The Beatles Flag

Black text on the British flag over white background. 

The Beatles were an English rock band that formed in Liverpool in 1960. With four members - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr - they became widely regarded as the greatest and most influential act of the rock era. The Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. They acquired the nickname "the Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market.