When Fans Go Wild

Everyone, Americans and Europeans alike, have heard-of, if not grown off of, a generation and culture started by an ensemble of four shaggy-haired Liverpool musicians that the world went mad over; no one can deny that no greater event impacted today's pop culture than "Beatlemania". But not everyone has heard the story behind the Beatles, who were they? How did they become the band and how did they make it big? What's the story of their struggle?

As with any reasonable fan base, there exist varying levels of intensity among fan-level. Those who felt they were on the moderate side of the spectrum vehemently denounced the notion that they compared in any way to their extreme counterparts. One survey participant reassured me that she was no “stan”. The term “stan” refers to the Eminem single from his third album. The song depicted the fictional story of a fan, so enamored with Eminem, that he emulated the lyrics from his song and applied them to his life. The guy even goes as far as to commit the crimes that Eminem has fictitiously illustrated, culminating with a serious reprimand: don’t take the art too seriously because it is just art. Since the song’s release, the term “stan” has been used to describe overzealous fans, usually as a form of slander. Among fan communities, “stan” is a derogatory term. I thought that it was significant and interesting that one would go so far to distance themselves from a particular behavior or mindset. From the pool of interviews, I selected three specific entrees that best typified the level of fandom from my sample. I had the hardcore reactive fan, hardcore proactive fan and the internalized fan.

On February 9, 1964, Over 45% of America (roughly 73 million people) watched the Beatles’ debut US performance on the Ed Sullivan show. By the next morning, they had become the next big thing in America. Celebrities and schoolchildren alike were wearing Beatles wigs so that they could imitate their new favorite musical act. They had brought a cheeky sense of humor, long recognizable hair, and a new upbeat pop sound that appealed to the general public. By April 6, they owned the top five hits on the billboard hot 100 list. At one point, the Beatles sang 14 of the Billboard top 100 songs in the country. On the Billboard top selling albums list, they owned the top two albums on the billboard charts at the same time. They won two Grammy’s for 1964: one for best new artist and one for best group performance. They toured in Britain, Australia, and a blockbuster North American tour. Women wanted them and men wanted to be like them. Their fame was completely unrivaled. And that was their success simply in the sphere of music. (Kaplan, 2004).

It is certainly no new idea that fans can be quite just that: fanatic. In the case of Tokio Hotel, however, that fanaticism reaches a whole new level. Bill Kaulitz, the band’s singer, was once dragged out of his hotel room by his fans. He was even almost arrested by the police, even though the fiasco wasn’t even his fault. Thankfully, it didn’t go that far. In another instance, a fan tried to prevent Gustav Schaefer, the band’s drummer, from leaving their hotel room by being naked in the band’s room. The life of a musician is often crazy, but in the case of Tokio Hotel, it wasn’t because of

The Beatles started as an English skiffle group in the late 1950s. By the time they reached their peak popularity, the term “Beatlemania” was coined to explain the frenzied obsession with the group. A former associate editor from Rolling Stone drew a comparison between the Beatles and Picasso, calling them “artists that broke through their time period to come up with something that was unique and original.” Throughout their discography, the Beatles have time and time again released music that both broke musical trends and engrossed the masses. They have held an “unprecedented top five spots on the

After this the Liverpool’s rock group who was rapidly growing in popularity around the world was accumulating the following of primarily large youth groups. The Beatles had a certain artistic view that was applicable and appealing to the younger generation who witnessed their performance and this was gaining with each record that was sold. With the craze from this new British rock group came what is known as “Beatlemania”. Teenagers were hysterical to meet the famed Liverpudlians. Concerts were almost always sold out, “Beatle wigs” were sold, boys grew their hair to gain the “mop-top” look, and contests were produced to reward the winner a meeting with their favorite Beatle. However, John Lennon made a remark after an interview stating, “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” This did not settle well with Christians throughout America. Beatles’ records were burned, their music was taken off radio stations, interviews were dropped, and even some concerts were cancelled. But this only made them more popular than they already were. Commercialism was a great deal of the Beatles’ success, that, and once their fan base was large enough, it was easy to become an influence.

A statement by John Lennon in March, comparing the popularity of the Beatles to that of Jesus Christ, results in wide-spread Beatles record burnings and protests. Lennon's comments regarding what he perceives as a decrease in Christianity's popularity with teens are taken out of context. He says, "We're more popular than Jesus now."

However, before, this would not be considered acceptable. The Beatles gained fans everywhere they went. When arriving to the United States they attended the “Ed Sullivan Show” being watched by over more than 34 percent of the American

In 1966, when it was reported that John Lennon claimed that the Beatles were bigger than God, outrage ensued and they became boycotted throughout the United States. 50 years and 600 million albums sold later, most music enthusiasts and what one could consider Classic Rock junkies would not hesitate to agree with the statement. Like much of the religious public that boycotted the Beatles during the "Bigger than Jesus" controversy, their fans assemble as a cult and turn fiercely defensive when the comparison between the Beatles and a boyband is made. Yet, most people tend to resort to ignoring their foundations which heavily focus on being marketable puppets fabricated to appeal to the female crowds. When taking such aspect of their career

It’s no secret that The Beatles were the biggest media sensation in the United States when they made their American debut. Upon their arrival, the Beatles wore sharply tailored suits and cast themselves as adorable, accessible teen heartthrobs. But by the end of the decade, they had grown out of the suits and moptops and into a mature, individual image and unique sound. This paper will look at and discuss this change and how their evolution was reflected in the U.S. media.

Introduction 1: In the article, “Bieber Fever Hits Liverpool” it explains how Justin Bieber was a soloist, while the Beatles were a band.

Since the release of the single «Please Please Me / Ask Me Why» in 1963, the group began climbing to success, giving rise to their creativity global phenomenon - Beatlemania. This term is describing the state of strong and madness love to The Beatles group from their fans. From the usual huge popularity Beatlemania different by atmosphere of hysteria that were rising up every time when musicians were on stage or simply in public. Often, during the concerts it was impossible to hear the music because of the noise from fans. The Beatles brought something new with them; it was a revolution that had a huge impact on society.

This approach to fandom is another common stream in the literature, something Sean McCloud (2003) once dubbed “parallelomania.” “Parallelomania” stems from the tendency of Fandom-as-Religion scholars to draw endless parallels between popular culture and religion and fandom and religion (see McCloud 2003). One location where Cavicchi examines this parallel is through “becoming-a-fan” narratives, something not well understood in fandom studies (see Duffett 2013a; Hills 2014; Sandvoss 2005; and also Harrington and Bielby 1995). Cavicchi likens such narratives to a conversion experience “or significant change in one’s attitude and behaviour toward the music and image of Springsteen” (1998, 42). Fans, he claims, “use the idea of conversion in specifically

In pop culture, others such as hip-hop culture and Latin culture co-exist and influence one another by the tune. Therefore, pop culture is not specifically narrowed down to being white. In music, the artists sometimes use other culture’s style to get the inspiration for their new music by bringing different feelings to the listeners. Not only that, something new and refreshing is good; It keeps fans and listeners interested and intrigued by providing something more refreshing. This keeps their music from becoming bland and fans becoming bored. By mixing music from different cultures together, it creates a new sound; Something unique. For instance, Justin Bieber is a young white pop star, but by growing up as Usher’s protégé, his dance moves contain an urban twist to it, therefore he is a successful black pop artist. Over the past few years, Justin Bieber’s style started to become influenced by other cultures. When he first started off his career, he used to wear simple clothing such as plain t-shirts with jeans and a basic pair of sneakers. As time flies by, he became more popular and began to collaborate with other artists from different cultures. Eventually, his wardrobe changed completely to a street style. Ripped jeans, sagging pants, headbands, baggy t-shirts are examples of clothing

It was 1967 when the Beatles became huge. Everyone, mostly the elders, were confused on how a band can become so big in such little time (Aronowitz 1). The six band members, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best were constantly on a plane going to perform somewhere. They were the most known band at the time and their fans, “Beatlemania” showed nothing but love and support for them. These six talented men were completely run out of energy by the end of each week but they could not let their fans down. There was no time to take breaks. It was the beginning of 1963 when the Beatles got announced to be the first American recording industry to sell over millions of albums (Gilmore 4). Many years passed on and the Beatles were still performing and making the world a happier place for their fans. America always said the Beatles were gonna engulf new generations, and they figured out it was true when it was the end of 2012 and they sold $71 million on music (Brown 1). It was not just regular music, it was meaningful music that the Beatles wrote to share the message that there is so much good in life you just need to live to find it. Shortly after the Beatles sold millions of their albums it was said that the president just got murdered. After the band and the rest of America heard about the devastating death of John F Kennedy, the Beatles came to the conclusion it was time to make a change even though no one knew if it was a rumor or not (Gilmore 4).