''Birth of the Beatles'' is a 1979 American

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

, produced by

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions, LLC (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces Awards ceremony, award sh ...

and directed by

Richard Marquand Richard Alfred Marquand (22 September 1937 – 4 September 1987) was a Welsh film and television director active in both US and UK film productions, best known for directing the 1983 space opera '' Return of the Jedi'', the final film in the or ...

. It was shown as a TV film on ABC in the United States, and received a theatrical release in other countries. The film focuses on the early history of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. It was released nine years after the Beatles disbanded, and is the only biographical film about the band to be released while all four members were alive.

Pete Best Randolph Peter Best (; born 24 November 1941) is an English retired musician who was the drummer for the Beatles from 1960 to 1962. He was dismissed shortly before the band achieved worldwide fame and is one of several people referred to as a ...

, the Beatles' original drummer, served as a technical advisor for the production.O'Connor, John J
"TV Weekend: ABC Recounts Early Days of Beatles,"
''New York Times'' (November 23, 1979).

Plot

The film starts in 1961, when the Silver Beatles (as they were then called) consisted of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

Stuart Sutcliffe Stuart Fergusson Victor Sutcliffe (23 June 1940 – 10 April 1962) was a British painter and musician from Edinburgh, Scotland, best known as the original bass guitarist of the Beatles. Sutcliffe left the band to pursue his career as a pa ...

. They need a drummer and a manager, and although Sutcliffe can sing, he cannot play an instrument. The only reason Stu is in the band because he is John's friend; none of the others want to play the bass guitar. They go and audition for an agent, where they meet

Rory Storm and the Hurricanes Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...

, eventually becoming good friends with the Hurricanes' drummer,

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

. The agent at the audition says that if they get themselves a permanent drummer, they can have a job in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and then afterward a job in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The Scotland gig occurs, but is not shown onscreen. The band finds a long-term drummer in

, whose mother owns the teenagers' hangout spot The Casbah Coffee Club. They begin to prepare for the trip to Hamburg, which lasts several months; they encounter disapproval from John's girlfriend Cynthia and John's Aunt Mimi. When they reach Hamburg, they discover they are playing in the Indra Club on the

Reeperbahn The Reeperbahn () is a street and entertainment district in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife (the other being Sternschanze) and also the city's major red-light district. In German, it is also n ...

, Hamburg's notorious sex district. They play long, grueling hours – up to eight hours a night, seven days a week – and stay active by taking Preludin, an appetite-suppressing stimulant drug. They are living in the back of the Bambi Kino, a run-down old cinema. While in the Indra, they play loudly and wildly, eating, spitting, and drinking onstage, inviting women to dance on stage with them, etc. Things get so loud that the club is eventually shut down. Now renamed The Beatles, the band began to perform at the bigger Kaiserkeller club, becoming a big hit among the German audience. While there, they meet up with Ringo and

Rory Storm Rory Storm (born Alan Ernest Caldwell; 7 January 1938 – 28 September 1972) was an English musician and vocalist. Born in Liverpool, Storm was the singer and leader of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a Liverpudlian band who were contempora ...

, who are also performing there, and Stu falls in love with German photographer

Astrid Kirchherr Astrid Kirchherr (; 20 May 1938 – 12 May 2020) was a German photographer and artist known for her association with the Beatles (along with her friends Klaus Voormann and Jürgen Vollmer) and her photographs of the band's original membe ...

. Stu and Astrid begin to have a love affair. Suddenly, in the middle of a gig, German police burst into the club and arrest George for working underage without the proper work permit. While searching for the paperwork to release George, Paul and Pete drop a candle that sets fire to the Bambi Kino, and the whole band is deported. The downbeat Beatles struggle at home with their disapproving families, but gradually their reputation grows; they play shows that fill the concert halls. One night after a performance, Stu is attacked and badly beaten by a gang outside. His friends rescue him, but Stu refuses to seek medical attention after being kicked in the head. A month later, in 1962, the Beatles return to Hamburg. Stu reunites with Astrid and she cuts his hair into the famous moptop haircut. The others get their hair cut in the same manner and the Beatle haircut is born. They experience the same level of success as during the first trip, but Stu, a talented painter, wants to leave the group and attend art school and marry Astrid. However, before he can accomplish his dreams, he dies suddenly of a brain hemorrhage. The others find this to be emotionally shattering, and think if he only had seen a doctor, things would have turned out fine. Back in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, the owner of the NEMS Records Shop, Brian Epstein, is alerted that the Beatles are causing quite a stir in Liverpool with their performances at the

Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club becam ...

. He is impressed with what he sees and asks to be the group's manager. They accept and the Beatles have an audition for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, but are turned down. They keep searching for a record company to accept them, but are turned down time after time. They are beginning to lose all hope. Around this time, they learn that Epstein is a homosexual and that he was attacked by a

Teddy boy The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly United Kingdom, British youth subculture originating in the early 1950s to mid-1960s and then revived in the 1970s who were interested in rock and roll and Rhythm and blues, R&B music, wearing clothes part ...

in Liverpool because of it. However, they hold no prejudices and accept. Also, the Beatles finally get accepted by record producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

, but decide to sack Pete from the group. In his place is Ringo, and now the classic foursome is complete. However, before the first show with Ringo, the fans react angrily to Pete's firing; they later become overly excited after hearing Ringo's drumming abilities and listen to " I Saw Her Standing There". After their success, Cynthia announces to John that she is pregnant and the two decide to wed. The Beatles release their first single, "

Love Me Do "Love Me Do" is the debut single by the English rock band the Beatles, backed by " P.S. I Love You". When the single was originally released in the United Kingdom on 5 October 1962, it peaked at number 17. It was released in the United States i ...

" and in 1963 release their first No. 1 hit single, " Please Please Me". They become the most famous group in Britain. In 1964, they are heading to America for the first time, after already encountering massive success across Europe. The film ends when the group arrives in America and performs on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'' to a mass of screaming fans, singing "

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock music, rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Recorded on 17 October 1963 and released on 29 November 1963 in the United Kingdom, it was the first Beatles recor ...

Cast

*Stephen MacKenna as

* Rod Culbertson as

* John Altman as

Ray Ashcroft Raymond John Ashcroft is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as DS Geoff Daly in ''The Bill'' from 1996 to 2000, and List of Emmerdale characters (2003)#Ronnie Marsden, Ronnie Marsden on ''Emmerdale'' from March to December 2003. C ...

*Ryan Michael as

*David Nicholas Wilkinson as

*Brian Jameson as

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein ( ; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was an English music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1961 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put hi ...

* Wendy Morgan as Cynthia Lennon * Gary Olsen as

* Linal Haft as Agent * Eileen Kennally as Mimi Smith * Richard Marner as

Bruno Koschmider Bruno Koschmider (1926 – 2000) was a German entrepreneur in Hamburg, best known for employing the Beatles in the early 1960s. He controlled various businesses, such as the Bambi Kino, which was a cinema, the Indra club and the Kaiserkeller. P ...

* Alyson Spiro as

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor and presenter. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielb ...

* Gareth Forwood as Alden *

Paula Jacobs Paula Elsa Jacobs (1932 – 26 June 2021) was a British actress whose television and film career spanned four decades. Early life Born in Liverpool in 1932 into a Jewish family, her father was J.P. Jacobs, whose company supplied all the Elastomer ...

as Mrs. Flemming

Soundtrack

The film was allowed to use songs written by the Beatles, but rather than the original recordings, the songs in the film were recorded by the Beatles tribute act

Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

.Wilson, Debra Mino
"'Rain — A Tribute to Beatles' set Monday,"
''Times West Virginian'' (Mar. 13, 2014). The guitar and vocal parts for John Lennon were performed by Eddie Lineberry, Paul McCartney by Chuck Coffey, George Harrison by Bill Connearney, and Ringo Starr by Steve Wight. The songs featured in the film are: # "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 23 August 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom c ...

" ( John Lennon/Paul McCartney) - opening titles version # " My Bonnie (Lies Over the Ocean)" (traditional, arr.

Tony Sheridan Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...

) # "Oh Baby Doll" - performed by a different group at the Liverpool audition # " Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (

Larry Williams Lawrence Eugene Williams (May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, and pianist from New Orleans. He is best known for writing and recording some rock and roll classics from 1957 to ...

) # "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

" (

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

) - performed by

# " I Saw Her Standing There" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) - featuring

on drums # "

Don't Bother Me "Don't Bother Me" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1963 UK album '' With the Beatles''. It was the first song written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist, to appear on one of their albums. A midtempo rock a ...

" (

) - shown being performed by The Beatles in Hamburg in 1961; this is an anachronism, as

did not write the song until 1963 # "

Johnny B. Goode "Johnny B. Goode" is a song by American musician Chuck Berry, written and sung by Berry in 1958. Released as a Single (music), single in 1958, it peaked at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot R&B Sides chart and number eight on its pre ...

" (

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

) # " Lawdy Miss Clawdy" (

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American R&B and rock 'n' roll singer, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality (Lloyd Price song), Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a ...

) - performed by Rory Storm and the Hurricanes # "

Roll Over Beethoven "Roll Over Beethoven" is a 1956 song written by Chuck Berry, originally released on Chess Records, with "Drifting Heart" as the A-side and B-side, B-side. The lyrics of the song mention rock and roll and the desire for rhythm and blues to be a ...

" (Chuck Berry) # "

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

" ( Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller) # " Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!" (

Richard Penniman Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

) # "

Shake, Rattle and Roll "Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as "''Charles Calhoun''", his songwriting name) and first recorded that year by Big Joe Turner, whose version ranked No. 127 on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine li ...

!" ( Charles F. Calhoun) # "

Ask Me Why "Ask Me Why" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles originally released in the United Kingdom as the A-side and B-side, B-side of their single "Please Please Me (song), Please Please Me". It was also included on their 1963 deb ...

" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) # " Love Me Tender" (music: George R. Poulton/lyrics:

Ken Darby Kenneth Lorin Darby (May 13, 1909 – January 24, 1992) was an American composer, vocal arranger, lyricist, and conductor. His film scores were recognized by the awarding of three Academy Awards and one Grammy Award. He provided vocals for ...

; however, the lyrics were officially credited to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and Darby's wife, Vera Matson) # " Twist and Shout" ( Phil Medley/ Bert Berns) # " P.S. I Love You" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) # "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (Larry Williams) - reprise, a different recording featuring heavier drums and a more raw-sounding guitar # "

Cry for a Shadow "Cry for a Shadow" is an instrumental rock piece recorded by the Beatles on 22 June 1961. They recorded the song at Friedrich-Ebert-Halle within the gymnasium, Hamburg, West Germany while they were performing as Tony Sheridan's backing band for a ...

" (

/George Harrison) # " Please Mr. Postman" ( Georgia Dobbins/William Garrett/

Freddie Gorman Freddie Gorman (born Frederick Cortez Gorman, April 11, 1939 – June 13, 2006) was an American musician and record producer, most famous as a singer, songwriter for the Motown Records, Motown label in the late 1960s and mid 1970s. He was a n ...

Brian Holland Brian Holland (born February 15, 1941) is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland, the songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound, and numerous hi ...

/ Robert Bateman) # "

Long Tall Sally "Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard and released on Richard's album '' Here's Little Richard''. Richard recorded it fo ...

" (Enotris Johnson/

Robert Blackwell Robert Alexander "Bumps" Blackwell (May 23, 1918 – March 9, 1985) was an American bandleader, songwriter, arranger, and record producer, best known for his work overseeing the early hits of Little Richard, as well as mentoring Ray Char ...

/Richard Penniman) # "

" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) # "

Rock and Roll Music Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

" (Chuck Berry) # " I Saw Her Standing There" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) - reprise, featuring

on drums; the drumming styles differ between versions for story reasons # " Please Please Me" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) # " Thank You Girl" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) # "

" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) # "

" (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) - ending titles version

Pete Best's involvement

, the Beatles' original drummer, served as a technical advisor for the production. The film has been said to reflect Best's personal account of certain events, and shows some evidence of bias, namely implying that Best was terminated from the band because of their resentment toward Best's popularity in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

at the time. In one scene, the band are referred to by John Lennon as "Peter Best and His Sods" and makes no mention of dissatisfaction with Best's playing.

, the Beatles' producer, has repeatedly stated that he was not satisfied with the calibre of Best's drumming at the band's

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

audition, and wanted the drum parts played by a studio drummer for their first single.

, already a friend of the group, became Best's replacement.

Reception

The film received modest ratings when it premiered on American television, and was repeated in January 1981, as a tribute to John Lennon in the weeks after his murder. It later repeated on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, on ''

The CBS Late Movie ''The CBS Late Movie'' is a CBS television series (later known as ''CBS Late Night'') that aired during the 1970s and 1980s. The program ran in most American television markets from 11:30 p.m. ( ET/ PT) until 2:30 a.m. or later, on we ...

'' during the 1980s.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birth Of The Beatles 1979 films 1979 drama films 1970s American films 1970s biographical drama films 1970s English-language films American Broadcasting Company original films American documentary films Documentary films about the Beatles Films about the Beatles Films directed by Richard Marquand Films scored by Carl Davis Films set in Liverpool Films set in Hamburg Films set in West Germany English-language biographical drama films English-language documentary films