ABSTRACT
Over recent years, 'Beatle events' seem to have attracted press and media attention equal to that of their heyday, reflecting, perhaps, Marshall's assertion that 'the Beatles embodied a series of cultural memories that overwhelmed their own present as a group'. The Britpop phenomenon of the 1990s, particularly Oasis' stated love of the Beatles and 'borrowing', both musically and visually, drew attention to the Fab Four for a new generation. The world seems to be even more interested in the Beatles today; obsessed with, even. There are a number of examples to illustrate this, which will be outlined briefly here. The tabloid obsession of the 1960s was with the exuberance of the Beatles and the possibilities of the future. During Wimbledon 2011, the BBC ran a piece on the four male semi-finalists, using the 'Fab Four' discourse with accompanying Beatles' soundtracks. Fifty years after their first hit single they remain a key cultural reference point on a macro level.
