Far Out Meets: Beatles historian Tony Barrell on the early days of ‘Beatlemania’

The life and career of The Beatles is one that has been so resolutely researched and read over that one might expect there to be nothing new to learn about the Fab Four. The band’s widespread appeal was so large and encompassing that it feels as though no stone has been left unturned in regards to their meteoric trajectory from a skiffle-influenced club band to the biggest act on the planet. However, to think such a thing would be forgetting one important factor — the fans.

More so than any other musical artist in the world, The Beatles have a devoted fanbase which, year by year, continues to swell. When Beatles manager Brian Epstein made the ludicrous claim in the early sixties that the kids of the year 2000 would still be listening to The Beatles, the music world scoffed. But, 20 years after that fact, and nearly six decades after John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were introduced to the world as The Beatles, the band continue to gather up listeners, young and old, every single year. With the new additions to the fanbase, the impetus to learn more, know more, hear and see more of the group grows stronger. Luckily, if the early days of the band, the era known most prominently as Beatlemania, is of interest then Tony Barrell’s new book is just the ticket.

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