Beatles Chronology

By Steve Marinucci, Staff Writer
Published Dec. 12, 1980
San Jose Mercury
Special section commemorating John Lennon

OCT. 9, 1940- 'John Lennon born in Oxford Street Mater ~ nity Hospital in Liverpool, England.
JUNE 15,1956 - Paul and John meet for the first time at Woolton Parish Church festival in Liverpool. ihe same year, 13-year-old George Harrison buys a cheap guitar from a friend and with a group called the Rebels, and plays his first paying gig.
1957 - Paul and John perform as the Nurk Twins.
1958 - George meets and plays with Paul. Paul joins John's group, the Quarrymen. George is formally introduced to the leader.
JULY 15 - Julia Stanley Morgan, John's mother, is killed in an accident involving an off-duty police car in front 01 John's home. Her death shattered him, since he felt he was beginning to know her. Later in his career, he writes "Julia," "Mother" and "Mv Mummv's Dead."
1960 - John, Paul and George form Johnny & the Moondogs. They change their name to the Silver Beatles and land a two-week tour of Scotland with Johnny Gentle. Back in Liverpool, they back strippers and get their foot in the door at the Cavern Club. Pete Best added as drummer.
DECEMBER - Only 17, George is deported from Germany for beingunderaged and having neither resident nor work permits.
DEC. 27 - The BeatJesplay Litherland Town Hall and become the talk of Liverpool.
JANUARY 1961 - The Beatles begin appearing regularly at the Cavern Club.
APRIL - The Beatles return to Hamburg since George turned 18 and appear at the Top Ten Club. They make their recording debut with Tony Sheridan.
JULY - The Beatles return to Liverpool without Stuart Sutcliffe and Paul is deemed its bass player.
OCTOBER - Raymond Jones walks into NEMS Record Store and asks owner Brian Epstein for a single, "My Bonnie" by the Beatles.
NOV.9 - Intrigued that a Liverpool group actually cut a record, Epstein visits the Cavern Club on his lunch hour to watch the Beatles.
DEC.3 - First meeting between The Beatles and Epstein who soon becomes their manager.
JAN. 1, 1962 - They audition for Decca Records.
APRIL-MAY - They work at polishing their act at the Star Club. Early Beatles member Stuart Sutcliffe dies of brain hemorrhage.
JUNE 6 - The Beatles audition and pass approval of producer George Martin.
AUGUST - Ringo Starr quits Rory Storme's Hurricanes, shaves his beard and replaces Pete Best as The Beatles' drummer.
AUG. 23 - John marries Cynthia Powell.
SEPTEMBER - George Martin signs The Beatles to EMl's Parlophone Records and produces first recordings including their first single, "Love Me Do" back'ed with "P.S.I Love You."
NOVEMBER - First television appearance in England. NOV.26 -:- Recorded second single, "Please, Please Me." DECEMBER - Fifth and fjnal trip to Hamburg.
JANUARY 1963 - A tour of Scotland.
FEBRUARY - First national tour of England with the Helen Shapiro Show. First nationally televised appearance in England.
APRIL 18 - John Charles Julian Lennon born jn London. MAY - Theyheadllne their own national tour with Gerry and the Pacemakers and Roy Orbison.
OCT. 13 - Beatlemania fully ignited with appearance on "Sunday Night at the London Palladium."
OCT. 24~29 - Tour of Sweden with televison appearances. NOV.4 - Royal Command performance at Prince of Wales Theater, London.
DEC.29 - WMCA radio station in New York City broadcasts the first Beatles song in the United States, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."
JANUARY 1964 - They perform three weeks at the Olympia Theater in Paris.
FEB. 7-21- First American visit. Four nervous Beatles land in New York to the first of the airport hysteria scenes. An estimated 5,OOO fans greet them. They appear twice on "The Ed Sullivan Show," in Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall where they are pelted with jellybeans, a trademark of Beatlemania.
MARCH - Filming begins for the first Beatles movie, "A Hard Day's Night."
MARCH 23 - John Lennon'sfirst book, "In His Own Write" is published.
MARCH 31- U.S. Billboard charts have "Can't Buy Me Love" at NO.1; "Twist and Shout" at NO.2; "She loves You" at NO.3; "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at NO.4; "Please, Please Me" at No.5 and other Beatles' songs on seven other spots on the Top 100.
JUNE 4--6 - Concerts in Denmark.
JUNE 8 - Begin touring Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
JULY 6 - World premiere of"A Hard Day's Night" at London Pavilion.
AUG. 19·5EPT. 20 - First North American tour.
OCT. 9-NOV.10 -, British tour with Mary Wells.
FEB. 11, 1965 - Ringo marries Maureen Cox.
FEBRUARY·MAY - Filming "Help!" begins in Bahamas, in Austria and at Twickenham Studios in London.
AUG.13·SEPT.1- American lour with the Shea Stadium show highlighting it. Taped "The Ed Sullivan Show" for broadcast Sept. 9.
OCT. 26 - Her Majesty the Queen presents M BE medals to Beatles at Buckingham Palace.
JAN, 21, 1966 - George marries Patricia Anne Boyd at Epsom Register Office. Paul is the only witness.
JUNE·JUL Y - Appearances in Germuny, Japan and The Philippines.
AUG. 5, 1966 - John said The Beatles are more popular than Jesus, leading some U.S. stations to take their songs off the air.
AUG. 12·29 - American tour. The Beatles make their final stage appearance at Candlestick Park, San Francisco.
AUG. 27,1967 - The Beatles visit Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Bangor, North Wales. Brian Epstein dies at the age of 32.
SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER - Scripting, casting, filming and editing the color TV film, "Magical Mystery Tour" on BBC.
FEBRUARY - Apple Corps. Ltd. founded.
FEBRUARY-APRIL - The Beatles take instructions in transcendental meditation at the Maharishi's Academy in Rishikesh, India.
JULY 17 - World premiere of "Yellow Submarine," a cartoon film with Beatles animated characters and Beatles music.
NOV.8, 1968 - John and Cynthia Powell Lennon issued final divorce.
NOV. 28 - John Lennon fined 150 pounds after he admits possessing marijuana after an Oct. 18 raid. When he was arrested, he reportedly said: "Can I just ask a question? As this stuff is all mine, it will be only me who is involved?" His solicitor told the court that after the raid, Yoko suffered a miscarriage which had been an awful blow to the Lennons.
DECEMBER - Filming begins for John and Yoko's "Rock'n'Roll Circus" (never commercially released).
JANUARY 1969 - Work begins on "Let It Be."
FEB.3 - Announcement that Allen Klein will handle The Beatles and Apple Records' business affairs.
MARCH 12 - Paul marries Linda Eastman.
MARCH 20 - John marries Yoko Ono in Gibraltar. They spend seven days oftheir honeymoon holding a "Bed-In" at the Amsterdam Hilton.
MARCH31- World premiere of John and Yoko's "Rape (Film No.6.)"
APRIL 22 - John Winston Lennon changes his name to John Dna Lennon.
JULY 1- John, Yoko and her daughter Kyoko in serious car accident.
SEPTEMBER - "An Evening with John and Yoko" at London's New Cinema Club features four John and Yokofilms - "TwO Virgins," "Smile," "Honeymoon" and "Self Portrait."
JANUARY - Paul takes court action to dissolve all remaining connections with the other Beatles, Allen Klein and Apple.
MAY 15 - Filmmaker's Fortnight Festival in Cannes, France features two John and Yoko films - "Apotheosis (Balloon)" and "Fly."
JULY 31 - George puts together two historic Bangladesh charity concerts in Madison Square Garden with Ringo, Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Eric elapton, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Badfinger and others.
SEPTEMBER - London's Art Spectrum features five John and Yokofilms - "Cold Turkey," "The Ballad of John and Yoko," "Give Peace a Chance," "Instant Karma" and "Up Your Legs."
AUG.31- John appears in "One-to-One," a concert to benefit mentally retarded children.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER - Paul tours Northern England and Southern Scotland with Wings, making him the first Beatle to tour since 1966.
DEC. 23, 1972 - World premiere of John and Yoko's "Imagine"film.
MARCH 1973 - George founds the Material World Charitable Foundation.
MARCH 30 - John, George and Ringo terminate managerial contract with Allen Klein.
JUNE 29 - Premiere of film "Live and [et Die" with title song by Paul.
JULY 10 - John, George and Ringo record together for the first time in four years when they cut John's "I'm the Greatest" for the "Ringo" album.
NOVEMBER - John, George and Ringo sue Allen Klein, who sues them. Paul McCartney and Wings release second album, "Band on the Run."
MAY 1974 - George announces formation of Dark Horse Records. He and Patti Boyd Harrison are formally separated, get divorced three years later. She weds Eric Clapton in 1979.
JUNE - World premiere of "Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs" with George as executive producer.
SEPTEMBER-QCTOBER - George's first solo tour begins in Europe, he appears in the U.S. in November.
JAN. 9, 1975 - last legal links among The Beafles dissolved in court.
OCT. 9, 1975 - Sean Ono lennon born to John and Yoko in New York Hospital. Dubbed "the all-American boy" by his father, Sean's birth helped secure Joh~'s permanent residency permit in the U.S. nine months later.
NOVEMBER - Paul's Wings begins a major tour of England, Australia and Europe.
FEBRUARY 1976 - Bill Sargent offers The Beatles $50 million for a single reunion performance.
MAY3-JUNE 23 - Wings' first North American tour and the first tilTle Paul appears on a concert stage in the U.S. since the last Beatles show in 1966. The band releases the album "Wings at the Speed of Sound" and by the end of the year, "Wings Over America."
JULY 27 - Federal agencies give up deportation efforts of 35-year-old John lennon and grant him a green "permanent resident alien" card.
APRIL 1977 - The Broadway stage play called "Beatlemania" opens at the Winter Garden Theater in New York.
OCTOBER - "We really have nothing to say," John says
from Tokyo, hinting that he has no plans to record pr per-
form in public for at least another year. "We've basically decided, without a great decision, to be with our baby as much as we can until we feel we can take time off and indulge ourselves in creating things outside the family." ~
JAN. 18, 1980 - Paul deported from Japan for alleged possession of marijuana; 11 sold out concerts canceled.
SUMMER 1980 - John begins writing songs for the first time ~ in five years while on vacation with son Sean in Bermuda.
SEPTEMBER - John comes out of retirement, signs to David Geffen's new record label.
NOVEMBER - John releases 14-song album, "Double Fantasy" with Yoko.
DEC. 8,1980 - John Lennon assassinated in Manhattan at the age of 40.