The Swinging Sixties

Helpful Tools

  • Add to My UKTV
  • Send to a friend
  • Comment on this feature
  • Print this page
  • The Sixties; The Beatles Decade is off air
  • Remind me
 

The Beatles Timeline

Chart The Beatles' rise and fall alongside the rise and fall of a momentous decade.

1960

January
  • Despite having no musical ability, Stuart Sutcliffe is recruited to play bass by fellow art student John Lennon in his group The Quarrymen, which includes Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

    March-April
  • The Quarrymen change their name to The Beatles.

    May
  • In a flurry of activity the group recruit drummer Tommy Moore and part-time manager, Allan Williams, which helps them secure a one-off gig as backing group to crooner Johnny Gentle.

  • The band change their name to the Silver Beatles.

    5th May: American U2 spy-plane shot down over Russia

    June-July
  • The band play a string of gigs around Liverpool and make a further small but significant typographical change to become The Silver Beatles.

    August
  • Pete Best becomes the band's full-time drummer. The band travel to Hamburg in Germany to take up a 48-night residency at Bruno Koschmider's Indra club.

  • They drop the Silver from their name to become The Beatles.

    September-November
  • In Hamburg, the naive young band are quickly immersed in a whirlwind of drink and drugs, sometimes playing for six hours per night, often as a warm-up act to strippers. Despite the gruelling conditions, they quickly sharpen up their act to become a tight and powerful rock 'n' roll outfit with a large repertoire of songs.

    20 October: Obscenity trial over plans to publish Lady Chatterley's Lover

    9 November:
  • JFK elected president of the United States

    December
  • The stay in Hamburg comes to an abrupt end when 17-year old Harrison is deported for being underage. The band return to the UK minus Stuart Sutcliffe, who opts to remain in Germany with his new girlfriend, artist Astrid Kirchherr.

    Saturday Night And Sunday Morning, La Dolce Vita, The Magnificent Seven were all released at the cinema
    • 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next
     
     

    When is it on?

    • The Sixties; The Beatles Decade is currently off air. Remind me when it is next on.
     

    Your Comments

     

    Related Articles

    • The 60s: In Pictures

      Miniskirts, Marilyn and the moon landing. Picture the moments that made a decade...

    • The Beatles

      Profiles, games, quizzes, timelines, trivia and loads more on the Fab Four...

     
     

    Our Programmes

    In UKTV History

    UKTV Essentials


    History On TV Now

    History  All UKTV