In the 1960's four young men, John, George, Paul and Ringo, emerged on the British music scene as a newly founded group, the Beatles. When they first became popular in Liverpool, England, little did they know they would make a mark on Britain's fashion scene. The Beatles transformed Britain's fashion through clothing and their look. The most influential year for the Beatles was 1963 due to their impact on fashion.
Background:
The fashion scene of London in the 1960's before the emergence of the Beatles was already vibrant and thriving. Time Magazine dubbed London "Swinging London ", due to its "hip feeling". The idea of Swinging London emerged after the post war boom, and the 60's were a time of change. According to David Gilbert, "London
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According to John Lennon, "We changed the hairstyles and clothes of the world... " Due to the makeover of the Beatles, they had successfully started their own revolution through fashion. Hair was an important part of their "look", "Hair was easy and cheap to manipulate, and was the frontline of teenage rebellion ". According to Corry, "Without the influence of the Beatles and the fact that the clothes were packaged together with the music and then exported, for example, the rise of the fashions might not have been as possible. ." The Beatles haircut was not unique to the band, they got their haircut from one of the original Bealtes, Stuart Sutcliffe. Stuart Sutfcliffe has essential to the beatle's look, not only because of his hair, but also because of his androynous look.. Boys that tried to imitate the look of the beatles were sent home from school. Most teenage boys were growing out their own Beatle-esque style hair. From November on, there were newspaper stories about boys around the country being sent from home as well as not being allowed to go to work at factories. The hairstyle of the Beatles was able to challenge traditional masculine …show more content…
The Beatles earlier look was unisex, or androgynous, which is why it could appeal to both men and women. "The Beatles created an identity that defined their solidarity as a group and was unique in its dual uniformity and idiosyncrasy ". "The untraditionally long and androgynous Beatle haircut was considered more strange than threatening. However, as the band's hair grew longer, it became a symbol of rebellion which many adolescents emulated " "Their clothes now tended to gloss over, rather than emphasize any traditionally masculine elements of male appearance ". The Beatles were able to pull off fashion trends, and one of the only bands out of the British invasion to influence the look of their fans. Men wanted to emulate their look, but not everyone was crazy about their look.
The Beatles and Responses to their look
Even though the younger generation liked the look of the beatle's not everyone agreed. Some men and parents did not like them at all. Hairdressers viewed the Beatles haircut as a cult, and they had to tailor to suit he wants of their customers. Their controversy about the look even went as far as Germany, where boys were banned if they had the beatles haircut, because the principal thought they looked like "morons". The Beatles’ haircuts were a product of German ingenuity, coming from the artistic community that adopted the Beatles in Hamburg. Adults thought that their look turned into an
The Beatles were thought of as legends when it came to music that Socs liked. They thought the Beatles were the coolest band and thought that Elvis, the Greasers rock hero wasn't even close to being as cool.
Overall, the Beatles were more popular than Elvis Presley. As mentioned in the lecture- The Beatles, their music was already out in Britain before it was in the United States. They were really successful, more than what they expected to be. The lesson also stated “Early in their career, the Beatles wore matching outfits, and in spite of their distinctive haircuts, which were long for the time.” I still remember having an instructor tell me that when the Beatles came on stage first the first time in the Ed Sullivan Show, people were kind shocked in against their hair style since males had to properly cut and trim their hair a certain way. It was disrespectful to have long hair back in the day, so afterwards; the Beatles influenced and created
The Beatles were more than their music. They influenced the lives of millions of people unlike any musicians before them. They were the first and most popular band in one of the most important music movements in American history, the British Invasion. The year 1964 was the year both the British Invasion and “Beatlemania” came to America and forever changed the landscape of music in the United States by introducing the genre of pop, as it is today. The Beatles changed the rules of music. Many things that are considered normal now were pioneered by the Beatles such as: creating compilation albums, expressing their views on world happenings through the media, musicians in movies, and even mass media advertising. The beatles
"In 1963 the Beatles shattered the dreariness of the music business. And with them came rock, the music of the sixties, and a music quite different from rock’n’roll." The jazz era had slowly faded away and in came the Beatles, possibly the most influential group of musicians ever to play. Producing a new sound soon dubbed "the Liverpool sound"; this sound would go on to revolutionize the entire sixties era. Along with the Beatles cam the shaggy hairstyles by men and the lower
In the late 1960’s, The Beatles wore a casual and uni-sex look of jeans and loose shirts, which was a big step back then, but is presently
From that point on, the Beatles were the North Star for me and my generation" (McGarvey, 2014). The early 60s belonged to The Beatles, there is no denying that, everything from social subjects you would talk about with your friends, all the way to fashion and merchandise. Their arrival opened the doors for more British bands to make it big in America, and steal the attention of every boy and girl who listened to the radio.
The 1960’s were a time of great turmoil and change; people had many different ways to express themselves. Some did this through drugs, others through assassination, while some chose music. While there were many American musicians who were influential during the 1960s such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and The Eagles, arguably none were as influential as The Beatles. Consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, helped change the face of popular culture of the 1960’s through their music, image, and influence on the counterculture of the time.
The Beatles started as an English skiffle group in the late 1950s. By the time they reached their peak popularity, the term “Beatlemania” was coined to explain the frenzied obsession with the group. A former associate editor from Rolling Stone drew a comparison between the Beatles and Picasso, calling them “artists that broke through their time period to come up with something that was unique and original.” Throughout their discography, the Beatles have time and time again released music that both broke musical trends and engrossed the masses. They have held an “unprecedented top five spots on the
The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. They were able to conquer and influence pop culture with their music. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the W.S. during the 1960s, and later the request of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.3 billion albums. During the sixties, The Beatles using revolutionary ideas in their music inspired a generation of young adults across the globe to look at life from their perspective.
Everyone, Americans and Europeans alike, have heard-of, if not grown off of, a generation and culture started by an ensemble of four shaggy-haired Liverpool musicians that the world went mad over; no one can deny that no greater event impacted today's pop culture than "Beatlemania". But not everyone has heard the story behind the Beatles, who were they? How did they become the band and how did they make it big? What's the story of their struggle?
As well as music, The Beatles made a lot of influence is society. They challenged the rules in a way no one had done before—they broke the boundaries between what was normal and acceptable and what was not. Everybody did the same things, and acted by the same standards. At the time, for men in society, wearing long hair wasn’t very common and totally acceptable. But The Beatles changed that perspective in society, managing to make the long hair style in men very fashionable and conventional, as well as their taste in clothe—even though they were constantly criticized. All though the public sometimes criticized their freedom of speech regarding style, the Beatles opened up their own store, the Apple Boutique, in London. They also made available the possibility of buying
Before the Beatles, music and television were heavily censored. There was still segregation in many parts of the country, and rock and roll music was in its infancy. The Beatles admired their mentor Bob Dylan and were little known in America. The critics called them the “ Yeah, Yeah, Yeah boys”(Hill) to mock them and make fun of them. The Beatles got no more than decent reviews from other countries they played for. Just before the Beatles came to America, critics and other professionals were not impressed. They believed the Beatles would only last a few months before turning into another Failed band. Newsweek magazine reported in late 1963 that the Beatles music was “A near disaster” and their
Known for being pioneers for rock 'n roll music in the 1960s the Beatles weren 't always musical celebrities. Coming from humble beginnings in
The Beatles were a big game changer in the 1960s as everyone likes to use the term revolutionary to describe what happened with music. The beatles were even guilty of being traditional rock and roll as they played the standard instrumentation. They soon developed their sound and make noise featured into their songs. The beatles were interesting for their poppy and dazed music. They had an immense amount of styles they used for each album and sometimes individual songs. I think the varitues of the beatles used gave inspiration to other musicians as they sparked their creativity. The game was changed and other musicians were ready to experiment what they heard and soon rock was transferred into many different subgenres.
Believe it or not, on January 1st of 1962, the group known as The Beatles flunked their audition at Decca Records in London, England. The label’s executive, Dick Rowe, brushed them off like they were nothing. He simply stated that “guitar groups are on the way out.” Little did Rowe know, The Beatles would soon conquer modern society and alter the course of pop and rock music. There have been no other entertainers in the history of music that has been so popular, influential, or as groundbreaking as The Beatles. In the early 1960’s, their popularity was often called “Beatlemania,” as thousands of screaming fans would crowd their concerts and sing-along with the Fab Four. They sold over 600 million albums internationally and had 20 Number One hit singles – a Billboard record that has yet to be broken. The band took over the entertainment media with music videos and films, but also influenced sociocultural, political, and fashion movements throughout the sixties and seventies. From experimenting with several different genres to incorporating classical elements into their melodies, The Beatles still reigns as one of the most creative and successful bands several decades later. Today, fifty years later, The Beatles and their music are still engraved in the hearts of many.