Rupert Bear’s Influence on The Beatles
The Beatles were an inspired and inspirational band in the 1960s. Yet, they must have drawn from other sources to gain inspiration. We have all heard about the Goons (especially Spike Milligan) and their influence on John Lennon. However, there are other influences as well that have not been looked into and, arguably perhaps, Rupert Bear is one of them.
It may seem to be a little excessive to compare the Beatles with Rupert Bear, but, if you look at the evidence, you may begin to realize the importance to popular culture of the little bear from Nutwood to the twentieth century and on into the present one.
The pictures that you find in the earlier Rupert the Bear books from the 1920s to the 1950s has a richness which is not to be found in many of the later books. Indeed, one could argue that the artists themselves (Mary Tourtel and Alfred Bestall ) were as much to thank for the lively imaginations of the likes of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney as were the Goons!
No one would disagree that, although the Goons were the inspiration for John Lennon’s anarchic sense of humour (viz Yellow Submarine and the voices he adopted during the song), it was Rupert who seems to have inspired Sir Paul. Perhaps that is why he produced, “Rupert and the Frog Song” in 1985. Anyone who has read the earlier Rupert books will be only too aware that there is a richness of colour and design which you would be hard put to find in the modern world of children’s cartoons.
Indeed, cartoons of any kind are a fast-disappearing phenomenon in Britain. Although the much-loved “Beano” and the “Dandy” from the Dundee-based publisher, DC Thomson, are still to be had, the days of the “Eagle”, the “Hotspur” and so many other comics are over. The world of video is overwhelming the paper-based world of the comic-strip and it may well be that the likes of Rupert Bear may be soon merely a dimly-remembered figure from the distant past.
However, the old annuals which can be found without trouble, show the richness of colour which was a feature of the Beatles dress from the mid-Sixties, like the moustaches which may, perhaps, have drawn inspiration from Tiger Lily’s father’s immense contribution in that department. Of course, coupled with the exoticism of Tiger Lily, her father and his moustache are among the themes of this series of stories which were written at a time when Britain was either considered to be a very conservative society between the Wars, or economically bankrupt after the Second World War. The exotic clothes of Tiger Lily’s father were echoed by the brightly-coloured military uniforms adopted by the Beatles in 1966 and the rest of the music industry (and the young) soon followed suit.
If you consider the outlandish tales of Rupert’s adventures with all sorts of creatures, ranging from talking animals (himself included), a gypsy boy, a medieval knight, a mermaid; journeys into weird landscapes under a crazy paving path, with strangely floating trees and mists which hide and confuse, you would be hard put not to see a similarity to the increasingly avant-garde ideas that permeated the Beatles themes and songs from the mid-Sixties on. Indeed, the Magical Mystery Tour is a good point at which one could make a link to Rupert stories and the very simple English used in early Beatles lyrics which bear a striking similarity to the rhyming couplets beneath the individual pictures in Rupert books. Highly-effective simplicity.
Do you agree with this analysis? Or do you want to find out for yourself how true this is? If so, visit:
http://rupertbearcentre.blogspot.com/
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