The Beatles Anthology

August '64 to August '65 (1x4)

: 19, 1995

Success, well earned, in the struggles for recognition, is now assumed as a natural state. All the records are number one, both singles and albums and educated America is now in thrall to them. The Beatles sweep through the great US cities, drawing tens of thousands to airports for the merest glimpse. They play for now more than half an hour per concert. A Hard Day's Night has guaranteed them star status in the cinema and they laughed their way through Help! in Technicolor. Paul dreams he has written Yesterday - and has. They are the first group to play a baseball stadium, Shea in New York, breaking records for crowd fever, numbers and good cheer. Oh, and they go to Buckingham Palace to receive medals from the Queen and, by now, more or less accept it as their due. They are, however, as happy and polite as can be. Life is now almost fun, albeit with a strand of stress now slicing through it...