20 Fun Facts About The Beatles

In 1960 four lads from Liverpool formed one of the most well-known bands in History: The Beatles. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison are probably the most recognizable names in music in the past 6 decades.

Till this day they are still considered the most influential rock act of all times and with legions of fans all around the world, they have created the "British Invasion" not only in pop culture but in the entire entertainment medium.

With a resume like that, you might think there isn't much left that hasn't been told about the Fab Four however, there are always a few little-known trivia bits that can interest any true Beatles fan.

1. Beatles concerts usually smelled like urine. Sounds a bit odd but it seems like losing control over your bladder was a common reaction to seeing the boys on stage. Many male fans and venue owners commonly complained that hysterical female fans would lose it during show times and pee all over themselves. Seriously?! Apparently, yes.

2. Being marooned on a deserted island with your favorite band was almost a wish-come-true. In 1967 the boys from the Liverpool ends dreamed big and purchased a set of Greek islands, one for each band member (obviously). The main island named Leslo accompanied by four smaller islands was sold to the band for only 95,000 Euros! Quite a bargain. However, only months after the big shopping spree, they lost interest in the idea and sold the islands away.

3. When you live life on the road you don't get much of a privacy from your band mates but it seems that George took it one step further when he lost his virginity while the rest of the gang were sleeping in bunk beds. According to the book "Tune In", Harrison and his lady friend received cheering and clapping after finishing doing the deed. Awkward!

4. Everyone knows the hit song "I wanna be your man" released by both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones but very few know that Lennon and McCartney wrote the song for their friends wanting to give them a hit single but secretly saying it wasn't that great. The Stones released the song as a single but not as part of their studio album, so later, The Beatles released the song themselves.

5. They say that Disney is the happiest place in the world but for many Beatles fans, Disney World will forever be remembered as the place where John Lennon signed the paper that dissolved the band for good. The notorious contract was signed, sealed and delivered at the Polynesian Village Hotel as mentioned in the book "Instamatic Karma" written by Lennon's past beau May Pang.

6. When you think of John Lennon you think of inspiring anthems like "Imagine" and "All you need is love", creating a romanticized version of a Tree-hugging hippie, unfortunately in real life, Lennon was a raging alcoholic that often hit his female companions as testified by his first and second wives Cynthia Lennon & Yoko Ono and supported by his former girlfriend, May Pang. Later in life, Lennon admitted to his rage and violent behavior in a roundabout apology as part of an interview he had given.

7. It is hard to tell whether John Lennon was a closeted Homosexual or simply a bisexual man but his affair with Manager Brian Epstein during a vacation in Spain became known when a British DJ named Bob Wooler was on a receiving end of a beatdown after asking Lennon about his relationship with his manager (which he later admitted to). On another occasion, Yoko Ono said that the only reason her husband liked her is because she looked like a young man in drag according to Lennon.

8. Although many of their songs were written under the influence of LSD, George Harrison claimed that his first encounter with the drug was after he and his wife, Patti Boyd, were roofied by their “wicked dentist" John Riley while having dinner. Apparently, the good doctor slipped the drug into their drinks as a laugh. According to John Lennon's first wife Cynthia, Riley also introduced LSD to her and her husband.

9. When it comes to love & sex Paul McCartney is all about equal opportunities. In 1968, Music producer Ron Kass gave all the juicy details about an all-nighter McCartney had with a Caucasian Hollywood starlet and an African-American prostitute in the famous Beverly Hills Hotel, where he booked 2 rooms, one for each of his companions and went back and forth between the rooms all night, taking a few breaks and accepting room services orders.

10. This one is a little bit disturbing, apparently, George Harrison was inlove with Ringo Star's wife Maureen and while visiting the couple with his own wife, Pattie, he unexpectedly confessed his feelings infront of everyone. Rumor has it that after said visit Maureen and Harrison had launched an affair that caused fellow Beatle, John Lennon, to express his disdain by calling the situation a "virtual incest".

11. During the 1950s the majority of western music was banned in the Soviet Union causing avid rock n roll fans to spend their savings purchasing music in the black market at a very high price. At the time, Beatles fans found an original way to get their music by imprinting the tracks into old used X-ray scans. When Beatlemania soared higher and higher X-rays contraband became all the rage as the poor man's alternative.

12. Amongst their many collaborations, McCartney and Lennon started writing together a play called “Pilchard” telling the story of a man who believed he was God, however, they stopped writing it (for lack of time or interest, we will never know) and the screenplay was never completed.

13. The Beatles proudly held the title for many "firsts" in their career, as the first band to create a music video, the first band to sell out a stadium concert and as the first rock band to use the famous " Devil Horns " (aka the rock hand) sign on an album cover art, as can be seen on the "Yellow Submarine" cover. The use of "Devil Horns" at the time was extremely rare and therefore solidified the band's attraction to the darker side of music regardless of later publications of yet another first, boy band.

14. It seems that even the greatest musicians of all time hate the sound of their own voice and John Lennon was no exception. Lennon was a huge Elvis fan and he reportedly asked their former producer George Martin to alter his voice "with tomato ketchup or something"

15. John Lennon was 16 years old when he first met Paul McCartney. The former besties met after Lennon's show with the band Quarrymen. They went on to play some music together while McCartney (15 at the time) noticed that his new friend was a bit drunk from some day-drinking.

16. George Harrison once told in an interview that he liked Jelly Babies (the Brits version to Jelly Beans), this caused an unwanted reaction from the American fans who bombarded Harrison with the hard candy at shows.

17. Many fans have asked for the origin of the band's name: Is it from the root "Beat" or maybe a "Beetle"? John Lennon once claimed that he had a dream about a man on top of a flaming pie saying "You will be Beatles with an ‘a’.” our guess? He was just trippin.

18. While most kids dream about becoming an astronaut or a famous musician, Ringo Star had a dream of becoming a hairdresser when grows up. Considering the Beatles hair became a world-wide sensation we can say he got pretty close to fulfilling his dreams.

19. Another band member who dreamed smaller was Paul McCartney, who wanted to become an electrician. He mentioned in an interview that despite his best intentions he was extremely unsuccessful at winding coils. No doubt, his misfortune is our gain.

20. Although it's hardly a secret that the Fab Four used to write songs under the influence of drugs, like many other artists at the time, there was always a public discussion regarding 'Lucy in the sky". For many years the band denied writing this song specifically while being "high", however, recently, McCartney confessed that the song was indeed written on and inspired by LSD.