Did the Beatles project a bad-boy image?

Answer 1

Although 'The Beatles' generally projected a "clean, nice guy persona" at first ( and one could argue that The Rolling Stones provide their alter-ego or antithesis), that in no way insinuates a scandal-free career for members of The Beatles. The pop sensibilities and musical style of the early Beatles' music and their portrayal in the press certainly supported this "nice-guy" veiw. In the early days of The Beatles franchise, in 1960, while Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best were performing with the Beatles, preceding the inclusion of Richard Starkey ( Ringo Starr) and their rapid rise to fame, three band members were deported by German officials during a residency in Munich. The under-aged Harrison was forced to leave the country, followed by McCartney and then drummer Pete Best for arson after the pair allegedly nailed a flaming condom to a hotel room wall. In 1966, Beatles records were burnt in demonstrations across America after Lennon was misunderstood by the press in his controversial statement claiming the Beatles were at that time "more popular than Jesus". In 1967 Paul McCartney revealed to the press that he along with other band members had taken the drug LSD on four occasions. The Beatles bob-cut was the major part of their image. Some would interpret it as a "nice-guy" conservative haircut, whereas in America it raised eyebrows. When asked whether they ever went unnoticed, McCartney replied, "When we take of our wigs," and when one reporter informed Lennon that fans thought his haircut was "un-American" he responded, "Well that's a very good observation, because we're not American." At least in the early days, the Beatles' uniformed 'image' was deliberate ( refusal to adopt the style was apparently one of the reasons The Beatles' manager convinced to let Pete Best go). When asked during a press conference about their image, Harrison said that "Image is only what you see." and McCartney claimed that, paradoxically, "We can't tell you about our image... we know what our real image is and it's completely different from our image."