All You Need Is Our 137 Facts About The Beatles

The Beatles are one of the most well known bands in history, having written and created music that is still played and loved by millions today.

With songs like 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' and 'Let It Be', the Beatles became world famous and years on, there are plenty of interesting Beatles facts floating around as people continue to love their work. With this list, you'll understand why the rock music group became so popular and why Beatlemania truly took over the world.

From fun facts about to Beatles to sad facts about the Beatles and weird facts about the Beatles, all the way to random facts about the Beatles, we've all the facts about the fab four that you need to know.

If you liked our article on Beatles facts, check out our facts about London and Emily Dickinson facts.

We've got you covered with facts about the Beatles origin and facts about the Beatles break up that you need to know. The Beatles' beginnings and their rise to fame seemed to be almost like fate.

1. The Beatles were a British group from Liverpool in the United Kingdom. The Beatles member's names were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

2. The Beatles group were only a band for eight years, from 1962 to 197, and were often called 'the fab four'.

3. In 1957, John Lennon started his first band called the Quarry Men. McCartney later joined the band, and George Harrison and Ringo Starr would later follow.

4. McCartney first met John Lennon at a Liverpool church fete in 1957 when he was just 15. Here, John was performing in his band the Quarry Men and the rest is history, but we'll still dive into it.

5. The name of the Beatles was inspired by Buddy Holly and the Crickets. It is said that John Lennon was the one who decided to change the spelling of 'Beetles' to 'Beatles' as he loved a good pun.

6. Some of the other names the band considered were 'Lennon and the Silver Beetles,' 'The Rainbows,' and 'British Everly Brothers.'

7. Before McCartney became the lead bass player, Stu Sutcliffe, a friend of John Lennon's, was the band's first bassist. In the '60s, he gave up the role to study art in Germany, but he tragically died of a brain haemorrhage when he was 22.

8. None of the fab four ever learned to read sheet music.

9. The Beatles were originally rejected by Decca records and their manager Brian Epstein was told that guitar groups weren't popular anymore. Decca Records rejected them in London on 1 January 1962, and instead chose Brian Poole and the Tremeloes. Thankfully, EMI later took a chance on the Beatles and signed them.

10. The Beatles' producer, George Martin liked classical music more than he liked rock music.

11. Ringo Starr wasn't the original drummer for the band. He replaced Pete Best in 1962. No reason was ever given for why Best was replaced. Their manager, Brian Epstein, was the one who led the sacking.

12. Beatles fans claimed that Pete Best was only kicked out because the other Beatles were jealous of his looks and popularity.

13. Some fans were so outraged when Best was kicked from the band, that they got violent. George Harrison was even punched in the eye by one of these fans.

14. The last photoshoot the Beatles ever had was at Yoko Ono and John Lennon's house on 22 August 1969 for the 'Hey Jude' album cover.

15. There were rumors that John's wife Yoko Ono was the reason the band broke up, however Paul confirmed that the real reason they broke up that John no longer wanted to pursue the Beatles.  

16. In September 1969, John Lennon told the band he wanted a 'divorce'. The break up wasn't publicly announced until April 1970.

The Beatles' legacy lives on today, still being a household name 50 years since their break up. These are some of the awesome records the rock band broke during their time and some records that they still hold!

17. Though the Beatles band was most popular after 1964, when they made their American debut, their legacy has continued to be seen today.

18. The Beatles still hold the record for having the most number one hits of any band ever.

19. The Beatles have spent an amazing 1,278 weeks on the top of the Billboard charts.

20. The Rolling Stones magazine gave the Beatles the title of best artists of all time in 2004.

21. Having sold over 800 million albums across the world, the Beatles are the biggest selling musicians of all time.

22. The Beatles made a big impact in encouraging the women's liberation, gay liberation, anti-war and environmentalist movements.

23. On 9 February 1964, the Beatles made an appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' at Studio 50 in New York. This was the highest viewed episode of 'The Ed Sullivan Show' ever, with 73 million people tuning in to watch them perform and it is still one of the most viewed shows in the history of television in the United States.

John Lennon is one of the most well known and loved of the Beatles, having a successful career long after his split from the band. He was quite a controversial character and had a very interesting past that will definitely surprise you.

24. John Lennon was often called the clever one of the fab four.

25. John Lennon went by many different names during his career. This included Mel Torment, the Reverend Fred Ghurkin, Fred Zimmerman, Dr Winston O'Boogie, and Johnny Rhythm.

26. After two decades of no contact and his absence in John's childhood, John's father, Alf Lennon, only reached out as John was becoming a household name and Beatlemania had well and truly taken over the world. John Lennon claimed that he never really knew his father.

27. John's mother died in 1958 when he was still young.

28. John Lennon's aunt Mimi raised him in Liverpool after his father disappeared.

29. John Lennon was a published poet. John first started writing in a magazine called 'The Daily Howl', which was his own creation. He also wrote two poetry books called 'In His Own Write' and 'A Spaniard In The Works'.

30. The first band Lennon ever played in was The Quarry Men. They started in his school days in Liverpool and played skiffle music and later evolved into what we know as the Beatles.

31. In 1966, John caused a lot of controversy in the bible belt of America after saying that the Beatles  were “more popular than Jesus”. People even starting mass burning the Beatles' albums because of this.

32. Lennon was also in a lot of other bands, including The Silver Beetles, Johnny And The Moondogs, The Plastic Ono Band and The Dirty Mac.

33. John Lennon was a pretty hopeless driver. He only got his license when he was 25 and even crashed his white mini in Scotland in 1969.

34. After the Beatles broke up, Lennon often referred to McCartney as "an old estranged fiancé of mine".

35. Even though John Lennon had poor eyesight, he was initially too embarrassed to wear glasses and usually wore contacts.

36. It wasn't until 1966 that Lennon adopted the classic round glasses. When he was working on the set of the 'How I Won The War' film he was given a pair of these famous specs for the character he was playing and he took a liking to them.

37. John Lennon was very inspired by Elvis Presley as a young adult. He styled his clothes and hair on the king of rock, wearing leather jackets and smearing his hair back with gel. But Lennon was disappointed when he actually met the legend himself, saying that Elvis was very disinterested and disengaged.

38. Lennon said that there were only two 'true' songs he ever wrote for the Beatles that were based on his own experiences. The first song was 'Help!' and  the second song was 'Strawberry Fields Forever', and that the rest were him making up stories he thought were appealing.

39. Lennon divorced his first wife, Cynthia Lennon in 1968, leaving her for Japanese artist Yoko Ono after six years of marriage and having a child together. John and Yoko met at Yoko's art exhibition in London in 1966 and he divorced Cynthia two years later.

40. John Lennon found out he was dyslexic late in his life.

41. After marrying Yoko Ono in 1969, Lennon changed his middle name to Ono.

42. Lennon used to say that he would prefer to be part of Monty Python than the Beatles.

43. On 8 December 1980, John Lennon died in New York after a crazed fan shot him four times. The attack took his life when he was just 40 years old. Mark David Chapman, the fan that killed Lennon, stayed at the crime scene and was voluntarily arrested. Earlier that same day, Chapman had even gotten an autograph from Lennon.

44. Chapman said that the reason he killed John was "because he was very, very, very famous", and he wanted his own name to be in the spotlight.

45. There is a John Lennon memorial in Central Park, New York called 'Strawberry Fields' with a mosaic reading 'Imagine'.

46. At the time of John Lennon's death, his net worth was estimated to be $500 million. In 1966, he earned $3,334,000.

47. After leaving the band, Lennon became an anti-war activist and released his own hits, including the classic 'Imagine'.

48. In 1975, Lennon gave up his music so could spend more time with Yoko and his son Sean.

49. There is a statue of John Lennon in Penny Lane in Liverpool.

Even since the Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney has had a super successful career and these facts will leave you admiring the rock legend even more.

50. Paul McCartney was born on 18 June, 1942 at Walton Hospital in Liverpool, England as James Paul McCartney.

51. McCartney earned the title of the cute one of the Beatles.

52. His father was a cotton salesman and his mother was a nurse.

53. In 1966, McCartney earned $3,334,000 and it is believed that his net worth is over $1 billion.

54. There is a wild conspiracy theory that Paul McCartney actually died on 9 November 1966 in a car crash. It is believed by some fans that was replaced by a doppelganger named Billy Shears. The 'Paul is dead theory' began in 1969.

55. Some fans believed that the 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts' album cover was actually an image of a funeral and the O.P.D. patch that Paul was wearing stood for 'officially pronounced dead'. However, this actually stood for 'Ontario Provincial Police'.

56. On the back cover of the album, John's finger points to 'Wednesday Morning At 5 o'clock' and fans said that this was signalling the time and day Paul died.

57. Fans also claimed that they could hear subliminal messages in the Beatles' tracks. Fans say that if you play the spot in between 'I'm So Tired' and 'Blackbird' backwards, you can hear John say "Paul is dead man, miss him, miss him".

58. Paul failed his choirboy audition as a child twice!

59. In his first ever solo for the Quarrymen in 1957, Paul's voice kept cracking.

60. McCartney is also a successful painter, having painted over 70 works that are in Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery.

61. In 1989, McCartney broke the record for the largest paid audience in history with 350,000 people attending his solo concert in Brazil.

62. After performing at a charity concert raising funds for 9/11, the New York Police Department made Paul an honorary detective.

63. McCartney's father was also a musician, playing in a jazz band in the '20s.

64. The trumpet was the first instrument McCartney ever learned to play. His father gave him one for his 14th birthday, but he eventually gave it up to pursue guitar.

65. Before George joined the group, Paul was the lead guitarist of the Quarrymen. He started playing bass after Stu Sutcliffe quit.

66. In 1966 Paul McCartney took part in a free-form jam at London’s Royal College of Art, where he played a beer mug and a radiator.

67. There is a species of trilobate named after McCartney, called Struscia Mccartney.

68. The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein sold Paul's father a piano for their home long before he became their manager. Brian Epstein was often referred to as the 'fifth Beatle'.

69. Paul McCartney started his own company, McCartney Productions Ltd. in 1969. The company now owns the rights to 3000 songs, including ones from 'Grease', 'Buddy Holly', and 'A Chorus Line'.

70. Linda Eastman and Barbara Bach were at the Beatles' 15 August, 1965 concert in New York. Linda was the future wife of Paul and Barbara would marry Ringo.

71. In 1969, Paul married Linda Eastman, an American photographer who he met in the United States. Linda had an adopted daughter, Heather and they went on to have three children of their own, Stella, Mary and James.

72. Paul's daughter Stella is a famous fashion designer.  

73. In 1998, Linda sadly died of breast cancer, which was the same disease that took the life of Paul's mother.

74. In 2002, Paul married model Heather Mills and they had their daughter Beatrice in 2003. The couple divorced in 2008.

75. Paul then married Nancy Shevell in in 2011.

76. McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for his contributions to music .

77. McCartney was left handed and always struggled to play guitar, thinking it was only possible to play it right handed. It wasn't until he came across a Slim Whitman poster where he was playing the guitar with his left hand that Paul finally restrung his guitar so he could play more easily.

78. McCartney is a vegetarian and in 2011 PETA added him to their famous vegetarian postage stamp campaign in the United States.

We all know Ringo Starr as the former drummer from the Beatles, but there are plenty of cool facts about the legendary drummer that you might not know.

79. Ringo Starr was born Richard Starkey in 1940 and is the oldest of the Beatles.

80. Ringo decided to change his name in the late '50s to 'Starr' when he was playing for The Raging Texans band because he thought it sounded more country. The name 'Ringo' was inspired by all of the rings that he always wore.

81. Ringo was known as the funny one of the Beatles and was arguably the most loveable.

82. Ringo was once arrested for stealing a car radio.

83. Ringo Starr has never had pizza or curry because he is allergic to onions, garlic and spices. But that didn't stop him from doing a Pizza Hut commercial in 1995.

84. Ringo was left handed but like most left handed children born in his time he was taught to be right handed. Adapting to right handed drumming equipment helped give him his unique drumming style.

85. Ringo actually hated drum solos. Even though he created amazing solos such as the one he performed in 'The End', he said that he didn't think he would ever be able to do it again.

86. When he was in hospital with tuberculosis, his love of music began. The hospital had a band for the patients and the first version of the drums that he played was using a cotton bobbin to hit hospital cabinets.

87. In 1966, Ringo earned $2,027,000 and his net worth in 2016 was thought to be $300 million.

88. Starr's stepfather Harry Graves was a big influence and important father figure for him. Ringo says that he learned his sense of kindness and gentleness from Graves. Graves also bought Ringo his first drum kit for him in 1957 when he was 17.  

89. The Beatles' producer, George Martin, originally wasn't very impressed by Ringo. In their second recording session, Andy White was brought in as a replacement drummer to play 'Love Me Do,' while Ringo was downgraded to the tambourine.

90. In 1964, Starr was worried he would be permanently replaced by Jimmie Nicol. After falling ill from pharyngitis, tonsillitis and a high fever, he was stuck in hospital just as their world tour was starting. He was luckily able to recover and join the Beatles for the rest of their global tour.

91. Starr wasn't just a good drummer, he could also sing. He sang the lead vocals for 'Yellow Submarine' which was the only song where Starr was the lead singer that reached number one in the charts.

92. Ringo was a massive Monty Python fan and even appeared in 'Monty Python's Flying Circus.'

93. Maureen Tigrett Starkey was Starr's first wife, marrying in 1965. The couple divorced in 1975.

94. Actress Barbara Bach was Ringo Starr's second wife, she was an actress best known for the Bond film, 'The Spy Who Loved Me'.

95. Ringo claims he was the first person to ever take a selfie. While it's hard to prove this, he said he did back it in the '60s when he photographed himself in a mirror.

96. Ringo was the first Beatles member to be rejected by a record company. Said company was even the same company that produced the Beatles.

97. While Starr hasn't written many of the Beatles song lyrics, he still played a big part in inspiring the group's lyrics and titles with his quirky sayings and jokes.

98. Ringo Starr was very involved in 'Thomas The Tank Engine'. He narrated two seasons of the classic television show and in 1989 he did the voice acting for  Mr. Conductor in the 'Shining Time Station' season. In 2009, he went back to the series and did the singing for Thomas in the BBC's 'Children In Need Medley'.

How much do you know about the lead guitarist, George Harrison? You might be thinking there isn't much to learn about the so called quiet one of the Beatles, but rest assured these facts on George Harrison will prove to you he was much more than just the lead guitarist of the famous band.

99. George Harrison was the youngest of all four Beatles, born 25 February 1943.

100. George was often called the quiet one because of his shyness and being the youngest in the group.

101. The so called quiet Beatle wasn't actually very quiet. His Traveling Wilbury bandmate, Tom Petty said that George Harrison never stopped talking.

102. Having earned $2,050,000 in 1966, it is estimated that his net worth in 2001 was $300 million.

103. If it had been up to John, George wouldn't have been part of the Beatles. Lennon thought he was far too young, being only 15 at his audition in 1958, but his incredible guitar skills changed his mind.

104. Harrison could play 26 instruments! This included the guitar, ukulele, flute, tampur drums, violin, xylophone, tabla, Indian sitars, piano, darbouka and harmonica.

105. George earned the title of 'the spiritual Beatle' after introducing the others to East Indian music and Maharishi.

106. George was the first Beatle to perform in the United States. He was visiting his sister who was married to an American and living in Illinois when he performed with The Four Vests in Eldorado.

107. In 1971 Harrison arranged a charity concert in Madison Square Garden after hearing about the struggles of Bangladeshi refugees dealing with war, the aftermath of a cyclone and who were now facing starvation. He organized stars like Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Badfinger, Leon Russell and former bandmate Ringo Starr to perform at the two sold out shows on 1 August 1971. They ended up raising over $12 million.

108. Of all the Beatles, Harrison formed the closest relationship with Bob Dylan, remaining friends until George's death in 2001. They even formed a band together called the Traveling Wilburys.

109. The Traveling Wilburys formed in the late '80s with Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Roy Orbison. They each created their own characters with 'Wilbury' as their last name.  

110. George saved the 'Monty Python' films. He loved the films so much that, after EMI Films pulled funding, he started his own production company to fund it. These films would not exist if it weren't for him.

111. Harrison wrote the song 'Here Comes The Sun'. His other popular songs included 'Taxman' and 'Something'.

112. One of Harrison's lifelong musician friends was 'Weird Al' Yankovic.

113. In 1999, an intruder broke into Harrison's house and attacked him. He was luckily able to recover even though at the time he thought he wasn't going to survive.

114. In 2001, Harrison sadly passed away from lung cancer at 58 years old. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in India.

Here are some of our favorite tales about the four Beatles' famous songs. With this list about their most famous songs and albums, you'll be set for for any night of Beatles trivia facts. With recording facts about the Beatles to weird facts about the Beatles' songs, and crazy stories behind the Beatles' tunes, they'll leave you wanting to turn on your Beatles playlist as soon as you can. From the album 'Please, Please Me' to 'Abbey Road', we've got all your favorites covered.

115. The Beatles album 'Please, Please Me' was their first ever album, released in 1963.

116. The first song the Beatles ever recorded was 'Love Me Do' in 1963.

117. While many of the Beatles songs were actually written by both Lennon and McCartney, in the end John had written 61 songs and Paul had written 43 songs, but they had an agreement that meant all were still attributed to Lennon-McCartney. Lennon-McCartney have been attributed to 200 of the Beatles' songs!

118. 'Let It Be' was recorded during the peak of the Beatles’ troubled times. A month after its 1970 release, McCartney announced the band had broken up.

119. Ironically, 'Come Together' was the last song the Beatles ever recorded together.

120. 'Hey Jude' was a song written by McCartney for Julian Lennon, John and Cynthia's five-year-old son The lyrics were originally "Hey Jules", and it was written as a song of hope.

121. 'If I Needed Someone' was the only song written by Harrison that was performed live by the Beatles.  

122. 'Let It Be' was the last album released by the Beatles, but Abbey Road was the last one they ever recorded.

123. 'Yesterday' was written by Paul McCartney about the death of his mother in 1956 when he was only 14.

124. In their time together, Lennon and McCartney wrote 295 songs together.

125. The album, 'A Hard Day’s Night' was written entirely by Lennon and McCartney.

126. The shortest song made by the Beatles was 'Her Majesty', at just 23 seconds long.

127. There is a real Eleanor Rigby grave at a church in Liverpool, but Paul wasn't aware of this when he wrote the classic 'Eleanor Rigby'.

128. The Beatles' song 'Yesterday' is believed to be the most covered song in history.

129. 'A Day In The Life' was inspired by many different stories John had read in the news. One in particular was the death of Tara Brown, the 21-year-old heir to Guinness.

130. Lennon said that 'Help!' was written as an actual cry for help. While he said he wrote it for the commission, he said he later realised he was desperately needing help.

131. Penny Lane was a real street in Liverpool and inspired the Beatles' song.

132. The BBC banned the song 'I Am A Walrus' because it mentioned "knickers". Another song the BBC banned was 'Come Together' as it mentioned the Coca Cola brand, making this another hit the British people weren't allowed to enjoy for some time.

133. The most popular Beatles' albums were, the 'Please, Please Me' album, the 'Magical Mystery Tour' album, the 'Let It Be' album, 'A Hard Day's Night', the 'Help' album, the 'Abbey Road' album, 'The Beatles' album, the 'Rubber Soul' album, the 'Revolver' album, and the 'Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band' album.

134. It would take one and a half days to listen to every song written by the Beatles. You could spend a day in your life listening to 'A Day In The Life'. That wouldn't be the worst way to spend your day!

135. 'The Ballad Of John And Yoko' was written about the couple's run in with the law in international countries. It was another song banned by the BBC for a period of time.

136. 'The Ballad Of John And Yoko' was the last true Lennon-McCartney creation.

137. Lucy from 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' was inspired by a classmate of John's son Julian. His son had brought home an image of Lucy and had drawn stars on the photo, naming it 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds', and Lennon was inspired to turn it into a song.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for kids facts about the Beatles then why not take a look at these Harper Lee facts, or facts about redheads?