The Beatles in Spain: The Contribution of Beat Music and Ye-yés to the (Subtle) Musical, Cultural and Political Openness of General Franco’s Regime in the 1960s

José Ruiz Mas

doi:10.14198/raei.2022.36.06

Abstract

From the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, the impact of American twist and rock’n’roll and British beat music, the Eurovision Song Contest, the considerable growth of the national record industry, the number of radio stations and the (still timid) deployment of nationwide TV gave rise in Spain to the development of the ye-yé fashion amongst the young Spanish population. This was accompanied by the development of a mild feeling of rebellion and critical spirit against the traditional conservative/Catholic status quo and the conventional mores of the previous generation. Indeed, from 1964-65 onwards dozens of Beatle-like bands imitated the Beatles’ rhythms, language, image, poses, fashion and song lyrics. The two live performances of the Beatles in Madrid and Barcelona in 1965 disseminated their popularity even further in Franco’s Spain. English became the lingua franca of modernity, of international tourism and of the new musical genres. In this Anglophile context, Beatlemania was to exert a relatively gentle influence on the social and political Spanish scenario of the decade and contributed to preparing the path to the country’s democratization in the late 1970s.

Highlights

In the 1950s and early 1960s new artistic and cultural manifestations emerged in the USA and Britain in the form of bands and solo singers of various dynamic youth movements and musical styles
The arrival of American rhythms throughout the late 1950s prepared the way in the early 60s for the boost of British beat/rock music in Spain, the so called “British invasion”
This did not, though, prevent them from appearing in top positions in Spanish “private” hit parades in music magazines in 1964.2 in the end, thanks to the timely nine hundred thousand pesetas (5,400 euros) that a Spanish show business agent was ready to pay for two performances, Epstein yielded and the Beatles performed in the bullrings of Madrid and Barcelona in July 1965

Summary

Introduction

In the 1950s and early 1960s new artistic and cultural manifestations emerged in the USA and Britain in the form of bands and solo singers of various dynamic youth movements and musical styles (rock and roll, rock, soul, blues, twist, skiffle, beat, etc.).

Results

Conclusion