Originally Posted by
Achtung:
“I wanna hold your hand, we all live in a yellow submarine etc are akin to Kylie's I should be so lucky, so, in my opinion, no, they're not the greatest band that's ever been, they had some nice songs and melodies, yes, but so have Sinitta and Bananarama with their catchy little "ditties". It was lucky that they sold vast volumes at the time which was down to good promotion/propaganda, not much competition and just sheer luck. If he were still around, ask John Lennon and he'd probably say the same thing. I know Beatle's obsessives don't like to see things from any other angle and that's fine. This is just my opinion, keep living in your bubble if that's what makes you happy.
”
Reading the above reminds me of one of those "Moon landings were faked" posts we see from time to time and it's about as accurate. I simply reply in the same way: you have to have lived through their era to realise the truth, and just how big The Beatles were. No other band and possibly no other singer at the peak of their career came close to them at the peak of theirs.
Their impact on the popular culture of the day was astonishing, simply astonishing - and that's how I judge 'big'. And I thought they were just an amusing novelty act when they first hit number one so it was a shock to my system when they were suddenly 'everywhere' from TV to the lead items on the News and newspapers, lauded by everyone from Prime Ministers to radio announcers, with thousands of fans in literal hysteria wherever they went. And that was before they reinvented themselves in the recording studio!
So yes - they are the biggest band ever in musical history and may always remain so because the conditions that led to it will probably never be repeated.