, started a solo career and he started a band with Ringo Starr and other musicians.

In 1974, his marriage to Pattie Boyd ended when she cheated on him with a member of his new band. He was reunited with McCartney and Ringo Starr when Lennon died. After what he stopped playing.

 In 1997, he was diagnosed cancer.  In May 2001, Harrison's cancer returned and he died.

Related links: 

http://georgeharrison.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kNGnIKUdMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBe_1ZalrOM

References:

Collins,  Gary. “George Harrison Biography.” IMDb Mini Biography.  N.d. Web. 2 May 2014.

                <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365600/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm>

"John Lennon Biography" 2014. N.p. n.d. Web. 3 May 2014.

                < http://www.angelfire.com/celeb/Shannon/John.html>

Mcmenzie, Frazer. “The Beatles Biography 1970-2013: The Long and Winding Road after Breakup”. Digital Print News, 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 2 May 2014.
     <http://www.dpnlive.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1791:the-beatles-biography-1970-2013-part-3-of-4&catid=45:music----->

“Paul McCartney.” The Beatles Bible. N. p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2014.

                < http://www.beatlesbible.com/people/paul-mccartney/>

Shelokhonov, Steve. “Ringo Starr Biography.”  IMDb Mini Biography. N.d. Web. 3 May 2014.

                <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0823592/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm>

“Sir Paul Mccartney Biography.” Bio. N.p.,n.d Web. 2 May 2014.

                <http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/paul-mccartney.html>

 “The Beatles Biography.” Bio. N.p.,n.d Web. 2 May 2014.

                <http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/the-beatles.html>