The Beatles is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.
	This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on June 18, 2004, and on July 7, 2017.
Article milestones Date Process Result May 30, 2004 Featured article candidate Promoted August 29, 2006 Featured article review Demoted August 29, 2006 Good article nominee Listed February 5, 2007 Good article reassessment Kept April 26, 2008 Peer review Reviewed June 9, 2008 Peer review Reviewed November 16, 2008 Peer review Reviewed June 3, 2009 Good article reassessment Kept September 26, 2009 Featured article candidate Not promoted November 3, 2009 Featured article candidate Promoted Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on September 26, 2009, and September 26, 2010. Current status: Featured article

Template:Vital article

This article is of interest to multiple WikiProjects.

The Beatles FA‑class Top‑importance This Beatles-related article is within the scope of WikiProject The Beatles, which focuses on improving coverage of English rock band The Beatles and related topics on Wikipedia. Users who are willing to participate in the project should visit the project page, where they can join and see a list of open tasks.The BeatlesWikipedia:WikiProject The BeatlesTemplate:WikiProject The BeatlesThe Beatles articles FA This article has been rated as FA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. To-do list: For this article Condense, clean and refactor the "Musical evolution" section. Remove uncited fancrufty statements. Source "Achievements" section, intergrate into article or write in prose, not bullet points. Ultimate goal: Get back to FA status For WikiProject The Beatles A list of articles needing cleanup associated with this project is available. See also the tool's wiki page and the index of WikiProjects. Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : Articles on each Beatle tour (Category:The Beatles concert tours). See: Missing articles. Expand : The Lost Lennon Tapes, notable radio series which has spawned many bootlegs. Apple Records See also: Adopt an article Stubs : See: Category:The Beatles song stubs Update : Pics/Graphics wanted: Kenwood. Verify : Beatle wives Other : Project: Add {{WikiProject The Beatles}} to the talk pages of all Beatles-related articles. Send a newsletter to members, canvas for new members and coordinate tasks. Enter articles assessed as stubs onto this list, also list articles needing cleanup and other work here. Biography: Musicians / Core FA‑class This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles FA This article has been rated as FA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. This article is supported by WikiProject Musicians (assessed as Top-importance). This article is listed on the project's core biographies page. Rock music FA‑class Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Rock music, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Rock music on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Rock musicWikipedia:WikiProject Rock musicTemplate:WikiProject Rock musicRock music articles FA This article has been rated as FA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Merseyside FA‑class Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Merseyside, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Merseyside-related articles. In so doing it works and collaborates with its mother project WikiProject UK Geography. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks. Please also feel free to join in the discussions on the project's talk page.MerseysideWikipedia:WikiProject MerseysideTemplate:WikiProject MerseysideMerseyside articles FA This article has been rated as FA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. England FA‑class Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject England, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of England on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.EnglandWikipedia:WikiProject EnglandTemplate:WikiProject EnglandEngland-related articles FA This article has been rated as FA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Pop music FA‑class Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Pop music, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles related to pop music on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Pop musicWikipedia:WikiProject Pop musicTemplate:WikiProject Pop musicPop music articles FA This article has been rated as FA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. Template:WP1.0 Spoken Wikipedia This article is within the scope of WikiProject Spoken Wikipedia, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles that are spoken on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Spoken WikipediaWikipedia:WikiProject Spoken WikipediaTemplate:WikiProject Spoken WikipediaSpoken Wikipedia articles

	Other talk page banners

That's ridiculous.--Jack Upland (talk) 05:49, 15 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, it’s a farcical statement for the lead. It makes the group sound like a revolving door band. The Beatles always was, always will be, JPGR. WWGB (talk) 06:28, 15 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Not so. Pete Best was a Beatle for their most crucially formative two and a half years and certainly shouldn't be overlooked. His fantastic bass-drum driven style was instrumental (so to speak) in concatenating that unique sound during their Hamburg period. All Ringo had to do was slip into Best's seat and play likewise, which is evident if you've studied the early recordings. Just because the Beatles have gone to extremes to erase Pete Best doesn't mean Wikipedia must comply. Too bad Wikimedia doesn't have any photos of Best with the band considering how many exist, or do they get quickly yanked down if they appear? Racing Forward (talk) 21:30, 16 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. That said, I'm struggling to think of another way to phrase it that doesn't give the impression Pete and Stu weren't members of the Beatles.Humbledaisy (talk) 12:23, 15 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I found a similar issue when writing their song list a few years ago. I originally had "Throughout their career, every band member contributed to songwriting," but somehow at FLC pointed out Stu and Pete were officially members, so I changed it to "Following their signing with EMI in 1962, each member of the "Fab Four" contributed to songwriting.", although now it's "...each member of the Beatles contributed to songwriting". I agree using the phrase "best-known lineup" for the Beatles is rather preposterous. It's a similar equivalent to Rush or Beastie Boys, who made records with other members besides Alex, Geddy, and Neil or Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA, but really to most people those are the only members; and for the Beatles, it'll always be JPGR like WWGB said. We definitely should find another way to word it. – zmbro _{(talk) (cont)} 16:54, 17 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

• I don't understand the issue. The Beatles had many different line-ups, but most people only know the "Fab Four". It's an immutable fact; not something that can be debated or interpreted another way. Are we afraid of confusing readers who don't know that the Beatles weren't always JPGR? WP:OVERSIMPLIFY: "It is important not to oversimplify material in the effort to make it more understandable." ili (talk) 19:53, 18 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I think the issue was neatly resolved with this change back on Jan 15 --John (User:Jwy/talk) 23:16, 18 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Not an improvement IMO, if only because it makes the second sentence a run-on. Another good reason was noted in 2020 by @Bookman1968:

In the second sentence, the two clauses are a textbook example of some common fault I can't name. An exemplar is "Polly, being born with ginger hair, is thought of as the best Chancellor of the Exchequer of all time." These are unrelated ideas that should at least be two sentences.

I agreed with the editor and thought that the simple solution was to move the mention of the four members by name into the first sentence. ili (talk) 01:24, 19 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

What I liked about the Jan 15 edit is that avoided the "best-known lineup" bit by saying it was the four that were famous and had a big impact on music, avoiding "membership" issues. I had missed the grammar problems. If we can resolve the grammar issue and use that idea, I think we have improvement. --John (User:Jwy/talk) 03:33, 19 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't and don't agree that listing the four in the same sentence as saying the Beatles are "regarded as the most influential band of all time" is such a "textbook example", as Bookman1968 defined it. For a band to achieve any sort of standing, it does require individuals (and it's often said that the Beatles were more than the sum of their parts). But for an individual to become the best Chancellor of the Exchequer of all time, they don't need a head of hair, either at birth or while in office. The Polly example therefore makes no sense at all; I don't know if "non sequitur" would best describe the illogical effect.

Not saying that the wording to which Bookman1968 was opposed was ideal, by any means, but come on, it was nowhere near the glaring error ("textbook example") that was suggested. JG66 (talk) 04:21, 19 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

This island was purchased by Ringo Usher is 1987. Guityrocks (talk) 21:26, 23 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2A02:C7C:5A04:4E00:B413:5C4F:A9E7:2B42 (talk) 15:24, 17 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Should read ‘British’ group rather than ‘English’ as at least one founding member ‘Stuart Sutcliffe’ was Scottish, so you have him as being part of an English band? Needs to be amended. Thanks.

 Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{edit semi-protected}} template. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 15:27, 17 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I’m wondering why the short description reads 1962-1970 rather than 1960-1970. Surely it should be the latter? Humbledaisy (talk)

Someone's mistake, presumably. ili (talk) 14:22, 6 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hi,

With regards to your recent improvements to the lead you need to tighten things a little more please. The success of Love Me Do led to them releasing a second single, Please Please Me. And the success of that single prompted EMI to push for the album of the same name. Atm it just jars. And besides, I did prefer it as it was but if you feel the need then please get it right. Thanks Patthedog (talk) 17:14, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

That's why I changed it to "was followed by". We probably don't need every single listed, but noting the first two albums is sufficient. --Jayron32 17:34, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

Except PPL (single) was even more successful than LMD (number 1). It was that event that led to the album, so what happens if you try and tweak stuff it then gets complicated. That's why it was fine before - don't try and blame me when you get called out.Patthedog (talk) 17:50, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

I've copied the above from Jayron's talk page as I think it ought to be on the record here. Patthedog (talk) 17:58, 6 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

• The idea behind expanding the lead seems to be, "We need to devote more detail to all the albums they recorded, including the Capitol releases." What we end up with is a passing reference to Sgt. Pepper and three or four sentences devoted to Let It Be – and a length to rival the history of Italy. Insanity. ili (talk) 18:14, 6 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]
• To add, if we must include any extraordinary/important details about the Beatles' pre-1965 albums, then I would suggest the fact that they were self-contained affairs with an emphasis on original material. See: Cultural impact of the Beatles#Cultural legitimisation of pop music. Also, it is probably lead-worthy that the U.S. received a different set of albums between 1964–66. ili (talk) 18:31, 6 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  Thank you for your changes. It looks much better now. --Jayron32 18:33, 6 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  I've incorporated the extra details I mentioned, even though it ends up breaking the fourth paragraph rule. MOS:LEADLENGTH states that the rule can be broken in some case. I think if there ever was a band who deserved more than four paragraphs, it would be this one. If this expansion is not seen as an improvement then I would not object to a revert. ili (talk) 21:35, 6 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  I'd just like to reiterate that I preferred the lead as it was and it's getting flabby again. It was concise and punchy before and the risk is by adding more and more information the reader is put off going any further. If these additions aren't already in the main article then maybe put them there? Just my thoughts. Patthedog (talk) 07:31, 7 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  I also preferred the lead as it was, it was concise and I don't think the details about Love Me Do and Capitol's albums are necessary for it. Also - "the first pop act since Buddy Holly to issue an album of all-original compositions" is not mentioned in the article, nor is it true. Billy Fury wrote all of the songs on The Sound of Fury (1960). The same goes for the descriptively-named All My Own Work by Jerry Lordan (1960). Additionally, there are no all-original Buddy Holly albums. Humbledaisy (talk) 09:06, 7 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  Thanks. I've reverted it back to a four-paragraph format. The only major difference now is a sentence about the retirement from live performances, which I strongly believe should have been in the lead long ago, but for whatever reason wasn't. ili (talk) 14:31, 7 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

  Thanks Patthedog (talk) 15:58, 7 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]