(I might aswell give a shot of this. May or may not be accurate.)
From left to right:
Paul McCartney,
George Harrison,
Ringo Starr, and
John Lennon of the British rock band
The Beatles arriving in America by airplane in 1964. Being inspired by 1950s American Rock and Roll, among some other genres, Liverpudlians started producing music and playing for audiences in 1962, quickly becoming popular in their home country of Great Britain and West Germany, with their first album being released in early 1963. 1964 would become their big break, however, as they would embark on a tour of America, arriving via plane where they were greeted by a large crowd of fans and reporters alike, eventually culminating in their iconic appearance on the Ed Sulivan Show, which skyrocketed them to international fame and started Beatlemania, were young girls would flock to the boy band in a fury of love and excitement. The only places were this wasn't present were the Communist Bloc, who claimed Western music was bourgeoisie propaganda, and the Fascist Bloc, which claimed Rock and Roll music was corrupting women and children. It wouldn't be until the collapse of both Blocs in the 1970s were their citizens were allowed to listen to their music.
While Conservatives expectedly weren't happy with the arrival of this weird wacky new sound, which they tried to suppress during the 50s with the rise of artists like
Elvis Presley,
Chuck Berry, and
Buddy Holly, Liberals and Progressives were more than happy with their arrival, with the "counterculture" as it was called getting a boost in notoriety thanks to the more laid back and unique style of the Beatles and their members, especially after one public incident were the band refused to play at concerts in the South that were segregated. Their peak in popularity (in America atleast) would occur in 1966, were they would hold their biggest concert yet, with thousands and thousands in attendance. It would also prove to be their last for some time.
After a comment relating to Christianity during a newspaper interview, a controversy arose after the Band was accused of being "anti-christian", with the Deep South, in the midst of severe tensions between both the white and black communities, but also the older conservative generations and the more open-minded younger generations, basically making own their music the equivalent of owning Mein Kampf or Das Kapital, with mass burnings occurring. The final nail n the coffin would be their private encounter with folk musician and fellow counterculture activist
Bob Dylan would be publicized by a tabloid, which included a photo of the 5 smoking weed. While the band wasn't outright banned, they would have very few places to go without being mobbed in a nation that was seemingly facing a strengthing wave of conservatism and reactionism, with some fascism to boot. With the last concert in America in 1966, the Beatles would leave the states, leaving millions of fans heartbroken and millions of close-minded folk happy. Counterculture would experience a deep decrease in activity in what can be best described as a dark age between the late 60s and early 70s, with increased radicalism, attempts at strengthing tradition and cracking down at progressivism or "crypto-Communism" as some liked to call it, with the deaths of Bob Dylan, Latino artist
Ritchie Valens, and African American psychadelic artist
Jimi Hendrix in a plane crash in California in 1969, infamously named as the
Day the Music Died, all being seen as the end of the first golden age of the Counterculture movement, nicknamed
the Blue Skies in Camelot era (1963-1969).
White Southerners burning Beatles albums and memorabilia in wake of the controversies
The Beatles would return to England, where they would make a few more best-selling albums, with their more psychedelic sound becoming much more prominent. Despite attempts by conservatives, reactionaries, and fascists to discredit them, their music continued to be successful and become iconic, helping contribute to liberalism and leftism during a time were the Right was strong and powerful, along with each member's own political activism. However, their own problems, including personal relationships and their wishes to pursue their own identities outside the Beatles, would result in the band breaking up in late 1970. Between 1970 and 1989, the Beatles, while disbanded, would still make headlines, arguably with Lennon being the most notable, for while McCartney, Harrison, and Starr would have successful solo careers, with the occasional non-music work, Lennon would become popular and controversial for his left-wing political activism, which saw him criticize those who supported or defended Fascism, anti-Arab discrimination, colonialism, segregation, and anti-Semitism. His most controversial songs during this time period would be
Brotherhood of Man (1971, TTL's
Imagine) and
Desert Wind (1976), the former being accused of being proof of Lennon being a "crypto-Communist", while the latter was made by John as a tribte for all those lives lost in the Arab Wars, Jewish and Arab alike, which of course was controversial as many accused it of being on the side of the Arabs, although the lyrics made it very clear it wasn't taking a side. Lennon would continue to be the face of left-wing music for many years to come, even with constant resistance from the right, with one such incident in December 1980 which saw a crazed christian gunman attempt to assassinate Lennon at a fan meetup in New York City , killing three of his fans and a security guard. Lennon would make a tribute song soon afterward, named
Sally, Mary, Kelly, and John, named after all of those killed.
The 1980s, which saw a wave of new possibilities open up after the fall of the tyranical Soviet and Blackshirt powers, saw all four of the Beatles tour with their respective bands and partners, seeing a wave of success and some small bands form as mimicry, like during their tour of India, the Fab Four were inspired and took inspiration from the local music and culture of the region, with all of them meeting local musicians, visiting native Siberians and other non-Russian minorities, and reading Tolstoy. Despite the accusations of them being crypto-communists or flirting with such people, the Liverpudlians found some suprise success in the few places in the former Communist block they toured, with them gaining small fanbases in Russia, China, and Korea. Alongside the fall of both Communist and Fascist Blocks, the Right's power grip began to severly weaken, with a second wave of counterculture begging in the mid-70s and continuing well right into the 1980s, with renewed interest in 1960s music, art, literature, and activism, alongside a renewed struggle for femminism, LGBT rights, and other social issues, which the Beatles all supported unsurprisngly.
1989 would prove to be an important year, as with the recent events in South Africa, many musicians, both left and right, began making music criticizing the racism and totallitarianism in the white supremaicist state. Lennon would make another controversial but popular song called
Trek (1988), whose tune and lyrics were angry and powerful, calling out the regime's crimes, ignorance, and smug self-justification, and said that those who stood by and allowed this to happen had it coming, asking them if they are happy with what they had allowed to fester "like a big ugly spot". The Fab Four, after years of not appearing next to each other, would privately meet togetehr in the spring of that year, preparing for a reunion, to which it would come in the form of the 13th of July
Good Hope concert in London, which due to the shock, surprise, and rush of excitement of the world's biggest band coming back, caused a large stampede and queue to Wembly Stadium, which alongside a similar event held in Philadelphia by American artists, and a few smaller concerts in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, and even Katanga, would see a total of 150,000-200,000 people attend, and raising well over 150 million dollars to donate to charity, going on to help the efforts of with it easily becoming one of the most iconic events of the 1980s.
A photo of the crowd at Wembley Stadium on July 13th, 1989.
With The Beatles officially reunited the band would begin touring again in the 90s, going around Europe, the Americas, Oceania, and East Asia, touring from 1990 to 1997., with smaller appearances occurring between 1998 and 2001. The 00s would be quiet for the Beatles, as they would enjoy going back to being solo unofficially once again, although things would not be so good for Harison, who was diagnosed with throat and lung cancer in 1997, which meant he would have to take operations, although it would not be enough, as early in the morning on the 23rd of July, 2011, George Harrison would peacefully die in his sleep in Los Angeles, surrounded by his family. The news easily became international news, overshadowing every other event that week, with mourning (comparable to both OTL Harrison's and Lennon's combined) consuming the West for weeks, with his funeral being watched by tens of millions of people on television and internet livestreams, and many famous people in attendance to pay their respects to the passed away music titan, including his three bandmates.
As of 2020, the three other Beatles are still alive and kicking, producing the occasional album. Despite all of the controversies and backlash they have received over the years, all of the love, support, and recognition have all outshadowed that, with their music being remembered in the hearts and minds of millions and millions of fans, having influenced countless future bands and musicians, and having an impact on popular culture like few others. The Beatles continue to be the most popular and successful music band of all time.