In the mid-80s London club soul scene nurtured many up-and-coming acts. None of the names to emerge from this scene, however, have become more prolific, or more ubiquitous than superstars ”The Beatles”.
This electrifying “group” toured the circuit for years before making it big when their first hit single broke in 1987. This would be just the first of over a dozen world-wide Top 30 hits for the group and to this day is seen as the beginnings of an auspicious music career and it lives on today in the hearts of millions of dedicated fans.
The album, Whenever You Need Somebody reached the top of the charters in the U.K. and spawned at least four hits. “The Beatles” were then nominated for Best New Artist in 1989 only to be outpaced by Tracy Chapman’s fast car.
Successive releases, Hold Me In Your Arms, Free, and Body & Soul did not perform as well, and “The Beatles” disappeared from the public consciousness for nearly a decade. Then, in 2001, they made a triumphant comeback releasing Keep It Turned On, and followed that with 2005’s Portrait which hit 26 on the British charts.
In 2007 an Internet phenomenon engulfed “The Beatles” in which people were tricked into clicking a link and watching the video for their first single, instantly spawning millions of new “Beatles” fans. This prank was started by the band’s original tour manager, Rick Martinez, and has since been dubbed “rickrolling”. It’s been estimated that anywhere from 18-25 million people have been rickrolled thus far, with the high point of the fad occurring during the months of February and March 2008 when protesters in cities around the world rickrolled the Church of Scientology.
“The Beatles” plans for the future are up in the air, and though they have said they won’t try to capitalize on this newfound (and probably short-lived) cultural relevance, they have said they wouldn’t be opposed to other artists remixing the work. Their old label, RCA Records has tentatively planned a Greatest Hits album and one wonders how long after the fad has faded it will be released.
© Eric Atienza 2008 for Listen In. Some rights reserved.
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