The Big Time

After meeting Paul McCartney, and eventually George Harrison and Pete Best through them, they split off from their roots, forming a new band which went through several name changes over time. First, it was Johnny and the Moondogs, The Silver Beatles and then finally, just the Beatles, a name that came to stick around in the hearts of many.

Their performances slowly gained popularity, so much so that they eventually got a gig playing in a tavern in Hamburg, Germany in 1960. This would be where they'd meet their fourth and final member which would solidify their claim to fame. This man was Richard Starkey, aka Ringo Starr. He played the drums for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, a fellow group which often played in the same club. He was an excellent drummer, a better one than Best, and Lennon, McCartney and Harrison got along incredibly well with him. This escalated until they all agreed to boot Best out of the band, letting Ringo drum for them instead. A lot of their fans at the time really hated this decision, giving very harsh criticisms to Starr as a result, though his fellow band mates were always there to defend him.

After a couple more years playing as a group, the Beatles would meet their future manager Brian Epstein in 1962, who would set them up with proper suits and stage manners to make their performances more unique and appealing. This helped cultivate their unique sound and skills, giving them a recording studio to play around with and develop their music in. 

Their collective fame exploded around 1964 when the Beatles began touring in countries like America, Germany, France etc. and the love of their fans never seemed to end, even after 1975 when the band split up. As a group they mastered their skills in writing, layering tracks, creating new sounds and topics that no other band had ever done beforehand. They paved the way for many other bands after them to follow in their creative footsteps, daring to try what had never been done before, be it weird or wonderful. 

(Taken from @BeatlesVis on Twitter, art not mine)