THE BEATLES ERA- How I
Decided to write a book
by Peter Eijgenhuijsen
I always have been interested in the phenomenon of the
Beatles and their unprecedented fame. Everything they did is still being
investigated and described in books.
Many people are remembered only because their path crossed the path of
the Beatles. For example, David Mason, an excellent classical trumpet player,
teacher at the Royal College of Music in London, member of the best orchestras,
but he only achieved fame because of his piccolo trumpet solo in Penny Lane.
Another example of their off-the-scale fame is the Abbey
Road crosswalk in London. The Beatles had some pictures taken there in 1969.
And of course, one of these pictures was used for the cover of the last album
they recorded. Since that time, the crossing has been repainted many times and
it has even been moved, although the latter is contradicted by some. Still, it
is now an official historic landmark and everyday people have their picture
taken on that ‘same’ crosswalk. Why, as Ringo once put it, did this casual
picture become the icon of life? What are these fans looking for? Do they just
want to copy a famous LP cover for fun, or are they looking for a spark of the
magic? Do they want to unravel or even become part of the mystery? These questions
do interest me. And I like their music. There is nothing like it.
Not so long ago, I visited my friend Theo, a hard-core
Beatles fan, who, in the 1960s, examined album covers and lyrics for clues.
During that recent visit he introduced me to, what he referred to as, The Beatles Era. He explained to me,
standing in front of his record collection, that people always associate the
Beatles with the 1960s, but, he said, “their success and influence go far
beyond that decade. They are still a mega selling band. They continue to be
very influential in our time and are expected to be well beyond our time.
Linking the Beatles with one decade does not do justice to their impact on
other periods. When you really want to understand the phenomenon of the Beatles
and their impact on our time and beyond, you cannot ignore The Beatles Era.” It was obvious that he was captivated by this
idea.
“The Beatles Era
consists of five periods,” he continued. “First you have the period Before the Beatles. This period, where
the fruitful soil for the Beatles is laid, ends in 1957, when Paul joins the
Quarry Men, the skiffle band led by John. Then, obviously, we come to The Beatles Years, when the Beatles
become the epicenter of the music world. This is the most important period,
both musically and historically. This period ends with the split-up of the Fab
Four in 1970. In The Solo Years, John
Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr spread in the four
directions of the wind, each to find their individual style. With the premature
death of John, in 1980, the period The
Reduced Solo Years begins. This is the period in which we currently live. The Beatles Era will end - no it will
continue - with the fifth period After
the Beatles.” He paused a moment to increase the impact of the final chord
of his speech. He looked at me, opened his hands in front of him and said, “We
all live in The Beatles Era.”
He told me he came up with the idea of The Beatles Era when George died in 2001. He was on a business trip
to the United States, when he saw a newspaper clipping on the wall, in one of
the offices he visited, with just a picture of the cover of their second album With the Beatles with the left side made
black. Only Paul and Ringo were looking at him, with serious faces, as if they
were aware of their inevitable erasure. It was then, that he realized that we
were entering a new phase, that nothing would be the same ever again.
Together we looked at the album cover of With the Beatles, which he took from his collection.
It was scary, the black and white picture, with from left to right John,
George, Paul, and Ringo. I covered the left side to get the effect of the
newspaper picture. I could understand that it must have been powerful. “Of
course,” my friend continued, “we do not know how the period The Reduced Solo Years will end, but the
order of the individual Beatles on the album cover does not look insignificant
to me.” “Everything on the cover of Beatles albums, has a meaning,” I said.
“Intentionally or unintentionally.”
When I was cycling home, I smiled while thinking about my
friend and his strange idea on The
Beatles Era. At least he was never dull. But later that day, sitting on my
couch reading a book, I stopped reading to rethink The Beatles Era. Maybe, it was not so strange after all. The
Beatles had a major impact on society or were at least the symbol of the
changes that took place. They personified the positive spirit of the 1960s and
with their split-up in 1970, things became darker and more serious, as if we
all had grown up and had to face reality. But there was always the possibility
of them getting back together, a possibility that was cruelly destroyed by the murder
of John Lennon in 1980. What also became evident throughout the years, was that
the Beatles remained at the center of attention. Their music was reissued again
and again, and new generations were introduced to it. Books on the Beatles
continued to appear year after year. So, maybe the idea of The Beatles Era was not so strange after all.
As a fan, the theory appealed to me. But I was not the only
fan. There were millions of fans and there were hundreds of millions who had
experienced The Beatles Years, and
for many people it was one of the most important periods of the 20th
century, a turning point, after which nothing was the same again.
There was another reason why The Beatles Era appealed to me. I had the feeling it could help me
to unravel the secret of the Beatles. I had always been intrigued by their
fame, by the fact that so many books were written about them, going into the
smallest details of their supremacy. It also amazed me that their music
remained fresh, after all these years. What was the secret of their music? I
was determined to get to the bottom of that. It was time to write a book about
the Beatles. Yet another one.
My book The Beatles Era is available here on Amazon.