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The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960. They are the most commercially successful and one of the most critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. From 1962 to 1970, the group consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Because he was assassinated in 1980, Lennon was the only member of the Beatles never to guest star on The Simpsons.

History[]

The Beatles appeared together for the first time in Last Exit to Springfield. Lisa is given nitrous oxide by her dentist and hallucinates in a scene inspired by The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. In it, she encounters The Beatles in their submarine, with Harrison saying, "Look, it's Lisa in the sky!" followed by McCartney replying, "No diamonds though," a reference to their 1967 hit Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Homer's Barbershop Quartet, which is about a barbershop group called The Be Sharps, is based on The Beatles. In it, there are more parallels to The Beatles’ career: Moe's Tavern had previously been called Moe’s Cavern; Barney replaced Wiggum, just as Ringo Starr replaced Pete Best in 1962; and their ‘Meet The Be Sharps’ album cover mirrors The Beatles' first US album ‘Meet The Beatles’. Homer decides to arrange a reunion for The Be Sharps and they perform Baby on Board on the roof of Moe’s Tavern (The Be Sharps are wearing the same outfits The Beatles did on the roof of Abbey Road Studios in 1969). As they perform, George Harrisonpulls up in his limousine, rolls down the window, looks at them and says, “It’s been done.”

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As the credits roll, Homer says, “I’d like to thank you on behalf of the group, and I hope we passed the audition,” the same thing John Lennon said after their rooftop concert.

The Simpsons features many Beatles and Paul McCartney references.

In Season 2, an opening sequence to one of the episodes featured a Paul McCartney gravestone, a nod to the 1969 Paul Is Dead rumors. In another episode, at Stanley and Martha Peterson’s wedding, their vows include two lines from the 1968 McCartney-penned song Martha My Dear. In one of the episodes of Season 7, Golden Slumbers is featured in Homer’s dream sequence. In an episode of Season 5, Marge and Homer engage a deprogrammer to deprogram Bart out of believing he is Mr. Burns son. When Marge and Bart ask the deprogrammer how effective he is, he replies, “I got Paul McCartney out of Wings, didn’t I?” A furious Homer says, “You idiot! He was the most talented one!”

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The Beatles in a promo photo for the Army

Ringo was featured in the episode Brush with Greatness. The Ringo portrait turns up in other episodes. In Marge in Chains, Marge has Ringo’s portrait in her swapmeet stall. The Ringo portrait is seen again in Treehouse of Horror VII. There is also a portrait on Ringo seen on the wall at Pimento Grove when Troy McClure takes Selma there for dinner.

Ned Flanders is a big fan of The Beatles, having his whole room decorated with Beatles merchandise, as seen in the episode The Bart of War. In Bart of Darkness, there is a display of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in the Springfield Wax Museum. The wax figures also appear when Krusty, in a Nehru suit, is introducing George Harrison's sitar mentor Ravi Shankar.

In El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer, after consuming several hot peppers, Homer begins to have visions. In one of these visions, the character Jasper appears and says the words 'Goo goo g'joob', a reference to the Lennon-penned Beatles song I Am The Walrus.

Three members (Starr, Harrison and McCartney) all provided their own voices in their appearances. Lennon did not as he was murdered in 1980, nine years before the debut of the show. He was voiced by Hank Azaria in his cameo.

Appearance[]

As a Group[]

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