The Beatles track Brian May called “the greatest teen pop song ever”
The Beatles were responsible for opening the eyes and ears of an entire generation to the power of music. Over their decade of dominance, the Fab Four grew from boys to men, evolving their sound as they matured and explored new musical territories that once seemed out of reach.
It took The Beatles a few years to truly find their stride, and it wasn’t until 1965 that the band hit their creative peak. From Rubber Soul onwards, they were an unstoppable force who constantly looked forward, setting the musical trends rather than following them as they once did.
However, Queen guitarist Brian May holds a special place in his heart for their early work, even though he greatly appreciates how they developed as musicians. Unfortunately, despite being a tremendous fan of the group during their active tenure, his parents prevented him from watching them in their concert, much to May’s frustration.
He told Louder Sound in 2020: “I wasn’t allowed to go to see The Beatles in concert when I was a kid. My parents thought pop concerts were attended by the wrong sort of people. So, I never got to see the 20th century’s biggest phenomenon live. But from the moment I heard ‘Love Me Do’ on the radio, I knew this bunch of guys were magic… that they voiced all my hidden joy and yearnings as a teenager struggling to make his way into the world of the ’60s.”
As a teenager, he was at the perfect age to appreciate their work and idolise John Lennon. “Lennon, from a frankly less-than-glamorous teenager with a bit of a chip on his shoulder, developed into the coolest guy on Earth,” he noted.
May continued: “He was cool enough to write the greatest teen pop song ever (in my humble etc.) ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ to embrace psychedelia and make it musically valid; to leave The Beatles when he felt it had all become a shallow game he didn’t want to play anymore.”
At the stage when The Beatles wrote ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’, released in 1963, they were still firmly in their infancy and at the beginning of their musical journey. The track was their third consecutive number one, epitomising the early chapter of their career as they began taking over the world.
While The Beatles would later likely wince when looking back on tracks such as ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’ and ‘Love Me Do’, they represent a vital part of their story. Additionally, while these songs may sound mundane to modern ears, upon release, they were nothing short of revolutionary, making millions become Beatlemaniacs.
The Fab Four unquestionably became more talented at their artistry following the release of ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’. However, for May, it will always be “the greatest teen pop song ever” and filled with sacred memories.
