The Beatles' History with Conan O'Brien 🎸

Friend of the show Conan O'Brien joins us to talk about the history of the band that changed everything.

Why did they meet at a church fete? Why did they really break up? How did four Liverpool teenagers become the most influential band on earth? What made their music and charisma irresistible to a generation?

Tom is joined by Conan O’Brien to explore the Beatles’ meteoric rise and fall: the personalities, the breakthroughs, and the explosive cultural impact that turned a local act into the defining band of first the sixties, and then the 20th century.

The Beatles’ landmark “Anthology” original eight-part documentary series has been restored and remastered for 2025 and is available to stream now, exclusively, on Disney+ . Head over to Disneyplus.com to check it out.

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Director: Chris Floyd
Cameras: Patrick Acum, Tom Frimley, Harry Swan
Sound: Ali Pares
Camera Assistant: Robin Kay
Editors: Harry Swan, Charlie Rodwell
Social Producer: Harry Balden
Assistant Producer: Aaliyah Akude
Producer: Tabby Syrett
Senior Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Head of Digital & Social: Sam Oakley
Executive Producer: Dom Johnson

00:00 Introducing Conan O’Brien
01:17 Meeting The Beatles
04:04 Are the Beatles historically significant?
07:10 Childhood influences
09:17 John & Paul meet at a church fête
12:04 Hamburg
18:11 The Cavern
19:08 Brian Epstein & George Martin
23:12 Who is Ringo?
25:13 “Love Me Do” & “Please Please Me”
28:41 Beatlemania
35:14 The Ed Sullivan appearence and The Beatles go stateside
42:03 “More popular than Jesus”
44:49 Revolver & the end of touring
47:42 Japan, the Philippines & the Marcos fiasco in Manila
51:31 Summer of Love & Sgt Pepper
1:03:58 Brian Epstein’s death
1:06:01 Magical Mystery Tour
1:12:06 The White Album
1:13:12 The band begins to crack apart
1:21:24 The rooftop gig
1:27:26 Abbey Road
1:31:06 Break-up