BEATLEMANIA HITS TAIPEI!HERE, THERE, AND EVERYWHERE – 2130期

When it comes to rock music, “the Beatles” are always the one we would never forget. Formed in 1960, in Liverpool, the British band included John Lennon（約翰藍儂）, Paul McCartney（保羅麥卡尼）, George Harrison（喬治哈里森）and Ringo Starr（林格斯塔）. These four young men quickly swept through the world.

    In the early 1960s, four boyish, handsome and innocent young men sang a bunch of love songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. In the mid-1960s, they started questioning traditional beliefs and values. 1960s was a special period of history with the social movement proceeding at a furious pace. The Beatles discussed topics such as “drug culture”, “youth rebellion”, “sexual revolution” and “gay rights.”

    Due to the Cold War and the failure of Korean War and Vietnam War, American teenagers lost their faith in the country and their future, immersing themselves in a world full of drugs, sex and emptiness. That’s when the Beatles appealed to them with sincere and the spirit of “love and peace”. Some people say, “they are not only rock stars, but philosophers.”

    In order to let the Beatles’ fans go back to the 60s and recapture the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, a group of people with achievements in music and visual arts in Taiwan join effort in putting together “The Beatles, Tomorrow” exhibition, running from December 18 to March 9, 2015, at Huashan Creative Park（華山文創園區）.

Behind-the-scene Beatles are here!

“The Beatles, Tomorrow” displays the photos taken during the Beatles performances on stage and behind-the-scene photos.

    Yu ru-Shih（施俞如）, a staff member of the exhibition, said that many loyal fans lined up to wait for the exhibition to open and have already exchanged for wooden boxes.

    From the first zone “It all began with a student band” to the final zone “Things we said today”, the exhibition tells everything the visitors should know about the Beatles in details and all the fans can easily feel the charm of the Beatles.

    One of the guides at the exhibition Jamie is visually disabled and she shares the legacy of the Beatles in her own way. Jamie added, their music influences people deeply and their music has enlightened many bands nowadays. “I’m not an expert, I just love the Beatles,” she said.

    In addition to the rich contents of the exhibition, the organizers also sell various merchandises of the Beatles

Associate Professor of Shih Hsin Graduate School of Society Development, Hsin-hsing Chen（陳信行）, has paid close attention to Western pop music culture.

Q1：Why were they so popular, even inspired the trend of rock ‘n’ roll in America at that time? What’s your opinion on “Beatlemania”?

Chen：I think Beatlemania only happened in some countries, including America, Britain, Japan, Canada, France and Germany. The song “Imagine,” composed by John Lennon, was an example of the Beatles paying attentions to the politics and voicing their belief in anti-war and pacifism. They were like the speaker of America’s younger generation at the time.

Q2：What’s the Beatles’ biggest influence to the future world?

Chen：They weren’t apathetic toward the society. Many rock bands just sing many songs and release albums to make money. The Beatles is a band that can be commercial and artistic at the same time. More importantly, they showed how much they cared about the society through their songs.

Shiang Tzao（禚祥）, a 26-year-old graduate student at Fu Jen University（輔仁大學）.

Q1: Who is your favorite member of the Beatles?

Tzao: John Lennon. Not only because he is the leader of the Beatles, but he also created such unique ways to present rock ‘n’ roll.

Q2: Does the spirit of them substantially affect you?

Tzao: Absolutly. The Beatles have been a symbol of subculture and innovation. I have started to view this world with more spacious mind and various angles just like theirs since I was 16. With recent demonstrations and social movements like Sunflower Movement in Taiwan and Occupy Central with Love and Peace in Hong Kong, I think that’s why “the Beatles, Tomorrow” is held recently. The group’s music and spirit of resistance still inspire our generation.

Q3: Which is your favorite song of the Beatles? Why?

Tzao: Well, I basically love all of them, but the most special song to me is “Revolution”. This song criticizes autocracy and authority, and the lyrics perfectly convey the idea with great melody.

Chih-yuan Chiu（邱智遠）, a junior student majoring in speech communication at Shih Hsin University（世新大學）.

Q1: What do you think is the reason why the Beatles are able to influence the whole world for such a long time?

Chiu: Their music undoubtedly broadens a special vision of rock ballad. Not only did they sing life and ideas out loud, but also created vivid symbol of innovation.  Nowadays, many bands and their songs are too standardized and I think that is why the Beatles music, formless and free, is still affecting this world.

Q2: Which is your favorite song of the Beatles? Why?

Chiu: I like “In My Life”, which Lennon declared that it was the first song written about himself. Moreover, most people know the cover of their album “Abbey Road” but have never listened to it. The weird thing is that many people say that they love the Beatles, but they can only name songs like “Hey, Jude” and “Let it be”. What I mean is, come on, every song of them is worth listening, isn’t it?