Were the Beatles just a boy band in the beginning?

[Astrid Kirchherr65]

Originally Posted by Magic apples and oranges! proto-boy band according to history. As stated earlier the definition for "boy band" was not created until the 1990's, and yes The Beatles have always been the influence........ Again, I rest my case. Anyone else want to gang bang me??? I said proto, cant you read!!! proto means earliest form of...... Cant you just be happy the Beatles have another "first" to put on on their resume'.

Magic , I think in alot of ways your right imo..I'm not afraid to admit they had that boy band thing going

they DID hide John Lennon's marriage to Cynthia Powell and her pregnacy for a reason ? In 1966 it was a bit the moral issues, however it was more John Lennon's appeal to the ladies would be damaged if folks found out his martial status ..thats pretty 'BOY BAND ' to me ?

You said proto , not completely that they were..they did market them as such for a longtime/which is one thing that made both George and John very miserable . They were seriously sick of the screaming !

anyway I need to spray my beehive.

[DaKillerWolf]

OBVIOUSLY NOT . The Beatles were an early /mid sixties rock band that
cut their teeth playing gigs in Germany while on speed wearing leather jackets . They wrote their own and played their own tunes .Tunes that were not considered "fluffy" at the time that they were playing them and they played twice as fast and hard when playing live .
Not to mention none of them had boy band "looks" other then maybe Paul .

The whole idea is utterly insane IMO .

[Magic]

Originally Posted by Flower The Beatles were never manufactured and that is what all real boy bands have in common. The Beatles were not even the first to market themselves in the music (or other) industries (marketing to teens began in 1920 according to the link I posted earlier in this thread) but I agree that they were the prototype for modern day marketing and merchandising to a certain degree. I don't remember posting anything about t-shirts and I doubt if any band, including the Beatles has the variety and volume of merchandise that KISS does. Earlier you mentioned marketing of items as a factor .. sorry, if I misunderstood your post. I took it to mean that you thought that marketing and merchandising was a factor in the Beatles being a template for boy bands. I didn't know that this was a political debate but the fact is that there were teen idols including Elvis Presley before the Beatles.

yes you did post a link to a T-shirt site..

Define manufactured.......what does that mean to you in music?

dont post a wiki definition.....that would be too easy


Marketing happens for all musicians as far back as the 1800's.......it is the domographic group the Beatles were marketed to that makes them a proto-boy band. They were marketed to teenagers!

The Beatles: The Original Boy Band

[Foxhound]

Magic:

The title of the article to which you linked is completely misleading. Not only does the article present no argument for the Beatles being a boy band, it instead sets out a pretty good case that they weren't a boy band.

I may have to redo this poll so you can't evade the question with this proto-boy band business.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Magic They came out with all kinds of merchandise that was for teenagers, which was marketed by a company called Selteab. (if I am not mistaken, this company was set up originally just for the Beatles). They marketed belts, badges, sweaters, hats, bobble heads, and all types of novelty items. These items were definitely aimed at the teen demographic.

^^^

Originally Posted by Flower Earlier you mentioned marketing of items as a factor .. sorry, if I misunderstood your post. I took it to mean that you thought that marketing and merchandising was a factor in the Beatles being a template for boy bands.

Originally Posted by Magic yes you did post a link to a T-shirt site..

^^^

Originally Posted by Flower I don't remember posting anything about t-shirts and I doubt if any band, including the Beatles has the variety and volume of merchandise that KISS does.

I posted a link to a KISS site where there are 100's of different KISS items in response to your first remark .. I don't have the time or patience to clarify my question .. If the Beatles are a boy band because of merchandising, then my conclusion from what you first posted (right or wrong) would be that KISS is an even greater boy band.

Originally Posted by annie Marketing a band is not the same as manufacturing a band to market. Music marketing, like all other marketing, is a profession by itself and a huge part of the music business, and if that is the criterion, then all male musicians should be called boy bands.

Spot on ...

Originally Posted by Magic Define manufactured.......what does that mean to you in music? dont post a wiki definition.....that would be too easy

You closed this discussion here ...

Originally Posted by Magic
For every article you find online against the Beatles being a proto-boy band I will find an article in support of the Beatles setting the stage for boy bands.

That statement doesn't leave much room for debate.

As for your response to annie ...

Originally Posted by Magic I said proto, cant you read!!! proto means earliest form of...... Cant you just be happy the Beatles have another "first" to put on on their resume'.

Webster's has NO definition for "proto-boy" ...

Again your response to annie here leaves me in no mood to continue ...

Originally Posted by Magic Again, I rest my case.

Originally Posted by Magic Anyone else want to gang bang me???

This was in your response to annie but I'll pass ...

[Magic]

Originally Posted by Foxhound Magic: The title of the article to which you linked is completely misleading. Not only does the article present no argument for the Beatles being a boy band, it instead sets out a pretty good case that they weren't a boy band. I may have to redo this poll so you can't evade the question with this proto-boy band business.

maybe you should!

The Beatles were influential in the pop music business, whose main demographic audience is tweens.....and I hate to say it, but the Beatles were very influential in pop. They held the top 5 billboard chart spots longer than any band in history. The largest audience for pop music is tweens, which is age 12-20. Boy bands are pop bands, The Beatles were a proto type for the boy bands.

I stand fast........they were a proto type for boy bands. Boy bands pump out pop music. So did the Beatles.

I have not evaded the question.............NO to boy band, yes to proto-boy band. You are asking for a purists answer, and maybe an elitist answer, and there is no such thing for proto.......it means what it means, the Beatles were influential in the defining of boy bands of the 90's.

[Magic]

Originally Posted by Flower .....

Just as I thought, you have no reply that is intelligible. I have not seen any case laid out by you that defines the Beatles as NOT being a proto boy band, therefore, I believe they are. You cant even define 'manufactured', which I find very humorous!



I side with wiki on this one, and wiki has references to back them up.

[rtbuck]

Originally Posted by Astrid Kirchherr65 Just DON'T wet your pants Bucky ! Tuff Leather Clad ? NO ! The Suits of Brian Epsteins influence mehh ,gotta say yeahhh a bit By 1969 on their own ? NO ! No overall , they had their brief tease with teeny booper stuff ,but in the end no

Yeah... I aways tended to get a little out of control in the clubs when a band would cover a Chuck Berry tune so I probably would have piddled myself!!!

[rtbuck]

^^^^To keep up with the thread this should've been read with an english accent which is why I used "Piddled" which I learned from Benny Hill

[Foxhound]

Originally Posted by Magic I stand fast........they were a proto type for boy bands. Boy bands pump out pop music. So did the Beatles.

What's "proto" about that? They then would have been a straightforward boy band.

There's been too many extraneous elements introduced into this boy band versus non-boy band question. Whether they were around or not prior to the term "boy band" being formulated is irrelevant. Whether they play their own instruments or not isn't the key. Neither is whether they write their own music.

I'm going to cut to the chase. The key defining feature (which overrides anything you may read in Wikipedia or elsewhere) of a "boy band" is whether or not that band targets pubescent girls as its main market. If the Beatles did so, they were a boy band. If pubescent girls just happened to like them but they were not specifically targeting the pubescent girl market, then the Beatles were not a boy band. The question is just that simple.

[Foxhound]

Originally Posted by Annie Many bands have been or are aimed at teens and are followed by screaming girls, but many of them play instruments and write songs. So screaming girls do not define a boy band nor does marketing.

No. I completely disagree. It is indeed the marketing that is the key. If their target market was indeed pubescent girls, they were a boy band. And my poll options precisely linked the boy band concept to the targetting of pubescent girls.

[Foxhound]

So in effect Magic has presented arguments that indicate the Beatles were a boy band but then attempts to evade that conclusion by calling them a proto-boy band.

Annie argues that the Beatles were not a boy band but presents no arguments dealing with the crux of that issue.

And then all the women are snippy with each other.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Magic ...... dont post a wiki definition.....that would be too easy

Originally Posted by Magic I side with wiki on this one, and wiki has references to back them up.

Sorry .. I had to rotflmao at that ... You also keep posting "case closed" ...

I take that phrase to mean that you don't want to discuss this any longer ...

Btw ~ There's a major difference between "can't" and "won't" .. as in replying to illogical posts.

Originally Posted by Foxhound And then all the women are snippy with each other.

Foxhound ... I think that it's you who needs a snip ..

[Cosmic Harmony]

Oh lordy lordy. It's so heated in this thread that I'm absolutely dying. Can we please turn on the air conditioner?

Originally Posted by ladyislingering From what I've read in the past, they were a rock group to begin with - studio sessions toned their music down significantly, in fact. I mean, sure, you had the screaming girls, but what girl in her right mind could resist? ;D

What can I say? I'm not a screamer.







In relation to the topic, I think I'd side with Magic.

[annie]

We shut down the serious discussions forum because of fights like this, so I think it is time to shut down this thread.

p.s. the NO's won so that is the end of the story.