10 Little Known Facts About The Beatles

Are there any unknown facts about the Beatles?  Probably not.  There are very little unknown facts about the Beatles.  They are probably the most written about music band of all time.  Even the biggest fans of the Beatles are still discovering new facts about the group after all these years, as more information about the amazing legacy they left behind comes to the light. We’ve put together a list of little-known facts about The Beatles that will hopefully throw up one or two surprises for you.

1. Most people know that the song Penny Lane is about the bus depot Paul used to change buses on the way to John’s house. But ever since the single’s release in 1967, the street sign was continually taken down and stolen. Eventually, Liverpool City Council decided painting the street sign on a nearby building was the best thing to do
2. Elton John covered Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on his 1975 album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. John Lennon’s backing vocals and guitar also feature on the song. He is credited on Elton’s version as Dr. Winston O’Boogie and it is rumoured he preferred this version to his own.
3. From 1963 until The Beatles broke up in 1970, Mal Evans worked as the group’s road manager. He was also a contributor to some of their biggest hits, albeit in unexpected ways. The alarm clock heard in the middle of A Day in the Life was sounded by Mal, and the cow bell heard on With a Little Help From My Friends was also down to him.
4. The timeless lyrics to Yesterday: “yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away” came after the music had been written. Originally Paul had used the lyrics “scrambled eggs, oh my baby how I love your legs” as a filler to get the flow of the words.
5. Cher went on to become a megastar with Sonny Bono and later as a solo artist, but she originally went by the name of Bonnie Jo Mason. Her first single was The Beatles inspired Ringo, I Love You. Unfortunately the song didn’t get much airplay in America as local radio stations believed her low-octave voice was that of a man.
6. One of the biggest moments in The Beatles – and pop – history is when the group first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show on 9th February 1964. However, it wasn’t actually their American TV debut. That honour goes to the Huntley-Brinkley Report, where they played a few months earlier on 18th November 1963.
7. Fans of artists today usually have to wait 2-3 years in-between the release of each album, but bands were far more prolific in the 50s and 60s and that includes The Beatles. They could also turn out amazing music very quickly. Their very first album, Please Please Me, was recorded in less than 13 hours.
8. Let It Be is a timeless classic that still has a strong emotional connection with fans of all ages today. However, despite many people believing the lyric: “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be,” is about the Virgin Mary from the Bible, it is actually a reference to Paul’s mother, Mary McCartney, who sadly died of breast cancer when he was a teenager.
9. The sight of The Beatles giving their last ever live concert on the roof of their Apple office headquarters in London is an iconic moment. However, the Let It Be album they performed wasn’t ‘officially’ their last album. Despite being released beforehand, Abbey Road was actually recorded after the Let It Be album.
10. Despite Lennon reportedly giving a tongue-in-cheek comment in 1966 that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus” and the Vatican in Rome once calling the group “satanic”, the headquarters of the Pope eventually changed its point of view and included the Revolver album in their top 10 albums of all-time list in 2010.