From the Beatles to The Police– Stars who have class and a message

Perhaps the earliest memories I have of any music genre would have to be seeing the Beatles movie "A Hard Days Night" on TV. I was about 6 or 7 when it first showed and I recall saying to my family that those British rock stars had class. Then their movie "Help" came out the following year. Every now and then I rent these movies as they not only bring back memories of my childhood but they take me back to the culture of the 1960s.

A visit to England a couple of decades later would put Beatles music forever in my thoughts. As a teenager growing up in the 1970s, I can identify with a few groups that, especially during high school, I considered as relating well with younger audiences. These were groups like the Bee Gees that wrote the music to "Saturday Night Fever", making the movie legendary and also influencing fashion– like the bellbottom pants I would wear to go dancing.

During the 1980s, I listened to big rock acts like The Police, David Bowie and U2 that were writing songs with a political message. For example I recall being fascinated by the song "Invisible Sun" by The Police, which had to do with the unrest in Belfast at the time.




Sent by: Stewart from Japan
Edited by: Kerstin Boljahn

"The Beatles" were a British band that had unprecedented success during the 1960s. Their music was a mix of rock and pop. Later their rock music would become more eccentric. John Lennon from Liverpool was the founder of the group.
"The Bee Gees" were founded in 1958 in Australia and broke up in 2003. They played a combination of pop, R&B, rock and disco. High-pitched vocals were a defining aspect of their music. They saw their most success in 1977 with the soundtrack to the film "Saturday Night Fever."