The Beatles and the USSR

[Sculpto]

I viewed a very interesting program last night on PBS regarding the Beatles and how they impacted the USSR.  The basic premise was that the Beatles were mroe responsible for the ending of the USSR than any other single factor. 

Power of freedom or something of the sort..

Any thoughts on the concept from any of the ladies who lived in the USSR and might remember the influence of the Fab Four?

[remiel6]

I have heard this same comment come from putins mouth. He stated that there came a point in time where they could not control the youth anymore. The younger generation, now the older generation simply did not believe the same things that thier parents did and this he attributed to the impact of rock music which filted across the border illegally. mainly the beatles. So this is not the first time I have heard this. It is a fascinating idea to me.

long live rock.... lol .... 

[Son of Clyde]

Found this short article online.

As Beatlemania swept throughout the world in 1964, it seemed unable to penetrate the Iron Curtain.

In the Soviet Union, the music of the Beatles was repressed by the government.

Melodiya, the only record manufacturer in the Soviet Union, did not release their music stating "musicians such as these, who have plunged to the depth of musical decline, do not deserve a place on Soviet records".

However, an underground culture grew which used ingenious ways to discover and disseminate the Beatles' music.

Once a Beatles record had been smuggled into the country - a particularly difficult and dangerous task - it was quickly copied and distributed.

Vinyl production was under strict control, so records were made using the high quality film of medical X-rays.

If you held an underground record up to the light - negative images of broken bones were visible!

Electric guitars were banned but home-made resourcefulness triumphed.

Microphones in telephone receivers were used as guitar pick-ups, which led to widespread vandalism of public phone boxes. Strings for bass guitars were liberated from pianos.

Paul Gambaccini reveals the extraordinary ways that the Beatles' music was listened to in the Soviet Union during the 1960s.

Did the music and spirit of The Beatles help to end communism?

[Vaughn]

McCartney played in Moscow and St Petersburg live in the spring of 2003. On the DVD,
ex-Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov (now First Deputy Prime Minister) openly admitted
to owning a black market copy of Love Me Do as a teenager, and attributed his desire
to learn English to a love of Beatles music.

The DVD songs are interspersed with commentary about Western music's influence on the
USSR's youth, helping to fuel their disillusionment with a system rife with restictions. I am
reminded of the time I played Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon - my wife reacted instantly,
"I have heard this!" Apparently, during the mid-80s she was invited with four other
college girls down to some basement apartment to get an earful of some forbidden vinyl.
Getting caught would have brought shame, and who knows what else?

But overall, my feeling was, while the Beatles certainly influenced musical taste and direction
around the globe, Soviet troubles were born and bred from within -  with Western tunes merely
adding some spice to a population already hungry for openness and change.

Who would have ever guessed that Back in the USSR, an obvious Beach Boys'-style take off,
would have thrilled so many millions on Soviet soil? "Hey! They're singin' about us !!  

[Sculpto]

Ivanov was interviewed extensively in the program.  he seemed almost giddy with love for the Beatles. 

There was also commentary on the phone receiver/guitar pickup deal.  Apparently it happened quite suddenly.  People were making homemade electric guitars, stealing propaganda loudspeakers for their amps and somehow word got out that the phone receivers could be modified into guitar pickups.. within weeks all across the country every pay phone was stripped...

There was also a lot of period footage of people that could be described as nothing less than hippies.

COOL!

McCartney played in Moscow and St Petersburg live in the spring of 2003. On the DVD,
ex-Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov (now First Deputy Prime Minister) openly admitted
to owning a black market copy of Love Me Do as a teenager, and attributed his desire
to learn English from a love of Beatles music.

The DVD songs are interspersed with commentary about Western music's influence on the
USSR's youth, helping to fuel their disillusionment with a system rife with restictions. I am
reminded of the time I played Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon - my wife reacted instantly,
"I have heard this!" Apparently, during the mid-80s she was invited with four other
college girls down to some basement apartment to get an earful of some forbidden vinyl.
Getting caught would have brought shame, and who knows what else?

But overall, my feeling was, while the Beatles certainly influenced musical taste and direction
around the globe, Soviet troubles were born and bred from within -  with Western tunes merely
adding some spice to a population already hungry for openness and change.

Who would have ever guessed that Back in the USSR, an obvious Beach Boys'-style take off,
would have thrilled so many millions on Soviet soil? "Hey! They're singin' about us !!  

[remiel6]

Boris Grebenshikov stated once in an interview that he learned english by listening to beetles songs  . I have heard the telephone reciever story. A wonderful little tidbit. Important to note that the counterculture movement of one generation may become the leaders of another.

[Son of Clyde]

Was the Soviet Union aware of Bob Dylan or any US performers from the mid to late 60's? How about Woodstock? It sounds as if the change began in 63 or 64 and continued.

[remiel6]

Grebenshikov talks about these things a lot in various interviews and given who he sites as his influences I would say that yes they were aware of a lot of western music though getting it remained difficult at best.

[Vaughn]

A worthwhile read for anyone interested in the subject...

http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/summer_2007/endnotes/rock-the-kremlin.html

[groovlstk]

The basic premise was that the Beatles were mroe responsible for the ending of the USSR than any other single factor. 

There were several convincing books published 15+ years ago that gave the same credit to Pope John Paul II.

[KenC]

My ex MIL was a huge Beatles fan in the 60's.  Never knew the story of how and why though.  Of course she proudly procaimed that Paul was her favorite!
KenC

[Sculpto]

Important to note that the counterculture movement of one generation may become the leaders of another.

Black marketeers become oligarchs?  Just asking..