Beatles Fandom
A confluence of demographic, technological, political, and other cultural factors in the 1960s resulted in the Beatles becoming an epochal phenomenon. Never in human history had millions of people around the world received and reacted to the same communication at the same time over a period of years. The nonstop deluge of compelling sounds, words, images, and ideas the band put forth made it a unique source of emotional, intellectual, aesthetic, and spiritual nurturance, distinct and apart from parents and other traditional sources of socialization. Using a synthesis of sociocultural and phenomenological analyses, this chapter shows how and why Beatles fandom endures as a kind of secular religion, serving the same functions in fans’ lives that religion serves in the lives of believers.