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BBC 4
May 30, 2015 22:39:28 GMT
Post by pothos on May 30, 2015 22:39:28 GMT
Did a lovely piece on the history of fandom in music and one of the first topics they covered was The Beatles (obviously) Made an interesting point that up until 1966 when they were touring the perception was that there fan base was mainly girls. After they decided to stop on focus on studio work the fan mail became more male oriented. I gather it is only an anecdotal observation but was there any truth in that.
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henryj
For A Number Of Things
Posts: 792
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BBC 4
May 31, 2015 12:18:01 GMT
Post by henryj on May 31, 2015 12:18:01 GMT
I wouldn't know, but I'm guessing that more girls than boys attended their concerts, but that album purchases were more like 50/50 all along. When the New Kids on the Block played in New Orleans recently, the online newspaper had pictures from the concert, including pictures of the audience. The audience appeared 90% female (and typically late 30s and early 40s).
In fact, my daughter in law attended, but not my son.
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BBC 4
May 31, 2015 15:02:10 GMT
Post by Amadeus on May 31, 2015 15:02:10 GMT
When the music got more experimental and different, that tends to appeal more to guys, interested in the cool factor, the technical recording stuff or the unusual instrumentation. Not always but that's a true generalisation. I saw an interview with Tony Banks of Genesis and he was saying that it was mainly blokes at the concerts when their music was more complex, proggy and demanding but when they had their first hit single in '78, a simple-ish love song, they noticed that more girls started turning up at the shows.
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BBC 4
May 31, 2015 15:42:01 GMT
Post by pothos on May 31, 2015 15:42:01 GMT
I thought the show tried to explain fandom really well and how it is a massive part of the industry. Worth the watch.
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BBC 4
May 31, 2015 16:32:09 GMT
Post by bluemeaniepaul74 on May 31, 2015 16:32:09 GMT
The percentages between the girls and boys may have changed within different cultures too, as is evident in this Beatles interview from 64 in which they talk about their trip to Paris. Just jump forward to the 2.00 mark on the video to watch the interview
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BBC 4
May 31, 2015 22:42:05 GMT
Post by pothos on May 31, 2015 22:42:05 GMT
Was there really anti Beatles movements.
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BBC 4
Jun 2, 2015 9:30:34 GMT
Post by brewmaster on Jun 2, 2015 9:30:34 GMT
Pothos, apparently so, although it was a stunt: "My dad was the publicist WT Rabe, the man behind World Sauntering Day, Silent Records, Word Banishment, Unicorn Hunting, Stone Skipping, and many other old-fashioned PR events that brought reflected glory to his clients, the University of Detroit, Lake Superior State College, Mackinac Island, and Grand Hotel. He also invented and hosted the world's most durable radio quiz show, Ask the Professor. In 1964, in preparation for the Beatles' arrival for a concert in Detroit, my dad convinced a University of Detroit student, Peter Murphy, a clean cut lad with a crew cut, to front a movement called "Stamp Out the Beatles." As Murphy told the Wall Street Journal in 1999, "I was at a basketball practice. (Rabe) comes in. 'Peter, do you want to get involved in a crazy scheme?' I said, 'Sure!' ... I had no idea it was going to be so big. It's like picking Microsoft as the first stock you buy." The prank worked. When the band arrived in New York, someone asked what they thought about the movement to stamp out the Beatles, and they replied, "We're going to stamp out Detroit!" Source this websitePothos, I'm going to watch that program on the BBC I-Player, sounds good.
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BBC 4
Jun 2, 2015 21:41:21 GMT
Post by pothos on Jun 2, 2015 21:41:21 GMT
Let me know what you think of it.
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BBC 4
Jun 2, 2015 22:12:32 GMT
Post by brewmaster on Jun 2, 2015 22:12:32 GMT
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BBC 4
Jun 3, 2015 9:28:05 GMT
Post by brewmaster on Jun 3, 2015 9:28:05 GMT
By the way, I found the discussion on girls screaming at Beatles concerts to be interesting. There was no screaming at the Cavern, and I actually think it started outside of Liverpool, then spread everywhere.
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BBC 4
Jun 3, 2015 10:50:52 GMT
Post by pothos on Jun 3, 2015 10:50:52 GMT
See that is something I always thought was odd. In the clips I have seen whether it was of the Beatles or Rory Storm at The cavern, you see the audience listening attentively and being rather cool (as in hip). If that was replicated in the other clubs it must have been magical to have seen those bands in those settings.
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BBC 4
Jun 5, 2015 9:27:54 GMT
Post by brewmaster on Jun 5, 2015 9:27:54 GMT
That whole screaming girls thing was fascinating, because it is not dependent on talent. Sometimes, as with the Beatles they follow the best in the world, but later examples, such as Bros show that the girls are really attracted to something other than the music. Back when the Beatles were touring they could go to a town for the first time, and the venue would be packed with girls, who had never screamed at a band before, seemingly spontaneously deciding to scream, cry and lose bladder control. This wasn't a case of copying others, because until this had happened regularly it didn't get reported.This was well before "social media", in fact, most homes didn't have a phone, so there was no direct communication. There was a sort of Gestalt effect among the fans all over the country.
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