He had a disruptive but stable youth. After his parents' divorce, he went to live with his aunt. Both his mother and aunt encouraged his musical expression. From an early age he achieved a reputation as a rebel and carried this image though during his years with the band. His artistic bent led him to the Liverpool Art College and in 1955 he started a band called The Blackjacks. A short while later he started a group called The Quarrymen and it was during a performance of this group that he met Paul McCartney. He was continually looking for new ideas and forms of musical expression and his lyrics were often caustically anti-establishment. John was later to meet and marry Yoko Ono and during these years he expanded his artistic and musical talents until his tragic murder in 1980. Paul McCartney is also credited with writing many of the Beatles' songs with Lennon and together they formed one of the most creative and popular song-writing teams in musical history. Paul came from a musical family and differed from John in that he was not rebellious at school and was a diligent student. He joined the Quarrymen in 1957. After the Beatles broke up Paul went on to develop his solo career and has become an enormously popular musician in his own right.

George Harrison, although much...

He was the reserved member of the group and more introspective. He was deeply involved in Eastern thought and philosophy and wrote some of the most haunting and beautiful Beatle songs, including While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Something, and Here Comes the Sun.
Ringo Star, also born in Liverpool, met the Beatles while they were performing in Hamburg in October 1960. As the group's drummer he tended to remain more in the background but he also wrote many successful songs. He has since developed a successful career in both film and music. Possibly part of the unique appeal of the Beatles was the combination of the different qualities of each of the members.

The Beatles changed our world by introducing a new musical style and sense of creativity in popular culture. Their music has motivated thousands of young musicians. The effect of their thoughts and ideas has permeated our modern world. Most importantly, their influence remains in the search for a less violent and more understanding world.

Bibliography

Duer, B. (2003) The Beatles. http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~bduer/brett/beatles.htm. Accessed October 10, 2004

The Beatles. http://beatles.nondot.org/. Accessed October 10, 2004