Source A shows the extreme hysteria and passion that some people in the sixties showed towards the Beatles. The Beatles' very existence ruled people's lives to the extent that they wanted to grasp every opportunity to watch their every movement and appearance. The indications were that the Beatles were regarded as personalities full of colour, "cool, hip, smart, lippy, charming and funny", and held most of the nation in complete awe. However it has to be remembered that this is only one girls' opinion on the subject. Joanna Lumley who wrote this source in the 1990s not the 1960s could have been looking at the past through 'rose-petal glasses'. The Beatles were not the only groups around at that time, other groups like the Rolling Stones, also had a large fan base. Despite their huge popularity there were still some people who disliked the Beatles. It is also impossible to prove that the Beatles were the soul reason for the streets of London being unoccupied.
English: The Beatles wave to fans after arriving a...
English: Paul McCartney, George Harrison and John ...
English: Photograph of The Beatles as they arrive ...The source shows the Beatles' popularity that gripped the country with excitement and happiness and had a huge influence on people's lives. And source A also shows us that in 1964, The Beatles were "infamous"; they were everything of the time. People admired anything to do with The Beatles. The source states that "instead of the evening rush hour an extraordinary silence and emptiness had descended upon London, on England, on Britain." This statement is very useful, basically saying that the Beatles were every British person's favourite band. Joanna Lumley's source A is an animated, descriptive piece that reminds us almost everything of 1964. She describes in detail, the feelings and emotions of Beatles fans: "John, Paul, George and Ringo being cool, hip, smart, lippy, charming and funny." "It was very heaven to be...