AN INTRODUCTION

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE GREATEST BAND OF ALL TIME. PERIOD. The Beatles. The Fab Fours, The Mop Tops. And The Band of the Century. Now what can I write about The Beatles that have not already been written. I was barely out of diapers when they were conquering the world so I couldn't really say I have first hand experience of their presence but I can certainly feel their presence 'cos during the sixties, you just cannot escape them. They were everywhere. There were in the newspapers, magazines and they were constantly on TV too. My eldest brother were the one who brought their albums to the house and I was hooked ever since with a fiery passion that still burns to this day. He have a few of their albums and singles which he loaned to his friends and I never seen them again. I remember whenever The Beatles came up on TV, I would rushed to my brother's room and starts banking on his door furiously in excitement informing him. He was with his wife-to-be then. What a pain I must have been and he, bless him, have never even chipped me once about it. When my brother and his friends were listening to "The White Album", I was on the floor singing along and knowing all the words to the songs. Again, what a pain I was. They were trying to listen to The Beatles, not me. But then, what does a 9 years old still wet behind the ears boy know. When I happened to stumbled upon a Beatles magazine in my brother's cupboard, I kept searching that cupboard for years hoping to find another, which I never did of course.

I would cut up all their pictures from every newspaper and magazines and even from the newspaper wrapped on the vegetables that my mom brought home from the market. When The Beatles broke up, I was still too young to comprehend the impact it have on the rest of the world. I couldn't watch the "Let It  Be' movie 'cos it was only shown for one day. As a form of taunting me further, even thought the movie was not shown anymore, for some reasons or other, the movie poster was left on the cinema. Imagine how tantalizing it was for a lad of 11. There was a moment when I was really considering breaking the cinema displace shelf with all the glorious pictures of The Beatles from "Let It Be'. I was this close to breaking the glasses and grabbing the pictures but I didn't of course. Common sense prevailed. Looking back, I still couldn't decide whether I should or should not have taken the pictures. What a treasure it would be if I have it now and what a tale it would make. I contended myself by purchasing my first Beatles SP proper, the 'Let It Be' single with picture sleeve.

As the years went by, I got all their albums and eventually their CD too, of course, including their solo offerings. There was a weird experience many years later when I just started working. I was working late, feeling tired and weary, I passed by this cinema at Sungai Way and it was showing a Beatles movie. It was not ' Magical Mystery Tour' and till today in spite of all the information at our finger tips via the internet, I just could not for the life of me recall what movie it was. It was called "The Beatles Story" but our operators here most likely have changed the title to make it easier to remember so this will most probably remain one of the mystery of my life.

The Beatles were the only T-shirt that I wore although I did wore The Bee Gees and Robin Gibb for a brief while during the sixties when self printed T-shirt was the rage and it was printed by my cousin. Well, sometimes you just gotta make allowance, right. Since then, it was only The Beatles  for me and I have quite a few of them. All of them were gifts given to me by my sister, nieces and nephews. I've never actually bought any of them. Throughout the years, I've accumulated quite a collections of songbooks, magazines, posters, etc. In the eighties, I received a very nice and warming letter from my niece who was studying overseas, telling me that she have got top mark for a composition that she wrote about The Beatles, from all the tales that I've told her during her growing up years. Even her professor was amazed at the knowledge she have regarding The Fabs, considering that the band have long ceased to exist when she was born.

Anyway, for better or worst, The Beatles have remain a steadfast present in my life and here is my little tribute to the four lads who have brought so much joy in my life. John, Paul, George and Ringo, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.