Was there a Beatles 'backlash' in the late 70s??

Let's not forget that George Harrison had music all over the radio in the late 70s, too.

In 1979, Capitol Records (again) tried to pass off some new band this time, The Knack, as the "new" Beatles, even revived the swirl label for "My Sharona". I wonder how that record went.

 

I think a lot of the the New Wave bands kinda resurrected a 60's type of sound, the Romantics, things coming from Bomp records and many other bands.

 

Not really. He charted four singles in the decade's last five years, none of which got past #16.

 

Definitely not in the UK - or not for me as a 12 year old.
The BBC showed the Beatles films on TV, it spiked massive interest.

 

Beatlesque? The Clash? Not really

 

Got To Get You Into My Life was re-released as a single in 1976 (I think) and it was a HUGE radio hit.

Perhaps that isnt the late 70s.

 

Think around 1976, I think it was competing with a current Wings song.

 

I was pretty much a low-key Beatles fan since the late 60's and had friends at the time of AR and LIB who were into the Beatles. By the time I hit high school in 1976, very few listened to the Beatles anymore. At that time, I made a big decision to stop following Star Trek and go Beatles full bore. It was not easy, as I had no friends who were into the Beatles. I found two others younger than me that were into it and that was it. As I recall, there was no Beatles backlash, just no interest, they were oldies by then. Most of the high school were into either rock with Led Zeppelin, Foghat, Yes, Eagles, Steve Miller Band or into soul (Earth Wind and Fire, O'Jays, Spinners) just to name a few. I took my summer job money and bought many Beatles albums in one purchase in 1976 (Capitol albums with the Apple label). When 1977 rolled in, the Imports were being sold, and Beatles For Sale was my first choice.

 

well maybe my memory is faulty and its just another punk album ( no shame in that btw ) i'll just have to play London Calling again but my recollection was it was the Clash at their most melodic and their finest hour imho but i could be wrong i spose, maybe my memory serves me poorly, mind you i doubt I've played it for 30 years but in 1979 i doubt it was ever off my turntable !....

 

indeed, George was a spent force for many years sadly after he left EMI....

 

I think you're correct - it was the White Album of punk albums!

 

I don't know. I wasn't around. But it would make sense: The punks had come along with their anti-everything attitude...especially anti-melody, obviously the New-Wave and Romantics reinstated that and made it hip again but looking at the musical climate of, say, 76-79, it wasn't the most fruitful time to be a Beatles fan.

The whole 'Macca = insipid' attitude started to first rear its head, John had withdrawn completely and seemed to be briefly forgotten (which I'm sure he didn't have a problem with), George was growing sick of the record business, occasionally throwing out an album of 'nice' tunes when he wanted, but these certainly were not reinventing the wheel (disclaimer: I love George's late 70's stuff), and poor ol' Ringo was completely left behind after the brief taste of solo success in '73, even worse that was was probably too loaded to even notice/care.

I don't know about 'backlash' per se, but there definitely seemed to be a period where I'm sure Beatles fans must have had a bitter taste left in their mouths.

This eternal nostalgia the world now holds for The Beatles is truly wonderful. Its just such a shame it took a cataclysmic event like John's death to initiate it.

 

And The Beatles have 20 US number ones to Elvis's 18 - in Australia it's 24-10.

Beatles Ballads topped the charts in 1980 - and IIRC they had a greatest hits album (The Number Ones?) that also went to number one around that time.

I also got into The Beatles around 1980 and I remember plenty of kids at school (grade 9/10 in the early 80's) were also fans.

 

Would it be fair to say that 1971 and 1972 were pretty lean years? Not much nostalgia for Beatles yet, not much going on solo yet for Paul, acrimony in the press, litigation in courts, etc. Plus so much great music from T. Rex, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Rolling Stones, The Who, etc.

 

1971 was pretty good year for the solo Beatles, I think all had some success, 1972 was much weaker.

 

No
The Beatles were huge
Beatlemania on Broadway selling out daily..... offers of 50 million for 1 concert
Airplay everywhere on the radio
Back catalog and compilations selling well

Just cause some random idiot makes a comment on the internet it's worthy of a thread ?
No no no !!!

 

actually i rate it even higher than the White Album !!

 

It's interesting that people keep citing the Beatlemania show as an example of there being no backlash. A lot of popular, well-selling things actually inspire a backlash. I remember SNL mocking the Beatlemania show kind of heavily. I also remember it being a thing for moms and dads that kids and teens kind of rolled their eyes at.

If you lived in a very insulated bubble of admirers of 60s acts, you probably didn't notice the general distaste that the Sgt Pepper movie and "phony" Beatlemania and K-Tel style "Movie Medley" kind of products inspired in the late 70s and early 80s. It probably wasn't a proper "backlash" but more of a distaste. It seemed that no one was actively managing the legacy and they were on the verge of velvet wall decoration style tacky overexposure.

 

The late 70s and early 80s saw the increasing popularity of new wave, punk rock, disco, glam and various other new genres of pop music. This, combined with some amount of Beatles burn-out, pushed them into the background of our cultural consciousness for a while. After Lennon's assassination, when it became obvious that we would never have the four of them together again, the mythology truly began to take shape.

 

Every adult I know that has an active dislike of The Beatles is within a very specific age range (born between about 1960 and 1965), making them the right age for punk/new wave.

 

I agree. 'London Calling' wasn't a punk record at all. It was more of an exploration of rock 'n' roll, with some late 50s/early 60s elements as well as some reggae elements. It's quite diverse, and the best work of The Clash in my opinion. As another user pointed out, it's their White Album.

Their first 2 punk records are both great, but 'London Calling' showed remarkable growth both artistically and musically.

 

Ha yeah him and all the other ex-Beatles.

 

I can't speak for what high school students or teenyboppers thought at the time, but if there was a backlash among the general public I didn't see it. There was an overall ebb of interest in the pop music of the '60's at that time. The big boomer wave of oldies nostalgia didn't arrive until the '80's, and with very few exceptions it was hard to hear any '60's top 40 music on the radio or buy it in record stores. I also think people were finally giving up hope for a Beatles reunion. Most sadly, what jolted The Beatles back onto the general public's radar screen in a big way was John's murder in December, 1980. That's not to say that anything with a Beatles imprint didn't sell very well before that - Live at the Hollywood Bowl, Reel Music and Rarities, to name three examples, IIRC were quite successful.

 

No backlash. The red and blue albums were selling well and there were constant rumors of a reunion. The solo careers were an entirely different matter.

 

Have to disagree there, muff; for my money, he made the best solo albums from '76-'87. '33&1/3' was class, as was 'George Harrison'; I even like 'Gone Troppo'. No backlash in the UK; Wings always had top five singles and albums (with very few exceptions). Strangely, Lennon struggled to have the big hit single in the UK. Until the aftermath of his death, his biggest hit here was 'Give Peace A Chance' from 1969. There were The Beatles' singles reissues here in '76, too, several of which made the top twenty, 'Yesterday' making number 6. 'Hollywood Bowl' was number one here and the'Rock 'N' Roll Music' comp was a hit , too. No, no backlash here.