Banger Films is a Canadian film and television production company, which specializes in documentary films and television series on music and culture. The company was launched in 2004 by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn to create and distribute their first film, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey .
121-477: The company has since produced theatrical documentaries and television series, as well as live concert DVDs by rock and heavy metal musicians. In 2011, Banger Films started a YouTube channel, Bangertv. Most of the channel's content for the first four years of its existence were interviews and trailers of documentaries. Starting in 2015, Bangertv started making album reviews (including tag team/no beef reviews) and hosting weekly live streams. They have since also started
242-428: A boa constrictor on stage and baby dolls, which they then chopped up. They picked up ideas like sponges, inspiration came from everything and anything. Much of their inspiration came from television, where they describe hearing an advertisement that said "schools out". Hearing that led them to the creation of " School's Out ", which somehow to their belief became a bigger sensation than " I'm Eighteen ". The band played
363-500: A "Best of" series for certain years in the history of Heavy Metal. As of February 2022, Bangertv has 334,000 subscribers. The company's 2014 film Super Duper Alice Cooper won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Feature Length Documentary at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards in 2015. On September 10, 2021, Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine debuted at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival . This article about
484-866: A Canadian media company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Super Duper Alice Cooper Super Duper Alice Cooper is a 2014 Canadian biographical documentary film about shock rock musician Alice Cooper , written and directed by Sam Dunn , Scot McFadyen and Reginald Harkema . In addition to narration by Cooper himself, the film also includes commentary from other people who have known, worked with, or been influenced by him, including his wife Sheryl Cooper , his mother Ella Furnier, concert promoter Jack Curtis, former bandmates Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith , manager Shep Gordon , Pamela Des Barres , Bob Ezrin , Elton John , Wayne Kramer , John Lydon , Iggy Pop , Dee Snider and Bernie Taupin . The film won two Canadian Screen Awards , for Best Feature Length Documentary and Best Editing in
605-619: A December 2005 auction. In England, meanwhile, Harrison met sitar maestro Ravi Shankar , who agreed to train him on the instrument. During a tour of the Philippines the month after the Yesterday and Today furore, the Beatles unintentionally snubbed the nation's first lady, Imelda Marcos , who had expected them to attend a breakfast reception at the Presidential Palace . When presented with
726-422: A Documentary , at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards in 2015. The main objective of the film was to explain the story behind rock phenomenon Alice Cooper . The film starts by introducing the childhood of Vincent Furnier, who later becomes better known as American singer, songwriter and actor, Alice Cooper. Narrated by Furnier himself, he claims to have had an all American childhood, describing himself to have been
847-405: A backing band and electric instrumentation , and "dressed in the height of Mod fashion". As a result, Gould continues, the traditional division between folk and rock enthusiasts "nearly evaporated", as the Beatles' fans began to mature in their outlook and Dylan's audience embraced the new, youth-driven pop culture. During the 1964 US tour , the group were confronted with racial segregation in
968-563: A bass guitar with the proceeds, joined in January 1960. He suggested changing the band's name to Beatals , as a tribute to Buddy Holly and the Crickets . They used this name until May, when they became the Silver Beetles , before undertaking a brief tour of Scotland as the backing group for pop singer and fellow Liverpudlian Johnny Gentle . By early July, they had refashioned themselves as
1089-624: A bright, joyous, original sound, filled with ringing guitars and irresistible melodies." That "ringing guitar" sound was primarily the product of Harrison's 12-string electric Rickenbacker , a prototype given to him by the manufacturer, which made its debut on the record. Touring internationally in June and July, the Beatles staged 37 shows over 27 days in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. In August and September, they returned to
1210-585: A child, claiming that doctors could not guarantee he would make it out from the surgery alive. However, the next day he was fine, which he believes to be the result of God and his parents' prayers. Every time he looked at his scar from the operation, he knew he was a miracle. The film moves to discuss Furnier's life as a teenager. He discusses having a strong passion for high school art class, where he met and created his friendship with Dennis Dunaway . They were both interested in surrealism , especially artists such as René Magritte and Georges Braque . Salvador Dalí
1331-461: A collection of singles. Now we were really beginning to think about albums as a bit of art on their own." Released in December, Rubber Soul was hailed by critics as a major step forward in the maturity and complexity of the band's music. Their thematic reach was beginning to expand as they embraced deeper aspects of romance and philosophy, a development that NEMS executive Peter Brown attributed to
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#17329238499241452-600: A condom in a concrete corridor; the authorities deported them. Lennon returned to Liverpool in early December, while Sutcliffe remained in Hamburg until late February with his German fiancée Astrid Kirchherr , who took the first semi-professional photos of the Beatles. During the next two years, the Beatles were resident for periods in Hamburg, where they used Preludin both recreationally and to maintain their energy through all-night performances. In 1961, during their second Hamburg engagement, Kirchherr cut Sutcliffe's hair in
1573-443: A confession, Furnier states that the audience had been through the alcoholism with him, so he wanted to let them be through the cure as well. However, during his time of rehabilitation, new artists had taken over the music scene. Furnier was sober, something he had never been while playing as Alice and he was not ready to fight that. Bernie was at the time using cocaine , and Alice caught wind of it. He started to sink into an abyss that
1694-505: A controversy with Christians in America's conservative Bible Belt region. The Vatican issued a protest, and bans on Beatles records were imposed by Spanish and Dutch stations and South Africa's national broadcasting service . Epstein accused Datebook of having taken Lennon's words out of context. At a press conference, Lennon pointed out, "If I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, I might have got away with it." He claimed that he
1815-536: A copy of the British single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in mid-December 1963 and began playing it on-air. Taped copies of the song soon circulated among other radio stations throughout the US. This caused an increase in demand, leading Capitol to bring forward the release of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by three weeks. Issued on 26 December, with the band's previously scheduled debut there just weeks away, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" sold
1936-415: A faster tempo, a studio session in late November yielded that recording, of which Martin accurately predicted, "You've just made your first No. 1". In December 1962, the Beatles concluded their fifth and final Hamburg residency. By 1963, they had agreed that all four band members would contribute vocals to their albums – including Starr, despite his restricted vocal range, to validate his standing in
2057-419: A few days, he isolated himself and did not want anyone to see him in the state he was in. He eventually got up, looked in the mirror and saw that his eyes were bleeding. He knew that the situation he had placed himself in was turning into life or death. He packed up and left for Phoenix, where his parents helped him as much as they could, though his condition was very bad. He went to seek professional help, once he
2178-434: A further progression outside the traditional boundaries of popular music. As the lyrics grew more artful, fans began to study them for deeper meaning. While some of Rubber Soul ' s songs were the product of Lennon and McCartney's collaborative songwriting, the album also included distinct compositions from each, though they continued to share official credit. " In My Life ", of which each later claimed lead authorship,
2299-489: A manager. Gordon approached the band after hearing them play an unsuccessful gig, claiming he could help turn them in the right direction. Furnier describes their first meeting, stating that they walked in to see major stars, including Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix all getting high. From there, they knew almost instantly that they needed to sign with Gordon. They signed with Zappa's label, Straight Records and produced their first album, Pretties for You . Zappa's vision for
2420-449: A million copies in under four weeks. It became their first single to sell a million copies, and remained the biggest-selling record in the UK until 1978. The success brought increased media exposure, to which the Beatles responded with an irreverent and comical attitude that defied the expectations of pop musicians at the time, inspiring even more interest. The band toured the UK three times in
2541-684: A million copies, becoming a number-one hit in the US by mid-January. In its wake Vee-Jay released Introducing... The Beatles along with Capitol's debut album, Meet the Beatles! , while Swan reactivated production of "She Loves You". On 7 February 1964, the Beatles departed from Heathrow with an estimated 4,000 fans waving and screaming as the aircraft took off. Upon landing at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport , an uproarious crowd estimated at 3,000 greeted them. They gave their first live US television performance two days later on The Ed Sullivan Show , watched by approximately 73 million viewers in over 23 million households, or 34 per cent of
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#17329238499242662-482: A problem". As a result, six covers from their extensive repertoire were chosen to complete the album. Released in early December, its eight original compositions stood out, demonstrating the growing maturity of the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. In early 1965, following a dinner with Lennon, Harrison and their wives, Harrison's dentist, John Riley, secretly added LSD to their coffee. Lennon described
2783-506: A real band, where they purchased instruments, learned how to play them and started songwriting. Dunaway focused his time learning the bass, where Furnier focused on vocals. They went to play for the owner of a teenage rock and roll dance hall known as the VIP Club, who suggested they come up with a new name. From there, they soon renamed themselves as the Spiders and ended up being the house band at
2904-516: A record on the radio. Shep got in contact with a Toronto company that made records, Bob Ezrin worked there at the time. Ezrin states that his boss did not want Alice Cooper, but they were persistent and he agreed to meet with them in New York City to hear them play. Ezrin describes the concert to have been an underground scene, the show started and the band made the appearance of their eyes and mouth to be filled with blood. He describes it to have been
3025-407: A series of articles in which Mann offered detailed analyses of the music, lending it respectability. With the Beatles became the second album in UK chart history to sell a million copies, a figure previously reached only by the 1958 South Pacific soundtrack . When writing the sleeve notes for the album, the band's press officer, Tony Barrow , used the superlative the "fabulous foursome", which
3146-516: A show in Atlanta, the Beatles gave one of the first live performances ever to make use of a foldback system of on-stage monitor speakers. Towards the end of the tour, they met with Elvis Presley , a foundational musical influence on the band, who invited them to his home in Beverly Hills . Presley later said the band was an example of a trend of anti-Americanism and drug abuse. September 1965 saw
3267-507: A spoof of the Beatles at their school talent show, however, at the time they did not know how to play any instruments. Dunaway knew a guitar player, Glen Buxton , who he approached and asked if he would be willing to play in the show with them. Buxton agreed and they performed the show, which received a big reaction. This began the start of their career as a band, which they originally named, the Earwigs. The following summer, they focused on becoming
3388-437: A succession of drummers, including Pete Best , before inviting Starr to join them in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act, and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after they signed with EMI Records and achieved their first hit, " Love Me Do ", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed " Beatlemania ",
3509-555: A three-motion-picture deal, primarily for the commercial potential of the soundtracks in the US. Directed by Richard Lester , A Hard Day's Night involved the band for six weeks in March–April 1964 as they played themselves in a musical comedy. The film premiered in London and New York in July and August, respectively, and was an international success, with some critics drawing a comparison with
3630-428: Is considered a highlight of the entire Lennon–McCartney catalogue. Harrison called Rubber Soul his "favourite album", and Starr referred to it as "the departure record". McCartney has said, "We'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." However, recording engineer Norman Smith later stated that the studio sessions revealed signs of growing conflict within the group – "the clash between John and Paul
3751-400: Is described to be more tragic than any of his previous drinking. Bernie had to leave recording, because he knew he would also go down a bad path if he stayed. During the time of his cocaine addiction, Sheryl gave birth to their first daughter. Sheryl did not want her daughter to be around him in the state he was in. She began divorce proceedings in 1983. Furnier went through a very bad high for
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3872-438: Is very common for performers to "adopt onstage personae with the purpose of contributing to an authentic" connection between the performers and their respective audiences, and the character of Alice started to become iconic. However, it forced Furnier to be in a constant state of what Furnier described as "messed up", including much alcohol use. The character was not necessarily a representation of Furnier, but he got caught up in
3993-530: The BBC , also joined the airport reception, the first of more than 100 such events. The next day, the band began its fourth tour of Britain within nine months, this one scheduled for six weeks. In mid-November, as Beatlemania intensified, police resorted to using high-pressure water hoses to control the crowd before a concert in Plymouth. On 4 November, they played in front of The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret during
4114-492: The Hollywood Bowl at this show they paid for a helicopter to go over the crowd and drop panties into the audience. Elton John was in the audience, where he claims people were fighting to get a pair of these panties. Elton describes the band as becoming more famous than others, where girls were dying over them and parents hated them. The dynamic started to change with success. The band started to get treated like outsiders and
4235-625: The Kaiserkeller in October. When he learned they had been performing at the rival Top Ten Club in breach of their contract, he gave them one month's termination notice, and reported the underage Harrison, who had obtained permission to stay in Hamburg by lying to the German authorities about his age. The authorities arranged for Harrison's deportation in late November. One week later, Koschmider had McCartney and Best arrested for arson after they set fire to
4356-571: The Marx Brothers . United Artists released a full soundtrack album for the North American market, combining Beatles songs and Martin's orchestral score; elsewhere, the group's third studio LP, A Hard Day's Night , contained songs from the film on side one and other new recordings on side two. According to Erlewine, the album saw them "truly coming into their own as a band. All of the disparate influences on their first two albums coalesced into
4477-595: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility, 1988, and each principal member was individually inducted between 1994 and 2015. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stone ' s lists of the greatest artists in history . Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people . In November 1956, sixteen-year-old John Lennon formed a skiffle group with several friends from Quarry Bank High School in Liverpool . They were called
4598-660: The Royal Variety Performance at the Prince of Wales Theatre . Please Please Me maintained the top position on the Record Retailer chart for 30 weeks, only to be displaced by its follow-up, With the Beatles , which EMI released on 22 November to record advance orders of 270,000 copies. The LP topped a half-million albums sold in one week. Recorded between July and October, With the Beatles made better use of studio production techniques than its predecessor. It held
4719-567: The Tidewater area of Virginia from Gene Loving of radio station WGH and was featured on the "Rate-a-Record" segment of American Bandstand , but it failed to catch on nationally. Epstein brought a demo copy of " I Want to Hold Your Hand " to Capitol's Brown Meggs , who signed the band and arranged for a $ 40,000 US marketing campaign. American chart success began after disc jockey Carroll James of AM radio station WWDC , in Washington, DC, obtained
4840-403: The album era , as albums became the dominant form of record use over singles . These records also increased public interest in psychedelic drugs and Eastern spirituality, and furthered advancements in electronic music , album art , and music videos . In 1968, they founded Apple Corps , a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After
4961-489: The most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle , beat , and 1950s rock 'n' roll , their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock . As pioneers in recording , songwriting, and artistic presentation,
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5082-452: The " exi " (existentialist) style, later adopted by the other Beatles. Later on, Sutcliffe decided to leave the band early that year and resume his art studies in Germany. McCartney took over bass. Producer Bert Kaempfert contracted what was now a four-piece group until June 1962, and he used them as Tony Sheridan 's backing band on a series of recordings for Polydor Records . As part of
5203-616: The American population. Biographer Jonathan Gould writes that, according to the Nielsen rating service, it was "the largest audience that had ever been recorded for an American television program ". The next morning, the Beatles awoke to a largely negative critical consensus in the US, but a day later at their first US concert, Beatlemania erupted at the Washington Coliseum . Back in New York
5324-615: The Animals , Petula Clark , the Kinks , and the Rolling Stones to achieve success in America. During the week of 4 April 1964, the Beatles held twelve positions on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, including the top five. Capitol Records' lack of interest throughout 1963 did not go unnoticed, and a competitor, United Artists Records , encouraged its film division to offer the Beatles
5445-698: The Beatles faced a fierce backlash from US religious and social conservatives (as well as the Ku Klux Klan ) over a comment Lennon had made in a March interview with British reporter Maureen Cleave . "Christianity will go", Lennon had said. "It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I will be proved right ... Jesus was alright but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me." His comments went virtually unnoticed in England, but when US teenage fan magazine Datebook printed them five months later, it sparked
5566-473: The Beatles recorded ten songs during a single studio session for their debut LP, Please Please Me . It was supplemented by the four tracks already released on their first two singles. Martin considered recording the LP live at The Cavern Club, but after deciding that the building's acoustics were inadequate, he elected to simulate a "live" album with minimal production in "a single marathon session at Abbey Road". After
5687-475: The Beatles replaced him in mid-August with Ringo Starr , who left Rory Storm and the Hurricanes to join them. A 4 September session at EMI yielded a recording of " Love Me Do " featuring Starr on drums, but a dissatisfied Martin hired drummer Andy White for the band's third session a week later, which produced recordings of "Love Me Do", " Please Please Me ", and " P.S. I Love You ". Martin initially selected
5808-621: The Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney , the Beatles evolved from Lennon's previous group, the Quarrymen , and built their reputation by playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg , Germany, over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass . The core trio of Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison, together since 1958, went through
5929-504: The Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. They also performed as the Rainbows . Paul McCartney later told New Musical Express that they called themselves that "because we all had different coloured shirts and we couldn't afford any others!". Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe , who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase
6050-404: The Quarrymen , a reference to their school song "Quarry men old before our birth". Fifteen-year-old Paul McCartney met Lennon on 6 July 1957, and joined as a rhythm guitarist shortly after. In February 1958, McCartney invited his friend George Harrison , then aged fifteen, to watch the band. Harrison auditioned for Lennon, impressing him with his playing, but Lennon initially thought Harrison
6171-560: The Silver Beatles , and by the middle of August simply the Beatles . Allan Williams , the Beatles' unofficial manager, arranged a residency for them in Hamburg . They auditioned and hired drummer Pete Best in mid-August 1960. The band, now a five-piece, departed Liverpool for Hamburg four days later, contracted to club owner Bruno Koschmider for what would be a 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -month residency. Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn writes: "They pulled into Hamburg at dusk on 17 August,
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#17329238499246292-516: The Spiders to Nazz, stating that The Spiders became dated. However, they soon found out that Todd Rundgren also had a band called Nazz , and found themselves in need of another stage name. One night, while using drugs they consulted the ouija board, asking it questions, which eventually led to Furnier spelling out Alice Cooper. They found the name humorous, stating it sounded like an older lady, who had dark secrets. From there, they started to create an image for themselves. They realized that everyone
6413-583: The Starr version of "Love Me Do" for the band's first single, though subsequent re-pressings featured the White version, with Starr on tambourine. Released in early October, "Love Me Do" peaked at number seventeen on the Record Retailer chart. Their television debut came later that month with a live performance on the regional news programme People and Places . After Martin suggested rerecording "Please Please Me" at
6534-562: The Stooges , thinking there was no way they could entertain the audience after them. They described the show to be odd, weird and full of theatrics, something that nobody else was doing at the time. Finally, the audience got it and they received a standing ovation. Shep was able to get the band on the list for the Toronto Revival Festival in 1969. The deal was they did not have to get paid, but they needed to open for John Lennon . This
6655-411: The US, with a 30-concert tour of 23 cities. Generating intense interest once again, the month-long tour attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 people to each 30-minute performance in cities from San Francisco to New York. In August, journalist Al Aronowitz arranged for the Beatles to meet Bob Dylan . Visiting the band in their New York hotel suite, Dylan introduced them to cannabis . Gould points out
6776-426: The US. A similar situation arose during their May–June tour with Roy Orbison . In late October, the Beatles began a five-day tour of Sweden, their first time abroad since the final Hamburg engagement of December 1962. On their return to the UK on 31 October, several hundred screaming fans greeted them in heavy rain at Heathrow Airport . Around 50 to 100 journalists and photographers, as well as representatives from
6897-569: The United Kingdom to reach number one. The band's third single, " From Me to You ", came out in April and began an almost unbroken string of seventeen British number-one singles, including all but one of the eighteen they released over the next six years. Issued in August, their fourth single, " She Loves You ", achieved the fastest sales of any record in the UK up to that time, selling three-quarters of
7018-550: The VIP Club. They focused their time on playing loud rock music, such as songs from the Yardbirds , the Rolling Stones and the Who . They started to become more well known, they opened for the Yardbirds, and the audience actually left after The Spiders were done playing. They also got their record to No. 2 on the charts, while still in high school. Music became the priority, they wanted to become rock stars and Furnier grew out his hair to fit
7139-415: The airport with news of Sutcliffe's death the previous day from a brain haemorrhage . Epstein began negotiations with record labels for a recording contract. To secure a UK record contract, Epstein negotiated an early end to the band's contract with Polydor, in exchange for more recordings backing Tony Sheridan. After a New Year's Day audition, Decca Records rejected the band , saying, "Guitar groups are on
7260-461: The album Introducing... The Beatles , comprising most of the songs of Parlophone's Please Please Me , but a management shake-up led to the album not being released. After it emerged that the label did not report royalties on their sales, the licence that Vee-Jay had signed with EMI was voided. A new licence was granted to the Swan label for the single "She Loves You". The record received some airplay in
7381-494: The album still sounds fresh, precisely because of its intense origins." Lennon said little thought went into composition at the time; he and McCartney were "just writing songs à la Everly Brothers , à la Buddy Holly, pop songs with no more thought of them than that – to create a sound. And the words were almost irrelevant." Released in March 1963, Please Please Me was the first of eleven consecutive Beatles albums released in
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#17329238499247502-506: The album was for it to sound live, like he was driving by a garage and heard them playing. They recorded the entire album in a day, but received many negative reviews. They describe playing a show in Los Angeles for 6,000 hippies, which ended up to be a disaster with everyone running for the doors. There was an obvious personality crisis, the band knew their options were moving forward into what would become their iconic sound, or staying put with
7623-400: The album, recorded between August and October 1964, to continue the format established by A Hard Day's Night which, unlike their first two LPs, contained only original songs. They had nearly exhausted their backlog of songs on the previous album, however, and given the challenges constant international touring posed to their songwriting efforts, Lennon admitted, "Material's becoming a hell of
7744-767: The band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four". Epstein, Martin or other members of the band's entourage were sometimes informally referred to as a " fifth Beatle ". By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars and had achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success. They became a leading force in Britain's cultural resurgence, ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market. They soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). A growing desire to refine their studio efforts, coupled with
7865-466: The band assumed he had meant 7 am, while being awoken by rock music, Zappa was impressed that the band could play such intense music so early. Zappa then asked if they had a manager, in which they said they did not. Shep Gordon had moved to California and made many connections. He was living in a hotel room, paid by money he was collecting through drug dealing. He became conscious of the risks that drug dealing brought and from there, decided to become
7986-447: The band members' "now habitual use of marijuana". Lennon referred to Rubber Soul as "the pot album" and Starr said: "Grass was really influential in a lot of our changes, especially with the writers. And because they were writing different material, we were playing differently." After Help! ' s foray into classical music with flutes and strings, Harrison's introduction of a sitar on " Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) " marked
8107-409: The band over the next couple of months, and they appointed him as their manager in January 1962. Throughout early and mid-1962, Epstein sought to free the Beatles from their contractual obligations to Bert Kaempfert Productions. He eventually negotiated a one-month early release in exchange for one last recording session in Hamburg. On their return to Germany in April, a distraught Kirchherr met them at
8228-657: The band. On the way to rehearsal, they heard "I'm Eighteen" on the radio for the first time, and got everyone they knew to frequently request it. They became an overnight sensation. Their audience was new, consisting of kids who were left out and finally had someone who represented them. They saw a lack of entertainment in rock music, they wanted to do something that would shock people, especially parents. This led to many representations on stage, which consisted of exaggerated, nightmarish imagery that includes monsters, blood, violence toward women, and executions. They also used many objects in their performances, which has included wearing
8349-461: The burgeoning youth culture. The group's popularity generated unprecedented interest in British music, and many other UK acts subsequently made their American debuts, successfully touring over the next three years in what was termed the British Invasion . The Beatles' success in the US opened the door for a successive string of British beat groups and pop acts such as the Dave Clark Five ,
8470-502: The challenging nature of their concert tours, led to the band's retirement from live performances in 1966. During this time, they produced albums of greater sophistication, including Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). They enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). The success of these records heralded
8591-449: The character, the things he could not do based on his moral compass became something that Alice could do instead. He ended up going to a rehabilitation center for alcoholism and once released, he believed to have been cured. Alice got the chance to work with singer Bernie Taupin , where they developed a strong friendship. They created an album together, which was based on characters from Alice's rehabilitation experience. The album came as
8712-452: The commercialised popular culture of television, radio, pop records, fan magazines, and teen fashion. To many of Dylan's followers in the folk music scene, the Beatles were seen as idolaters, not idealists." Within six months of the meeting, according to Gould, "Lennon would be making records on which he openly imitated Dylan's nasal drone, brittle strum, and introspective vocal persona"; and six months after that, Dylan began performing with
8833-587: The country at the time. When informed that the venue for their 11 September concert, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida , was segregated, the Beatles said they would refuse to perform unless the audience was integrated. Lennon stated: "We never play to segregated audiences and we aren't going to start now ... I'd sooner lose our appearance money." City officials relented and agreed to allow an integrated show. The group also cancelled their reservations at
8954-405: The customary group photograph, its Aubrey Beardsley -inspired cover – designed by Klaus Voormann , a friend of the band since their Hamburg days – was a monochrome collage and line drawing caricature of the group. The album was preceded by the single " Paperback Writer ", backed by " Rain ". Short promotional films were made for both songs; described by cultural historian Saul Austerlitz as "among
9075-413: The experience: "It was just terrifying, but it was fantastic. I was pretty stunned for a month or two." He and Harrison subsequently became regular users of the drug, joined by Starr on at least one occasion. Harrison's use of psychedelic drugs encouraged his path to meditation and Hinduism. He commented: "For me, it was like a flash. The first time I had acid , it just opened up something in my head that
9196-461: The film two out of five stars, calling the film a "competent but underwhelming portrait of the 70s/80s rock star". Felperin believes the film "sticks to the usual wave-graph structure of a thousand other rock bio-docs". The Beatles The Beatles were an English 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
9317-506: The first Beatle to discuss LSD publicly, declaring in a magazine interview that "it opened my eyes" and "made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society". Controversy erupted in June 1965 when Queen Elizabeth II appointed all four Beatles Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) after Prime Minister Harold Wilson nominated them for the award. In protest – the honour
9438-551: The first half of the year: a four-week tour that began in February, the Beatles' first nationwide, preceded three-week tours in March and May–June. As their popularity spread, a frenzied adulation of the group took hold. On 13 October, the Beatles starred on Sunday Night at the London Palladium , the UK's top variety show. Their performance was televised live and watched by 15 million viewers. One national paper's headlines in
9559-646: The first true music videos", they aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June. Among the experimental songs on Revolver was " Tomorrow Never Knows ", the lyrics for which Lennon drew from Timothy Leary 's The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead . Its creation involved eight tape decks distributed about the EMI building, each staffed by an engineer or band member, who randomly varied
9680-404: The focus was placed mainly on Furnier, or the character of Alice. He started getting private cars, solo invitations to parties, solo interviews at radio stations, etc. Salvador Dalí contacted saying he wanted to do a moving holograph of Alice, but the band was not included. They decided they needed to go back to their roots, they played Ezrin a song they had written years before. Ezrin did not like
9801-402: The following day, the Beatles met with another strong reception during two shows at Carnegie Hall . The band flew to Florida, where they appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show a second time, again before 70 million viewers, before returning to the UK on 22 February. The Beatles' first visit to the US took place when the nation was still mourning the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
9922-412: The following days coined the term " Beatlemania " to describe the riotous enthusiasm by screaming fans who greeted the band – and it stuck. Although not billed as tour leaders, the Beatles overshadowed American acts Tommy Roe and Chris Montez during the February engagements and assumed top billing "by audience demand", something no British act had previously accomplished while touring with artists from
10043-429: The grinning Beatles dressed in butcher's overalls, accompanied by raw meat and mutilated plastic baby dolls. According to Beatles biographer Bill Harry , it has been incorrectly suggested that this was meant as a satirical response to the way Capitol had "butchered" the US versions of the band's albums. Thousands of copies of the LP had a new cover pasted over the original; an unpeeled "first-state" copy fetched $ 10,500 at
10164-404: The group's break-up in 1970, all principal former members enjoyed success as solo artists, and some partial reunions occurred. Lennon was murdered in 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in 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 are the most successful act in
10285-524: The group. Lennon and McCartney had established a songwriting partnership , and as the band's success grew, their dominant collaboration limited Harrison's opportunities as a lead vocalist . Epstein, to maximise the Beatles' commercial potential, encouraged them to adopt a professional approach to performing. Lennon recalled him saying, "Look, if you really want to get in these bigger places, you're going to have to change – stop eating on stage, stop swearing, stop smoking ...". On 11 February 1963,
10406-657: The history of the US Billboard charts , holding the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million). The band received many accolades , including seven Grammy Awards , four Brit Awards , an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 documentary film Let It Be ), and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards . They were inducted into
10527-583: The invitation, Epstein politely declined on the band members' behalf, as it had never been his policy to accept such official invitations. They soon found that the Marcos regime was unaccustomed to taking no for an answer. The resulting riots endangered the group and they escaped the country with difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the band members visited India for the first time. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first – rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Almost as soon as they returned home,
10648-401: The last covers the band would include on an album until Let It Be 's brief rendition of the traditional Liverpool folk song " Maggie Mae ". The band expanded their use of vocal overdubs on Help! and incorporated classical instruments into some arrangements, including a string quartet on the pop ballad " Yesterday ". Composed and sung by McCartney – none of the other Beatles perform on
10769-519: The launch of an American Saturday-morning cartoon series, The Beatles , that echoed A Hard Day's Night 's slapstick antics over its two-year original run. The series was the first weekly television series to feature animated versions of real, living people. In mid-October, the Beatles entered the recording studio; for the first time when making an album, they had an extended period without other major commitments. Until this time, according to George Martin, "we had been making albums rather like
10890-408: The media widely adopted as "the Fab Four". EMI's American subsidiary, Capitol Records , hindered the Beatles' releases in the United States for more than a year by initially declining to issue their music, including their first three singles. Concurrent negotiations with the independent US label Vee-Jay led to the release of some, but not all, of the songs in 1963. Vee-Jay finished preparation for
11011-409: The moderate success of "Love Me Do", the single "Please Please Me" was released in January 1963, two months ahead of the album. It reached number one on every UK chart except Record Retailer , where it peaked at number two. Recalling how the Beatles "rushed to deliver a debut album, bashing out Please Please Me in a day", AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote: "Decades after its release,
11132-490: The monotony of numerous appearances at the same clubs night after night. In November 1961, during one of the group's frequent performances at the Cavern Club , they encountered Brian Epstein , a local record-store owner and music columnist. He later recalled: "I immediately liked what I heard. They were fresh, and they were honest, and they had what I thought was a sort of presence ... [a] star quality." Epstein courted
11253-419: The most amazing thing he had ever seen, the beginning of a cultural movement. Ezrin agreed to produce records with them. They started to create different characters and theatrics to get into the songs that they were playing. Ezrin decided that " I'm Eighteen " would become their first song to put them on the map. The band talks highly of Ezrin, Dunaway states that he brought focus, and enthusiasm, and confidence to
11374-412: The movement of a tape loop while Martin created a composite recording by sampling the incoming data. McCartney's " Eleanor Rigby " made prominent use of a string octet ; Gould describes it as "a true hybrid, conforming to no recognisable style or genre of song". Harrison's emergence as a songwriter was reflected in three of his compositions appearing on the record. Among these, " Taxman ", which opened
11495-445: The musical and cultural significance of this meeting, before which the musicians' respective fanbases were "perceived as inhabiting two separate subcultural worlds": Dylan's audience of "college kids with artistic or intellectual leanings, a dawning political and social idealism, and a mildly bohemian style " contrasted with their fans, "veritable ' teenyboppers ' – kids in high school or grade school whose lives were totally wrapped up in
11616-504: The other bands so the image and theatrics of Alice Cooper was necessary to create attention. They would take whatever items they could find and incorporate them into their shows. Furnier asks, how do you become Alice Cooper? You create it. Miss Christine and Miss Pamela, from the GTOs, were able to introduce Alice Cooper to composer and renowned record producer Frank Zappa . Zappa suggested the band come over to his house at "7 o’clock". Mistakenly,
11737-545: The part. Furnier claims that church became the last thing on his mind, and the people at his church thought he was going off the deep end. The film follows the band on their move to Los Angeles, California in 1967. At the time, it was the heart of The Love Generation , and the Hippie Movement . Once they arrived in Los Angeles, they realized that not everything was going to just fall into place for them, there were thousands of other bands from other states trying to accomplish
11858-498: The perfect 1950s kids who did not lie, cheat or swear and attended church two times a week. Furnier was and continues to be very in touch with God, his father was a pastor, which enabled him to grow up with a strong moral compass. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan, however, due to childhood illnesses such as severe asthma , his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona to try to reduce the symptoms. He discusses an appendicitis attack that he had as
11979-418: The previous November. Commentators often suggest that for many, particularly the young, the Beatles' performances reignited the sense of excitement and possibility that momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination, and helped pave the way for the revolutionary social changes to come later in the decade. Their hairstyle, unusually long for the era and mocked by many adults, became an emblem of rebellion to
12100-604: The recording – "Yesterday" has inspired the most cover versions of any song ever written. With Help! , the Beatles became the first rock group to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year . The group's third US tour opened with a performance before a world-record crowd of 55,600 at New York's Shea Stadium on 15 August – "perhaps the most famous of all Beatles' concerts", in Lewisohn's description. A further nine successful concerts followed in other American cities. At
12221-528: The same thing that they were. While in Los Angeles, they met the GTOs , a girl band who Furnier describes as professional partiers, girls from another planet. Miss Pamela , one of the members from the GTO's, describes the boys as reserved, gentle and innocent in the midst of stoned people. However, that began to change, as they hung out more, there was a great deal of drug and alcohol use. Once again, they renamed themselves from
12342-542: The sessions, the Beatles were signed to Polydor for one year. Credited to "Tony Sheridan & the Beat Brothers", the single " My Bonnie ", recorded in June 1961 and released four months later, reached number 32 on the Musikmarkt chart. After the Beatles completed their second Hamburg residency, they enjoyed increasing popularity in Liverpool with the growing Merseybeat movement. However, they were growing tired of
12463-418: The song, and suggested that he did not want to work with the band, however, if Furnier wanted to go out on his own to contact him. They did their next album without Ezrin, but the vibe was different, Furnier needed a break and became distant from the band while working on the album. The band started to fall apart without Ezrin, and they knew if they were going solo that Alice Cooper would be given to Furnier as he
12584-417: The stage thinking it would fly. The audience grabbed the chicken, tore it apart and threw it back on stage. Both the audience and the band were shocked, Furnier saying "they just killed a chicken in front of 70,000 hippies". This became a changing moment for the band, they became known as very notorious. The band became something that everyone wanted to learn about, however, at this time they still did not have
12705-478: The time when the red-light area comes to life ... flashing neon lights screamed out the various entertainment on offer, while scantily clad women sat unabashed in shop windows waiting for business opportunities." Koschmider had converted a couple of strip clubs in the district into music venues, and he initially placed the Beatles at the Indra Club . After closing Indra due to noise complaints, he moved them to
12826-529: The top spot for 21 weeks with a chart life of 40 weeks. Erlewine described the LP as "a sequel of the highest order – one that betters the original". In a reversal of then standard practice, EMI released the album ahead of the impending single " I Want to Hold Your Hand ", with the song excluded to maximise the single's sales. The album caught the attention of music critic William Mann of The Times , who suggested that Lennon and McCartney were "the outstanding English composers of 1963". The newspaper published
12947-465: The trite psychedelia/art-rock of the time/region. The band decided to leave Los Angeles, they described themselves as stray dogs without a home. They played wherever they could, stating that they would move into the first city that they got a standing ovation. Shep said he was able to get them on a festival list in Detroit, where they would play in front of 5,000 people. They played after the MC5 , Iggy Pop and
13068-433: The way out, Mr. Epstein". However, three months later, producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI 's Parlophone label. Martin's first recording session with the Beatles took place at EMI Recording Studios (later Abbey Road Studios) in London on 6 June 1962. He immediately complained to Epstein about Best's drumming and suggested they use a session drummer in his place. Already contemplating Best's dismissal,
13189-454: The whites-only Hotel George Washington in Jacksonville. For their subsequent US tours in 1965 and 1966, the Beatles included clauses in contracts stipulating that shows be integrated. According to Gould, the Beatles' fourth studio LP, Beatles for Sale , evidenced a growing conflict between the commercial pressures of their global success and their creative ambitions. They had intended
13310-460: Was also a huge influence for them, they state he was outrageously different and created an artistic statement that had an impact. During this time, the Beatles were becoming a huge sensation, both Furnier and Dunaway became what they call "Beatles maniacs". They state that they loved everything about them, including their style, sound, look and especially the fact that parents did not understand them. Furnier and Dunaway decided that they wanted to do
13431-439: Was at that time primarily bestowed upon military veterans and civic leaders – some conservative MBE recipients returned their insignia. In July, the Beatles' second film, Help! , was released, again directed by Lester. Described as "mainly a relentless spoof of Bond ", it inspired a mixed response among both reviewers and the band. McCartney said: " Help! was great but it wasn't our film – we were sort of guest stars. It
13552-485: Was back at it. This was Furnier's realization that the character of Alice did not want to live in his world, he just wanted to be on stage. As soon as the curtain was gone, so was Alice. Alice could be Alice Cooper with a healthy Vincent Furnier behind him. In order of appearance: In order of appearance: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 63% of 8 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.40/10. The Guardian ' s Leslie Felperin rated
13673-505: Was becoming obvious", he wrote, and "as far as Paul was concerned, George could do no right". Capitol Records, from December 1963 when it began issuing Beatles recordings for the US market, exercised complete control over format, compiling distinct US albums from the band's recordings and issuing songs of their choosing as singles. In June 1966, the Capitol LP Yesterday and Today caused an uproar with its cover, which portrayed
13794-512: Was fun, but basically, as an idea for a film, it was a bit wrong." The soundtrack was dominated by Lennon, who wrote and sang lead on most of its songs, including the two singles: " Help! " and " Ticket to Ride ". The Help! album, the group's fifth studio LP, mirrored A Hard Day's Night by featuring soundtrack songs on side one and additional songs from the same sessions on side two. The LP contained all original material save for two covers, " Act Naturally " and " Dizzy Miss Lizzy "; they were
13915-498: Was huge for the band, who was strongly influenced by the Beetles. They state that the audience was bewildered by the band, however, they understood the energy behind them. They knew they needed to do something that would stand out, at the end of the show, their idea was to open three feather pillows and a CO 2 cartridge to make the appearance of snow. However, for some reason Furnier found a chicken backstage, he grabbed it and threw it off
14036-452: Was inside of me, and I realised a lot of things. I didn't learn them because I already knew them, but that happened to be the key that opened the door to reveal them. From the moment I had that, I wanted to have it all the time – these thoughts about the yogis and the Himalayas, and Ravi 's music." McCartney was initially reluctant to try it, but eventually did so in late 1966. He became
14157-425: Was out, he contacted Sheryl and said he was done with drugs. Sheryl agreed to counselling on the basis that he organized it. The world had moved on for the second time since Alice's break, he did not fit in anymore and was worried about how he would make a statement, especially sober. After five years away, he returned to the stage on Halloween night for a live MTV broadcast. As soon as the band started, he began and
14278-526: Was referring to how other people viewed their success, but at the prompting of reporters, he concluded: "If you want me to apologise, if that will make you happy, then okay, I'm sorry." Released in August 1966, a week before the Beatles' final tour, Revolver marked another artistic step forward for the group. The album featured sophisticated songwriting, studio experimentation, and a greatly expanded repertoire of musical styles, ranging from innovative classical string arrangements to psychedelia . Abandoning
14399-460: Was the only one who could truly play him. Furnier started working on his first solo album as Alice Cooper, which he later released, known as Welcome to My Nightmare . He knew it was harder for lead singers who broke out of their band to become successful, so he needed to make a statement, a new beginning. Everything he could get he put into his show. Eventually, he began a relationship with one of his dancers, Sheryl, and they later got married. It
14520-496: Was too young. After a month's persistence, during a second meeting (arranged by McCartney), Harrison performed the lead guitar part of the instrumental song " Raunchy " on the upper deck of a Liverpool bus, and they enlisted him as lead guitarist . By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art . The three guitarists, billing themselves as Johnny and
14641-438: Was wearing the same kind of hippie based outfits and to stand out they needed to be outrageous. The GTO's helped in the creation of the band's early onstage look by styling the boys with their own personal clothing items, describing the look as "full size Barbie dolls". From there, the boys started to buy outfits from vintage stores, which would create a shock factor. Furnier states they knew they weren't as musically good as many of
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