John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as co-lead vocalist, co-songwriter and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles as well as one of the founders of the group. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history. In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his second wife, Yoko Ono. After the Beatles disbanded in 1970, Lennon continued his career as a solo artist and as Ono's collaborator.
The fifth Beatle is an informal title that has been applied to people who were at one point a member of the Beatles or who had a strong association with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The "fifth Beatle" claims first appeared in the press immediately upon the band's rise to global fame in 1963–64. The members have offered their own beliefs of the "fifth Beatle":
Brian Samuel Epstein was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death. He was referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" due to his role in the group's business affairs, image and rise to global fame.
Derek Taylor was an English journalist, writer, publicist and record producer. He is best known for his role as press officer to the Beatles, with whom he worked in 1964 and then from 1968 to 1970, and was one of several associates to earn the moniker "the Fifth Beatle". Before returning to London to head the publicity for the Beatles' Apple Corps organisation in 1968, he worked as the publicist for California-based bands such as the Byrds, the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas. Taylor was known for his forward-thinking and extravagant promotional campaigns, exemplified in taglines such as "The Beatles Are Coming" and "Brian Wilson Is a Genius". He was equally dedicated to the 1967 Summer of Love ethos and helped stage that year's Monterey Pop Festival.
Neil Stanley Aspinall was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head the Beatles' company Apple Corps.
YannisAlexis Mardas, also known as Magic Alex, was a Greek electronics engineer who is best known for his close association with the Beatles. His nickname was given to him by John Lennon when he was involved with the group between 1965 and 1969, during which time he became head of Apple Electronics.
Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Mary Hopkin, James Taylor, Badfinger, and Billy Preston. In practice, the roster had become dominated by the mid-1970s with releases of the former Beatles as solo artists. Allen Klein managed the label from 1969 to 1973, then it was managed by Neil Aspinall on behalf of the Beatles and their heirs. Aspinall retired in 2007 and was replaced by Jeff Jones.
Apple Corps Limited is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in London in January 1968 by the members of the Beatles to replace their earlier company and to form a conglomerate. Its name is a pun. Its chief division is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year. Other divisions included Apple Electronics, Apple Films, Apple Publishing and Apple Retail, whose most notable venture was the short-lived Apple Boutique, on the corner of Baker Street and Paddington Street in central London. Apple's headquarters in the late 1960s was at the upper floors of 94 Baker Street, after that at 95 Wigmore Street, and subsequently at 3 Savile Row. The latter address was also known as the Apple Building, which was home to the Apple Studio.
Cynthia Lennon was the first wife of John Lennon and the mother of Julian Lennon.
The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects.
James Alistair Taylor was an English personal assistant of Brian Epstein, the manager of the Beatles. As an employee at Epstein's company NEMS, Taylor accompanied him when he first saw the Beatles perform, at the Cavern Club in Liverpool on 9 November 1961. Taylor subsequently worked as the group's so-called "Mr. Fixit", devising escape routes from crazed fans and assisting the band members in purchasing property. He later became general manager of Apple Corps but was fired soon after Allen Klein arrived to address the company's financial problems. Taylor published various memoirs of his years in the Beatles' employ, including Yesterday: The Beatles Remembered and With the Beatles.
"Cold Turkey" is a song written by English singer-songwriter John Lennon, released as a single in 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, catalogue Apples 1001 in the United Kingdom, Apple 1813 in the United States. It is the second solo single issued by Lennon, and it peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The song's first appearance on an album was Live Peace in Toronto 1969 where the song had been performed live on 13 September 1969 with Lennon reading the lyrics off a clip-board.
"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in May 1969. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, and chronicles the events surrounding the wedding of Lennon and Yoko Ono. The song was the Beatles' 17th and final UK number-one single. In the United States, it was banned by some radio stations due to the lyric's reference to Christ and crucifixion. The single peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song has subsequently appeared on compilation albums such as Hey Jude and 1967–1970.
Maureen "Mo" Starkey Tigrett was a hairdresser from Liverpool, England, best known as the first wife of Ringo Starr, the Beatles' drummer. When she was a trainee hairdresser in Liverpool, she met Starr at The Cavern Club, where the Beatles were playing. Starr proposed marriage at the Ad Lib Club in London, on 20 January 1965. They married at the Caxton Hall Register Office, London, in 1965, and divorced in 1975.
Peter Shotton was an English businessman and former washboard player. He is known for his long friendship with John Lennon of The Beatles. He was a member of The Quarrymen, the precursor of the Beatles, and remained close to the group during their career.
Northern Songs Ltd was a limited company founded in 1963, by music publisher Dick James, artist manager Brian Epstein, and songwriters John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles to publish songs written by Lennon and McCartney. In 1965, it was decided to make Northern Songs a public company, to reduce their income tax burden.
The Beatles were an English rock band consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr from August 1962 to September 1969. Their break-up was a cumulative process attributed to numerous factors. These include the strain of the Beatlemania phenomenon, the death of manager Brian Epstein in 1967, resentment towards McCartney from his bandmates for his perceived domineering role, Lennon's heroin use and his relationship with Yoko Ono, Harrison's prolific songwriting output, the floundering of Apple Corps and the Get Back project, and managerial disputes.
Seltaeb was a company set up in 1963, by Nicky Byrne to exclusively look after merchandising interests on behalf of Brian Epstein, who managed NEMS Enterprises and The Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles is a 1983 book by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines. Brown was personal assistant to the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, a senior executive at Apple Corps, as well as best man to John Lennon at the latter's wedding to Yoko Ono in March 1969.
Terence James Doran was an English luxury car dealer, pop music manager and music publishing executive, best known for his association with the Beatles. With Beatles manager Brian Epstein, he co-owned Brydor Cars in the 1960s, supplying sportscars to many figures in the Swinging London era, including the Beatles and members of the Rolling Stones and the Moody Blues. In 1967, he became the manager of Apple Publishing, the first appointment in the Beatles' Apple Corps business organisation. He also managed the Apple artists Grapefruit and Mary Hopkin. He was a personal assistant to John Lennon and then George Harrison. Throughout the 1970s, he worked as Harrison's estate manager at Friar Park in Oxfordshire and assisted in restoring the property.
