"All You Need Is Love to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"
How The Beatles and U2 Changed The World
Author Todd McFliker
Welcome to the website of Todd McFliker
Author of "All You Need Is Love to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"
rue, it was before my time, but the Beatles were the sociological and cultural phenomenon of the twentieth-century. In the 1960s, the musical messiahs from Liverpool pioneered a new fulfilling era of music based on the simple concepts of love, peace and enlightenment. Seventy-three million spectators and 43% of all television sets in the country witnessed the Beatles first appearance in the United States. The crime rate amongst American teenagers dropped to virtually zero that evening. For the next six years, Baby Boomers experienced Beatlemaniadaily on TV, movies, the radio and printed interviews. The most popular, repeatedly covered, influential and enduring rock group of all time made rock and roll an artistic medium with recognizable images and idols. Although the Beatles have not recorded an album since 1970, the four lads still remain the best selling artists to date.
n the mid-80s, I was more preoccupied with Van Halen to appreciate any material from my parents generation. True, I was hip to Twist And Shout when Ferris Bueller sang the number, but I was nowhere near calling myself a Beatles fan. At the same period of time, U2 was reaching global fame with The Joshua Tree, and With Or Without You was the hottest thing on MTV; you remember, back when they actually showed music videos. I still wasn't much of an admirer, but both my older brother and sister loved the popular new band from Ireland . A few years later, Desire was aired just prior to Rattle And Hums release in theatres. I was immediately hooked. Listening to the records introductory song, Helter Skelter, I even got a history lesson on Charles Manson and the Beatles. In the early 90s, I was in high school when Achtung Baby and Zoo TV conquered the planet. The singles, The Fly and Mysterious Ways immediately won me over. Their Zoo TV tour in 1991 was a multimedia extravaganza like I had never before experienced.
eported as the biggest band on the planet since the 1980s, U2 has dominated the industry for a quarter-century by marketing the Beatles theme of love throughout the media. The four friends out of Dublin have sold over one hundred million records worldwide. A rock concert was suddenly more than the band simply reproducing their latest record onstage. The show set a new level for massive concert productions around the world. U2s LPs, musical productions and public appearances in the political spotlight still remain momentous in the new millennium. Arguably the best albums of their time periods, the Beatles 1967 record, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, is directly compared with U2s modern masterpiece, Achtung Baby from 1991. While the recording of Sgt. Peppers was too highly technical to hit the road with, Achtung Baby with its Zoo TV tour thirty years later was the largest, loudest, most costly and technically ambitious rock show to ever tour the globe.
rue, it was before my time, but the Beatles were the sociological and cultural
n the mid-80s, I was more preoccupied with Van Halen to appreciate any material from my parents generation. True, I was hip to Twist And Shout when Ferris Bueller sang the number, but I was nowhere near calling myself a Beatles fan. At the same period of time, U2 was reaching global fame with The Joshua Tree,
and With Or Without You was the hottest thing on MTV; you remember, back when they actually showed music videos. I still wasn't much of an admirer, but both my older brother and sister loved the popular new band from Ireland . A few years later, Desire was aired just prior to Rattle And Hums release in theatres. I was immediately hooked. Listening to the records introductory song, Helter Skelter, I even got a history lesson on Charles Manson and the Beatles. In the early 90s, I was in high school when Achtung Baby and Zoo TV conquered the planet. The singles, The Fly and Mysterious Ways immediately won me over. Their Zoo TV tour in 1991 was a multimedia extravaganza like I had never before experienced.
eported as the biggest band on the planet since the 1980s, U2 has dominated the industry for a quarter-century by marketing the Beatles theme of love throughout the media. The four friends out of Dublin have sold over one hundred million records worldwide. A rock concert was suddenly more than the band simply reproducing their latest record onstage. The show set a new level for massive concert productions around the world. U2s LPs, musical productions and public appearances in the political spotlight still remain momentous in the new millennium. Arguably the best albums of their time periods, the Beatles 1967 record, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, is directly compared with U2s modern masterpiece, Achtung Baby from 1991. While the recording of Sgt. Peppers was too highly technical to hit the road with, Achtung Baby with its Zoo TV tour thirty years later was the largest, loudest, most costly and technically ambitious rock show to ever tour the globe.
