Beatlemania Sweeps Britain Once Again

This weekend marked the 50th anniversary of the first Beatles single to reach the charts in Britain. Celebrations have been going on up and down the country to toast the most successful and acclaimed band in the history of popular music.

Ever since the opening sounds of John Lennon's harmonica in ‘Love Me Do' were heard, the British music scene has never been the same. Though only a relatively minor hit, the single marked the first time that the Beatles came to the public's attention. Over the next year their star climbed faster and higher than anyone could have imagined as Beatlemania swept first Britain and then the US.

Now, fifty years on, the band has just as many fans willing to come out and celebrate, both young and old. The festivities this weekend centred around the Beatles' hometown of Liverpool, in the north-west of England. 

An original performance of Love Me Do from 1962

Thousands of fans from all over the world gathered in Liverpool, with 1,631 kicking things off with a record breaking performance of ‘Love Me Do'. Split in half, the fans sang the song in a round, with both singing the same melody but at different times, and managed to smash the previous Guinness World Record of 897. Dave Jones, who runs the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool explained:

"We're trying to recreate the atmosphere of those glory days in the 60s. It's generation after generation enjoying the music. The demographics here today are interesting - it goes from people in their 70s to school kids."

‘Love Me Do' has also been re-released on vinyl to mark its golden anniversary. However, the EMI record company behind the release faced an embarrassing situation when they realised the version they had sent out didn't include drummer Ringo Star. Instead it had little known session musician Andy White featured on it.

However, record company gaffs aside, the success and sheer number of fans still willing to turn out to show their support, shows quite how popular the Beatles still are today, fifty years on.

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