The big Beatles quiz
What do you know about the Fab Four?
Before they were The Beatles, John Lennon formed a skiffle group in 1956. What was the name of that band?
Who was the band’s original drummer before Ringo Starr joined in 1962?
Which iconic song, written by Paul McCartney, holds the record for being one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded music?
Which song from the White Album is often cited as a precursor to heavy metal because of its distorted guitars and screaming vocals?
On January 30, 1969, the band gave their final live performance on the roof of which building?
Who was the band’s producer, often referred to as the “Fifth Beatle” for his work on nearly all of their albums?
Which 1967 album features a famous crowded cover collage and was intended to be a performance by a fictional military-style band?
What was the title of the Beatles’ first feature film, released in 1964 at the height of Beatlemania?
Which famous guitarist (and close friend of George Harrison) played the iconic lead guitar solo on While My Guitar Gently Weeps?
Although Let It Be was the last album released, what was the last album the band actually recorded together?
Fun facts
The “British Invasion” of the 1960s saw UK pop and rock acts storm the American charts, reshaping popular music almost overnight. It’s generally dated from February 1964, when The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, watched by a jaw-dropping 73 million viewers — about 40 per cent of the US population.
Within weeks, British bands dominated the Billboard Top 10, including The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five, The Kinks and Herman’s Hermits. Many of these artists were heavily inspired by American blues and rock ’n’ roll, effectively “re-exporting” US music back to its homeland. The Rolling Stones even took their name from a Muddy Waters song.
British accents, mop-top haircuts and Chelsea boots suddenly became cool stateside. The invasion also changed how bands operated: groups wrote their own songs, played their own instruments and cultivated distinctive identities. Its legacy still echoes through modern pop, rock and indie music today.
Answers
The Quarrymen
Pete Best
Yesterday
Helter Skelter
The Apple Corps headquarters (3 Savile Row, London)
Sir George Martin
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
A Hard Day’s Night
Eric Clapton
Abbey Road