With all the madness of the Prime Day sale, you might have missed that today is Global Beatles Day. Started in 2009 as a thank you to the world-conquering band, it's a celebration of all things The Beatles. And we thought we'd get in on the act.
Why 25th June? That was the day in 1967 when the band performed on Our World, the first live multinational multi-satellite television production that saw them broadcast in 14 countries simultaneously, being seen by up to 700 million people. That's when you know you've made it.
If that's got you in the mood, or you just want to revisit some classic albums, here are the best Beatles LPs and the best turntables to play them on.
The best turntables for listening to Beatles records
There's a reason the Primary E has been winning a What Hi-Fi? Award for many consecutive years – it's the best budget record player you can buy. True, it foregoes a lot of the frills, but that just helps keep the price down. And it absolutely nails the basics. If you're looking for a no-nonsense entry-level deck to spin your Beatles records, look no further.
This is basically a Planar 1 with a Rega Fono Mini A2D phone stage built in, and the results are staggering. The five-star Planar 1 Plus's presentation is clean and crisp, with stacks of detail. And because of the built-in phono stage, you just plug and play.
The best things in life are free, but you can give them to the birds and bees... If you've got a bit more money to spend, then the Award-winning SL-1300G should be top of your list. It boasts a powerful, punchy presentation, impressive sonic stability and fantastic ease of use. It's also built like a tank.
The best Beatles albums on vinyl
That iconic cover is just the start of it. Come Together, Here Comes The Sun – it's packed with hits, as well as a long medley on side two.
Another iconic cover, another hit-laden album, with the title track, With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds... and that's just the first three songs! Most bands would be happy with three tracks of that quality over a whole career, let alone in the first 15 minutes of their eighth studio album.
A greatest hits compilation released in 2000, 1 contains 27 of the band's singles that went to number one in the charts. There are too many hits to mention – if you only want to own one Beatles album, this is it.
Superfans will want this. It includes the three Anthology albums released in the 1990s, as well as a new album, Anthology 4. With 191 tracks, studio outtakes, live performances, demos, previously unreleased tracks, vinyl exclusives and photo cards to boot.
