Music through the decades

Ben Murray

LENNON AND MCCARTNEY SONGWRITING COLLABORATION PAYS OFFRECORDED IN JUST ONE DAY AT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS, THE BEATLES'S DEBUT ALBUM PLEASE PLEASE ME MAKES NO.1 AND, UNUSUALLY FOR A POP ACT, A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF THE TRACKS ARE WRITTEN BY MEMBERS OF THE GROUP.

1960’s

LENNON AND MCCARTNEY SONGWRITING COLLABORATION

John Lennon and Paul McCartney have been writing together since collaborations over words and music during daytime jam sessions in the front parlor of Paul's boyhood home in Allerton, Liverpool. Although most Lennon and McCartney songs are predominantly solo creations, the duo appear to have a knack of assisting one another in the difficult process of finalizing a song’s lyrics.

STONES SIGN £700 TOUR CONTRACT

BOOSTED BY SUMMER TELEVISION APPEARANCES ON THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS AND READY STEADY GO! AND A GUEST SLOT AT THE JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL AT RICHMOND ATHLETIC GROUNDS, R&B GROUP THE ROLLING STONES ARE IN DEMAND ON THE CONCERT CIRCUIT.A 32-date tour of Britain is about to kick-off supporting Bo Diddley and The Every Brothers. The current earning power of the group can be gauged by the contract they have entered into with the Reggae-based John Smith Entertainment Agency. They are hired to play two 30-minute shows a night in Worcester, Romford, Croydon and Watford in return for £700 (£175 per night). This contract also stipulates that the venue management agree to supply "a grand piano and microphone equipment".

1970’s

THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR THE BEATLESPAUL MCCARTNEY INSTIGATES LEGAL

PROCEEDINGS TO DISSOLVE THE BEATLES In seeking the appointment of a receiver to handle the group's affairs in the High Court of

Justice, he is signaling the end of the most successful group in popular music, leading to

the closure of the official fan club and the liquidation of The Beatles Fan Club shop.

Elvis

ONE BILLION TV AUDIENCE TUNES IN TO ELVISTHE FIRST TV PROGRAMME TO BE BEAMED LIVE AROUND THE GLOBE VIA SATELLITE IS A CONCERT FEATURING ELVIS PRESLEY. Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii sees "The King" performing at The Convention Center, Honolulu, resplendent in a jewel-studded white jump suit just a week after he had filed for divorce from wife Priscilla.

'AUTOBAHN' KRAFTWERK 1974

'AUTOBAHN' KRAFTWERK 1974

THIS 1974 EXPERIMENT IN MINIMALIST ELECTRONICA BY GERMAN BAND KRAFTWERK WAS THE FIRST TO MAKE INROADS INTO BRITISH AND US MARKETS. Designed to capture the feeling of driving on a motorway - complete with engine start-up and horn-sounding - this melodic piece rightly remains the thinking man's driving anthem. Recorded as a 22-minute album title track, the song was edited to three minutes for successful release in the UK and US charts. Performed in large part on a Moog synthesiser, with a distinctive "motorik" beat (a rhythmic 4/4 time repeated over again), the song made a concerted shift to more conventional pop structures and melody, establishing a permanent foothold for electronica in the mainstream charts.

1980’s

MICHAEL JACKSON'S THRILLING YEARUP TO NOW, MICHAEL JACKSON HAS BEEN A MERE SUPERSTAR, BUT WITH LAST YEAR'S RELEASE OF THRILLER HE IS NOW A POP PHENOMENON. The album which climbs to No.1 this month, is already set to become the biggest-seller of all-time and now comes the second single release from the Quincy Jones production, 'Billie Jean', fuelling yet more Jacksonmania.

'START ME UP' THE ROLLING STONES 1981

'START ME UP' THE ROLLING STONES 1981

THIS SONG WAS REWORKED FROM A REGGAE NUMBER TO A MILLION-SELLING ROCK ANTHEM FOR STADIUMS WORLDWIDE.

'Start Me Up' signaled The Stones' last visit to the Top 10 in the Summer of 1981. Originally recorded as a reggae track in 1975 during the Black And Blue sessions and again in 1977 for the Some Girls sessions, the song was completely reworked for its 1981 release. The final mixing took place at the Power Station in New York, where Bob Clearmountain used his "bathroom reverb" technique on the song - pumping drum and vocal tracks through a miked speaker in a bathroom downstairs.