The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With the… Read Full Bio ↴The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With the line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time. The group was integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and popular music's recognition as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways; the band later explored music styles ranging from ballads and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the group revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and socio-cultural movements.

Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, eventually settling with Pete Best in 1960, who played with them for two years before being replaced with then Rory Storm & The Hurricanes drummer Ringo Starr in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein molded them into a professional act and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of "fifth Beatle".

By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market and breaking numerous sales records. They soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). From 1965 onwards, they produced increasingly innovative recordings, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all four members enjoyed success as solo artists. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.

The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart, most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and most singles sold in the UK. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and all four main members were inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2008, the group topped Billboard's list of the all-time most successful artists on the Billboard Hot 100. The band received seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people.

Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original "... In the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of African-American rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War".

They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people that they most associated with UK culture.

Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion.

According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of socio-cultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness".

Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964.

In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 800 million physical and digital albums as of 2013. They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. As of 2017, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 178 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

There are two holidays celebrated for the Beatles: Global Beatles Day on 25 June each year. On that date in 1967, the band performed "All You Need Is Love" on television. In 2001, UNESCO created World Beatles Day on 16 January each year. This date has direct relation to the opening of The Cavern Club in 1957.

Five asteroids, 4147 Lennon, 4148 McCartney, 4149 Harrison, 4150 Starr and 8749 Beatles are named after the Beatles.

Mexwell's Silver Hammer
The Beatles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Joan was quizzical; studied pataphysical
Science in the home.
Late nights all alone with a test tube.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine,
Calls her on the phone.
"Can I take you out to the pictures,

Joa, oa, oa, oan?"

But as she's getting ready to go,
A knock comes on the door.

Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head.
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead.

Back in school again Maxwell plays the fool again.
Teacher gets annoyed.
Wishing to avoid and unpleasant
Sce, e, e, ene,

She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away,
So he waits behind
Writing fifty times "I must not be
So, o, o, o"

But when she turns her back on the boy,
He creeps up from behind.

Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head.
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead.

P. C. Thirty-one said, "We caught a dirty one."
Maxwell stands alone
Painting testimonial pictures.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Rose and Valerie, screaming from the gallery
Say he must go free
(Maxwell must go free)
The judge does not agree and he tells them
So, o, o, o.

But as the words are leaving his lips,
A noise comes from behind.

Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon his head.
Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that he was dead.

Whoa, oh, oh, oh.
Silver hammer man

Overall Meaning

The Beatles' song Maxwell's Silver Hammer tells the story of a young man named Maxwell Edison who uses a silver hammer to kill three people. The first victim, Joan, is a science student whom Maxwell calls for a date. However, upon her arrival, he kills her with his hammer. The second victim is Maxwell's teacher, whom he has a grudge against, and he uses the same modus operandi to murder her. The third victim is Maxwell himself, who is apprehended by police after he has become infamous for his crimes.

The song seems to be a commentary on the unpredictable nature of violence and crime, as Maxwell is portrayed as an ordinary, unassuming person who turns out to be a killer. The use of the silver hammer as the murder weapon also adds an element of dark humor to the song, as it is an absurd and unexpected object to be used in this context. The chorus, with its repeated "bang bang" sounds, adds to the overall sense of menace and violence that pervades the song.

In addition, the lyrics also contain a number of references to popular culture and literary conventions. For example, the line "studied pataphysical science" is a reference to the works of French writer Alfred Jarry, who wrote about a science of imaginary solutions that transcends traditional logic. The line "P.C. Thirty-One said 'We caught a dirty one'" is a reference to the language of police reports, which often use codes to describe crimes and suspects. These and other references add to the overall complexity and richness of the song's lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

Joan was quizzical; studied pataphysical Science in the home.
Joan was curious and inquisitive, and studied a branch of philosophy that deals with imaginary solutions beyond metaphysics, all from the comfort of her own home.

Late nights all alone with a test tube. Oh, oh, oh, oh.
Joan would spend long nights by herself experimenting with chemicals in a test tube, and the "ohs" indicate a sense of excitement and wonder.

Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine, Calls her on the phone.
Maxwell, who is studying medicine, calls Joan on the phone to ask her out on a date.

"Can I take you out to the pictures, Joa, oa, oa, oan?"
Maxwell asks Joan if she would like to go to the movies with him, using a playful and exaggerated pronunciation of her name.

But as she's getting ready to go, A knock comes on the door.
Just as Joan is preparing herself to go out with Maxwell, someone comes to her door and interrupts their plans.

Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer Came down upon her head. Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer Made sure that she was dead.
Maxwell viciously attacks Joan with a silver hammer, killing her with brutal force.

Back in school again Maxwell plays the fool again. Teacher gets annoyed.
Maxwell returns to school and begins acting foolishly once more, causing his teacher to become annoyed with him.

Wishing to avoid and unpleasant Sce, e, e, ene,
The teacher wants to avoid an unpleasant situation with Maxwell, as indicated by the stuttering in the word "scene" which suggests discomfort.

She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away, So he waits behind Writing fifty times "I must not be So, o, o, o"
The teacher makes Maxwell stay behind after class and write lines as punishment, hoping to avoid any further issues with him.

But when she turns her back on the boy, He creeps up from behind.
However, when the teacher turns her back to leave, Maxwell sneaks up on her from behind.

Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer Came down upon her head. Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer Made sure that she was dead.
Maxwell attacks the teacher in the same way he attacked Joan, using the silver hammer to kill her as well.

P. C. Thirty-one said, "We caught a dirty one." Maxwell stands alone Painting testimonial pictures. Oh, oh, oh, oh.
The police identify Maxwell as the murderer, caught "red-handed" as a "dirty" criminal. He's in jail now painting pictures to express his remorse or tell his story.

Rose and Valerie, screaming from the gallery Say he must go free (Maxwell must go free) The judge does not agree and he tells them So, o, o, o.
Rose and Valerie, presumably friends or supporters of Maxwell, believe he should be set free, but the judge overrules them and deems him guilty. The stutter in the word "so" implies a degree of finality or closure.

But as the words are leaving his lips, A noise comes from behind.
As the judge is delivering the verdict, a noise suddenly interrupts him from behind.

Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer Came down upon his head. Bang! Bang! Maxwell's silver hammer Made sure that he was dead.
Maxwell has snuck his silver hammer into the courtroom and uses it to kill the judge, fulfilling a pattern of violence against authority figures and completing his descent into madness.

Whoa, oh, oh, oh. Silver hammer man
The song ends with an eerie repetition of the phrase "Silver hammer man," calling to mind the fear and horror that such a violent killer inspires.

Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS

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