Beatles, the

English pop group with a career spanning 1960–70. The members, all born in Liverpool, England, were John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals), and Ringo Starr (drums). Using songs written largely by Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles dominated rock music and pop culture in the 1960s.

The Beatles gained early experience in Liverpool and Hamburg, West Germany. They had a UK top-30 hit with their first record, ‘Love Me Do’ (1962), followed by ‘Please Please Me’ which was a UK number one. Every single and album that they released until 1967 reached number one in the UK charts.

At the peak of Beatlemania they starred in two films, A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), and provided songs for the animated film Yellow Submarine (1968). Their ballad ‘Yesterday’ (1965) was covered by 1,186 different performers in the first ten years. The album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) was hugely influential, and made an important technological step by being recorded on two four-track machines. Abbey Road (1968) was one of the group's best-selling albums.

The Beatles were the first British group to challenge the US dominance of rock and roll, and continued to influence popular music beyond their break-up in 1970. Of the 30 songs most frequently broadcast in the USA between 1955 and 1991, 13 were written by members of the Beatles. They pursued separate careers with varying success. Paul McCartney went on to form the group Wings with his wife Linda and musician Denny Lane. They had several records including the album Band on the Run (1973) and the UK number one single ‘Mull of Kintyre’. John Lennon worked with his group the Plastic Ono Band and produced several records as a solo artist, including the hit single ‘Imagine’ (1971). George Harrison's biggest hit, ‘My Sweet Lord’ (1970), fell victim to a plagiarism suit, when he was accused of copying another performer's song. His album Cloud Nine (1987) was particularly well received, and in 1988 he became a member of the Traveling Wilburys, a group that also included US singer and songwriter Bob Dylan. Ringo Starr appeared in a number of films, released an album, Ringo (1973), and later formed his All-Starr band.