Tap an album to walk into its room, or press Start the show and we’ll take you through all 13!
Act 1 · 1963–64
Beatlemania
Matching collarless suits, floppy mop-top haircuts, screaming fans and black-and-white TV.
In this act: Please Please Me, With the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night, Beatles for Sale
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 1 of 13 · March 1963 · 14 songs
Please Please Me
The very first Beatles album, made in just one day!
Fun fact
John had a bad cold that day. They saved Twist and Shout for last because all that shouting would hurt his voice. He sang it in one go!
- I Saw Her Standing There
- Please Please Me
- Love Me Do
- Twist and Shout
Tell me more
The story
In February 1963 the Beatles walked into a studio in London called Abbey Road. They played their songs almost like a live concert, and by the end of the day they had recorded most of an album.
Listen for
Listen for the count-in at the very start: “One, two, three, four!” It sounds like the band is right there in the room with you.
On the cover
The four Beatles lean over a stairwell railing and look down at the camera.
Big word
Album: A collection of songs that come out together, like chapters in a book.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 2 of 13 · November 1963 · 14 songs
With the Beatles
Beatlemania begins! Fans everywhere went wild.
Fun fact
Please Please Me was number one in Britain for 30 weeks in a row. The only album that could knock it off the top was this one, their own new album!
- All My Loving
- It Won’t Be Long
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Please Mister Postman
Tell me more
The story
By the end of 1963, the Beatles were the most famous band in Britain. Fans screamed so loudly at concerts that the band could not hear themselves play. People called it “Beatlemania.”
Listen for
Listen to how the voices stack up on top of each other. That is called harmony, and the Beatles loved it.
On the cover
Four faces in black and white, each half in shadow.
Big word
Harmony: Two or more people singing different notes at the same time that sound good together.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 3 of 13 · July 1964 · 13 songs
A Hard Day’s Night
Their first movie, and every song written by the band.
Fun fact
The name came from Ringo. After a long, tiring day he said it had been “a hard day…” then noticed it was dark and added “…’s night!”
- A Hard Day’s Night
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- And I Love Her
- I Should Have Known Better
Tell me more
The story
In 1964 the Beatles starred in a funny movie about a crazy day in their life, running away from screaming fans. The album was the soundtrack. It was the first Beatles album where John and Paul wrote every single song.
Listen for
The title song starts with one big, crashing guitar chord. People still argue about exactly which notes are in it!
On the cover
Rows of little black-and-white photos of the four faces, like strips of film.
Big word
Soundtrack: The music you hear in a movie.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 4 of 13 · December 1964 · 14 songs
Beatles for Sale
A tired band on tour, with an autumn feeling.
Fun fact
The band looks tired on the cover. They were! They had been playing concerts all over the world for months.
- Eight Days a Week
- No Reply
- I’m a Loser
- Rock and Roll Music
Tell me more
The story
The Beatles were touring the world and hardly ever got a day off. They had to make this album in between concerts, so they mixed their own new songs with rock and roll songs they loved from other singers.
Listen for
Eight Days a Week starts quiet and gets louder, as if the band is walking toward you. That trick is called a fade-in.
On the cover
The four Beatles outdoors in autumn, with trees and leaves behind them.
Big word
Cover song: A song first made famous by someone else, played by a new band.
Act 2 · 1965
Growing Up
Suede jackets, folk guitars and a sitar. The songs got more thoughtful.
In this act: Help!, Rubber Soul
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 5 of 13 · August 1965 · 14 songs
Help!
A second movie, full of chases, and a very famous quiet song.
Fun fact
Paul dreamed the tune for Yesterday! Before he had real words, he sang it as “Scrambled eggs…” so he wouldn’t forget it.
- Help!
- Ticket to Ride
- Yesterday
- You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Tell me more
The story
Their second movie, Help!, was an adventure filmed on sunny beaches in the Bahamas and snowy mountains in Austria. The album also has Yesterday, one of the most famous songs ever written.
Listen for
In Yesterday, Paul sings alone with his guitar and four string players. None of the other Beatles play on it.
On the cover
The four Beatles in dark coats against white, waving their arms like flag signals.
Big word
Melody: The tune of a song, the part you can hum.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 6 of 13 · December 1965 · 14 songs
Rubber Soul
The band starts to experiment with new sounds.
Fun fact
George played a sitar on Norwegian Wood. It was one of the first times anyone played a sitar on a pop song.
- Drive My Car
- Norwegian Wood
- Nowhere Man
- In My Life
- Michelle
Tell me more
The story
On Rubber Soul the Beatles started trying new things. The songs became more thoughtful, and they brought new instruments into the studio, like a sitar from India.
Listen for
In the middle of In My Life there is a solo that sounds like an old harpsichord. It is really a piano, recorded slowly and then sped up!
On the cover
A stretched, wobbly photo of the band in brown suede and green leaves, with bendy, balloon-like letters.
Big word
Sitar: A long-necked string instrument from India with a buzzing, twangy sound.
Act 3 · 1966–67
Psychedelic
Bright satin uniforms, moustaches, flowers, swirly colours and studio magic.
In this act: Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 7 of 13 · August 1966 · 14 songs
Revolver
Studio magic: backwards sounds and tape loops.
Fun fact
The cover was drawn in pen and ink by Klaus Voormann, the band’s friend from Germany. It won a Grammy award!
- Taxman
- Eleanor Rigby
- Yellow Submarine
- Here, There and Everywhere
- Tomorrow Never Knows
Tell me more
The story
For Revolver, the recording studio became an instrument. The Beatles and their producer, George Martin, played tapes backwards, sped them up, and looped them to make sounds nobody had heard before.
Listen for
Eleanor Rigby has no guitars or drums at all, just eight string players. Ringo sings Yellow Submarine, full of splashes and bubbly sound effects.
On the cover
A black-and-white pen drawing of the four faces, with tiny cut-out photos tucked into their hair.
Big word
Tape loop: A piece of recording tape joined in a circle so a sound plays over and over.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 8 of 13 · May 1967 · 13 songs
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Beatles pretend to be a whole different band!
Fun fact
It was one of the first pop albums to print all the words of the songs on the back cover, so fans could sing along.
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
- With a Little Help from My Friends
- Getting Better
- When I’m Sixty-Four
- A Day in the Life
Tell me more
The story
The Beatles had stopped doing concerts, so they spent months in the studio. Paul had an idea: what if they pretended to be a make-believe old-time band called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band? They dressed up in bright, shiny uniforms.
Listen for
At the end of A Day in the Life, a whole orchestra climbs from low to high, and then five people hit one giant piano chord together. It rings for about 40 seconds!
On the cover
The band in bright satin uniforms, standing in front of a giant crowd of famous faces cut out of photos, with a flower bed at the front.
Big word
Orchestra: A big group of musicians playing violins, horns, drums and more.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 9 of 13 · November 1967 · 11 songs
Magical Mystery Tour
All aboard a rainbow bus for a surprise trip!
Fun fact
In 1967 the Beatles played All You Need Is Love on the first TV show ever beamed around the world by satellite. Hundreds of millions of people watched!
- Magical Mystery Tour
- The Fool on the Hill
- I Am the Walrus
- Strawberry Fields Forever
- Penny Lane
- Hello, Goodbye
- All You Need Is Love
Tell me more
The story
Magical Mystery Tour was a TV film about a bus trip where anything could happen. The music includes two songs about real places in Liverpool where the Beatles grew up: Penny Lane and Strawberry Field.
Listen for
Strawberry Fields Forever begins with a Mellotron, an early keyboard that played recordings of real flutes stored on strips of tape.
On the cover
The four Beatles dressed in animal costumes against a starry sky, with the title in bright yellow stars.
Big word
Mellotron: A 1960s keyboard where every key played a tape of a real instrument.
Act 4 · 1968–70
Back to Basics
Long hair and beards, plainer clothes, the rooftop concert and the band’s goodbye.
In this act: The Beatles, Yellow Submarine, Abbey Road, Let It Be
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 10 of 13 · November 1968 · 30 songs
The Beatles (The White Album)
A plain white cover hiding 30 songs of every kind.
Fun fact
Martha My Dear has the same name as Paul’s big, fluffy sheepdog, Martha. Early copies of the album had their own number printed on the cover, like a ticket.
- Back in the U.S.S.R.
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
- Blackbird
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Martha My Dear
- Birthday
Tell me more
The story
After the super-colourful Sgt. Pepper, the Beatles surprised everyone with a totally plain white cover. Inside were 30 songs, rock, folk, country, even a lullaby. They wrote many of them on a trip to India.
Listen for
In Blackbird you can hear Paul tapping his foot to keep the beat, and a real blackbird singing near the end.
On the cover
Completely white, with the band’s name pressed into it and hard to see.
Big word
Double album: An album so long it needs two records.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 11 of 13 · January 1969 · 13 songs
Yellow Submarine
The soundtrack to a colourful cartoon adventure under the sea.
Fun fact
Actors did the voices of the cartoon Beatles. The real band only pops up at the very end of the movie.
- Yellow Submarine
- Hey Bulldog
- All Together Now
- It’s All Too Much
Tell me more
The story
Yellow Submarine was an animated movie where cartoon Beatles travel to Pepperland to bring music back and chase away the grumpy Blue Meanies. The album has a few new Beatles songs, and the other side is music for the film by George Martin.
Listen for
All Together Now is a counting and singing-along song. It is perfect for a class to sing together.
On the cover
The cartoon Beatles from the film, in bright pop-art colours, with a yellow submarine.
Big word
Animated: Made from drawings that move, like a cartoon.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 12 of 13 · September 1969 · 17 songs
Abbey Road
The last album the four Beatles recorded together.
Fun fact
George wrote Here Comes the Sun in his friend Eric Clapton’s garden on a sunny spring day. Ringo wrote Octopus’s Garden after a boat trip, when a captain told him octopuses collect shiny stones.
- Come Together
- Something
- Here Comes the Sun
- Octopus’s Garden
- Golden Slumbers
- The End
Tell me more
The story
Abbey Road is named after the street where the Beatles recorded almost all their music. The famous photo on the cover was taken just outside the studio, walking across the road. Today, people from all over the world visit to cross it too.
Listen for
Near the end, a group of short songs flow into each other with no gaps, like one long song. The End has the only drum solo Ringo ever played on a Beatles album.
On the cover
The four Beatles walking in a line across a black-and-white zebra crossing outside the studio.
Big word
Synthesizer: An electronic keyboard that makes brand-new sounds. The Beatles used one called a Moog.
Album artwork © Apple Corps Ltd. / EMI Records. Used for educational purposes.
Room 13 of 13 · May 1970 · 12 songs
Let It Be
The final album, and a surprise concert on a rooftop.
Fun fact
During the rooftop concert, people stopped in the street and climbed onto other roofs to watch. After about 40 minutes, police came up to ask them to turn it down!
- Let It Be
- Get Back
- Two of Us
- Across the Universe
- The Long and Winding Road
Tell me more
The story
Let It Be was recorded in early 1969, before Abbey Road, but came out last. Cameras filmed the band making it. It ends with a surprise concert on the roof of their office in London, their last show ever.
Listen for
Listen for the electric piano in Get Back. It is played by Billy Preston, a friend who joined them in the studio.
On the cover
Four separate square photos, one of each Beatle, on a black background.
Big word
Producer: The person who helps a band make a record sound its best.