The impact of The Beatles on the world in general and the United States in particular in 1964 really can’t be measured. “Beatlemania” is a nice way to sum it all up in a single word, yet it simply can’t capture everything that went on in those 12 months, ranging from the insanity of their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show through the making and release of their film, A Hard Day’s Night , and most of all their first tour of America and Canada.

Following the Beatles' two week appearance in the United States in February 1964, the band became the most well known group in America. In the six months that followed, the band achieved seventeen Top 40 singles, including six number ones. Fans in the United States excitedly anticipated a country-wide tour, and they got one!

The tour encompassed 32 shows in 25 cities over 31 days. Most shows quickly sold-out, and attendance ranged from 4,000 (New York City) to 28,000 (Baltimore). Intense screaming and rabid fans characterized shows across the tour. Mobbing crowds necessitated enhanced security measures, including decoy limousines and unlikely transportation for the Beatles, such as delivery vans and ambulances. The setlists for each show remained mostly consistent throughout the tour, with all four Beatles taking their turns as lead singers:

1. "Twist and Shout" (John Lennon) or "I Saw Her Standing There" (Paul McCartney)
2. "You Can't Do That" (Lennon)
3. "All My Loving" (McCartney)
4. "She Loves You" (Lennon and McCartney)
5. "Things We Said Today" (McCartney)
6. "Roll Over Beethoven" (George Harrison)
7. "Can't Buy Me Love" (McCartney)
8. "If I Fell" (Lennon)
9. "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (Lennon and McCartney)
10. "Boys" (Ringo Starr)
11. "A Hard Day's Night" (Lennon with McCartney)
12. "Long Tall Sally" (McCartney) or "Twist and Shout" (Lennon)
    
    

Artist Matt Needle spoke with Collectionzz's Steven Kotchek about this historic release.

SK: When the opportunity to participate in this exciting project for The Beatles became a reality in early 2024, we knew you'd be the perfect fit for it. I think your style really harkens back to the style of the time period, but in a way that people would still feel as being contemporary. How would you describe your style?

MN: I’d probably describe my illustration style as retro collage infused with modern design flourishes. I'm heavily inspired by pop art, specifically Peter Blake who actually worked with The Beatles on the Sgt. Pepper Album artwork, dadaism, 50s-80s movie posters, as well as Polish and Japanese movie poster designs.

SK: I remember there were a bunch of different concepts we submitted to Apple Corps. before landing on these, can you describe how you approached these concepts?

MN: I decided early on in the process that I wanted the art to really reflect the mid 60s, but still feel contemporary. I leant into my experience within editorial illustration and movie key art design to construct a few visually striking rough concepts. The process of coming up with the actual composition was a lot of trial and error, research into imagery from the era, lots of quick little sketches and gathering of visual references, then developing a strong dynamic final design.

SK: Now that we're finally able to share these pieces with the world, what are some of your favorite things about how the art came out?

MN: I love that the three prints I created work both as a set of prints, and as individual pieces, and feel like they could be legitimate designs you would come across at the time period. Also this was one of my favourite projects to work on last year/early this year, due to my love of the Beatles music from when i was a young child onwards. So it was very much a dream project. I also like the amount of creative freedom i had to explore within the project.

SK: These prints are being released in conjunction with the Disney documentary Beatles '64 produced by Martin Scorsese, celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the Beatles' U.S. debut. There aren't many bands or things in popular culture in general that we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of. What do the Beatles mean to you?

MN: As I mentioned I'm a huge Beatles fan. As a kid I used to be obsessed with the album artwork on the vinyl, and the Beatles' movies whenever they used to show them on tv here in the UK. These are all things that probably in someway informed my design choices for this project.