They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first modest hit, 'Love Me Do', in late 1962.

Manager Brian Epstein moulded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. The band built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period from 1960. In the early 1960s, their enormous popularity first emerged as 'Beatlemania', but as their songwriting grew in sophistication, they came to be perceived by many fans and cultural observers as an embodiment of the ideals shared by the era's sociocultural revolutions.

Rooted in skiffle and 1950s rock and roll, the Beatles later utilized several genres, ranging from pop ballads to psychedelic rock, often incorporating classical elements in innovative ways. Their best-known lineup, consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, became the greatest and most influential act of the rock era, introducing more innovations into popular music than any other rock band of the 20th century. The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960.