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Are the Beatles still the biggest band in music history


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Old 28-12-2016, 16:45
d'@ve
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it's about are they the best, so you have to mention their competition, and Mariah is a huge contender
The thread's about who's the biggest band, not who's the best band, and certainly not who's the best singer! If we are doing that, some people will probably start mentioning the Pavarottis, Villazons or Netrebkos of this World! Oops, i just did!
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Old 28-12-2016, 16:46
Pitman
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The thread's about who's the biggest band, not who's the best band, and certainly not who's the best singer!
Mariah has a band doesn't she ? I know she likes to take all the credit
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Old 28-12-2016, 16:47
JohnnyForget
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…perhaps it’s to counter-balance Ringos’ dubious vocal offerings.
As bad as as Ringo's voice was/is I'd still rather listen to it than to a warbler like Mariah or a screamer like Whitney.
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Old 28-12-2016, 16:57
bri160356
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As bad as as Ringo's voice was/is I'd still rather listen to it than to a warbler like Mariah or a screamer like Whitney.
Me likewise !;

…I only made that post about Ringo for the sake of gender equality.
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Old 28-12-2016, 17:00
Deep Purple
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…perhaps it’s to counter-balance Ringos’ dubious vocal offerings.
I prefer him to the warblers mentioned so far. If we want to talk about great female vocalists, then talk Debbie Harry.
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Old 28-12-2016, 17:12
Pitman
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I prefer him to the warblers mentioned so far. If we want to talk about great female vocalists, then talk Debbie Harry.
her voice was under-rated because of her even more spectacular qualities
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Old 28-12-2016, 17:32
anne_666
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I blame her for all these young people who think they can sing by attempting vocal acrobatics, scaling every note they can possibly find in every line If you've got a good voice, less is more - there's no need to show off.
Practising your scales isn't singing
And there's a very good reason it's done in private

It's a shame most of the Beatles stuff has been removed from Youtube.
Out of the vast amount of songs they wrote in such a short time, no two sounded alike.

I'm steeping myself in nostalgia watching some "making ofs" which includes a brief take of George's first attempt at song writing, Don't Bother Me.
This LP had advance sales of a quarter of a million, beating Elvis Presley's record with Blue Hawaii.
Making of With The Beatles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nezT...=RDVxRSKokWieM
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Old 28-12-2016, 18:19
mooghead
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Without a definition of 'Biggest' it is an impossible question to answer. Most influential? Definitely.
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Old 28-12-2016, 18:20
Grafenwalder
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That’s very true; Clark is/was undoubtedly a businessman first, musician second.

He was probably the first to realize that many of the early super-groups and solo artists were doing all the work for little financial gain. Most (if not all) of them were being robbed blind by unscrupulous ‘management’ companies.

Clark however, owned his own song writing rights, publishing rights and he also produced the records. That’s the three areas were most of the money from record sales emanates.

He was also the DC5 ‘manager’;… I think it’s safe to say he was a bit of a control freak!
Very safe to say that! That was the conclusion i quickly came to after watching the documentary as i'd heard nothing of them since the 60s'.

Many of DC5's hits were co-written with Mike Smith yet when Smith died in 2008 he left just £66k.

Although the Beatles weren't getting much royalty money they were given access to a studio 24 hours a day for as long as they wanted,… to ‘experiment’ and diversify to their hearts content.

That probably explains why the DC5 never really progressed ‘musically’;…they had to get in and out of the studio as quickly as possible because they were ‘independent’.
Where i used to think Paul McCartney was a bit of a control freak, compared to Dave Clark he wasn't, possibly because John was also an assertive character and just as sharp so Paul wasn't ever going to get all his own way.

As a result George had little input with The Beatles and Ringo, less still. However whilst Lennon & McCartney were credited on the majority of Beatles music, all four lived extremely comfortably. Just look at George's neo-Gothic pile, Friar Park, where his widow still lives, not to mention homes he had in Switzerland and Australia.

How many studio hours did it take Pink Floyd to produce ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ ? (amusingly, its original working title was ‘Dark Side of the Moon: A Piece for Assorted Lunatics.’)
A phenomenal masterpiece of musicianship and studio engineering!

However, DC5 didn’t progress but Clarks personal fortune did,…enormously.

A lifelong bachelor with no children and no known romantic liaisons Clark lives alone in his £15M west London house.

Clark may be out of the public eye, but insists he is not reclusive;…he has many close friends including Elton John and Ian McKellen.
Though never publicly declared i think Clark is gay isn't he? I may be wrong but his associations seem to suggest that. As you say, he's had no known romantic liasons. Even in later life there are plenty of photographs of him with men friends, but rarely any women.
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Old 28-12-2016, 18:57
SULLA
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In terms of longevity yes, but when it comes to record sales The Rolling Stones (93.9m certified sales) are only at No.13 of the top selling artists of all time - The Beatles still out-selling them (257.7m sales). Sales are surely a fair indicator of popularity - you don't tend to buy music by an artist you don't like!

Sure The Rolling Stones endure and remain extremely popular, but their record sales lag far behind The Beatles, as well as 11 other artists, 5 of whom are not still performing/alive/together. http://www.statisticbrain.com/top-se...s-of-all-time/
The claimed sales for the Beatles seem extraordinary compared with the certified sales.
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Old 28-12-2016, 18:59
swingaleg
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Though never publicly declared i think Clark is gay isn't he? I may be wrong but his associations seem to suggest that. As you say, he's had no known romantic liasons. Even in later life there are plenty of photographs of him with men friends, but rarely any women.
So it's not true he was feeling Gladys all over..............
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Old 28-12-2016, 20:25
WhatJoeThinks
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I'm struggling to think of any of her songs apart from that Christmas one
How could you forget Ken Lee!?
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Old 28-12-2016, 20:56
dosanjh1
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Without a definition of 'Biggest' it is an impossible question to answer. Most influential? Definitely.
Most influential? Unlikely

I've always thought the Beatles had a unique sound that was no more than copied and reproduced by those that followed.

The most influential bands are pioneers and innovators that inspired others to build upon and improve.

For this, there is only Kraftwerk.
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Old 28-12-2016, 21:30
Grafenwalder
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This is turning into a "my favourite band" thread. All it needs is Matthew Wright to post about his wonderful Hawkwind.
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Old 28-12-2016, 21:41
dosanjh1
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This is turning into a "my favourite band" thread. All it needs is Matthew Wright to post about his wonderful Hawkwind.
Kraftwerk aren't my favourite band - they're so boring and esoteric.
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Old 28-12-2016, 23:05
d'@ve
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Most influential? Unlikely

I've always thought the Beatles had a unique sound that was no more than copied and reproduced by those that followed.

The most influential bands are pioneers and innovators that inspired others to build upon and improve.
Sgt. Pepper's consolidated the idea of a concept album into popular music culture. Previous albums with such claims (e.g. Pet Sounds) were really only seen as such when looking back on them years later, but the music industry finally 'got it' with Sgt. Pepper's. Many others followed in its wake and it's but one of their long-term and pioneering influences on the music scene.
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Old 28-12-2016, 23:44
Keyser_Soze1
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The answer to the OP's question is rather simple.

Yes.
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Old 29-12-2016, 08:59
bri160356
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...it takes a while,...but it's worth the wait.
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