The Beatles: Made on Merseyside

(Image credit: Granger/REX/Shutterstock)

BBC4 reveals how one Liverpool band went from fairly drab to simply Fab in The Beatles: Made on Merseyside

How American rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues dragged post-war Liverpool into one of the most vibrant music cities ever in BBC4's – The Beatles: Made on Merseyside

Long before John Lennon declared they were more popular than Jesus, The Beatles were just another Liverpool band.

They weren’t even the most popular, often third on the bill to Howie Casey and Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

PAUL MCCARTNEY GEORGE HARRISON RINGO STARR &amp; JOHN LENNON HELP! THE BEATLES (1965) — The Beatles in 1965

It took five years for them to become the biggest band in the world, and this documentary charts that journey.

Even their gigs in Hamburg, the band’s turning point, nearly didn’t happen.

Rory Storm and Gerry and the Pacemakers were busy, so promoter Alan Williams asked The Beatles… the rest is history.

With some great archive footage and reminiscences from those who knew them, this is also a love letter to 1960s Liverpool.

TV Times rating: ****

CATEGORIES

As TV Times Highlights Editor I get to hear about all the latest TV shows coming soon. Here at TVT HQ we are in the privileged position of selecting the best programmes from across all the channels and streaming platforms. Our mission is to make it easier for our readers to decide what to watch - and give them lots of choice of genres - all the latest shows, plus some nostalgic choices we call hidden gems, too. My career began with a postgraduate degree in periodical journalism (ahem, yes old school!) in 1991 and I’ve worked in TV media since 2000.