Beyond The Beatles: Part 2: The Next Beatles

angiemoonthemod

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Aug 6

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19–28 minutes

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In part 1 of Beyond The Beatles, my guide to classic rock for those who got into it through The Beatles, I talked about The Beatles’ contemporaries, which is one of three paths I created for Beatles fans to get into more classic rock. My goal with The Diversity of Classic Rock was to write the guide to classic rock I wish I had when I was a teenager and that’s what this blog series is.

When I was in secondary school I was obsessed with The Beatles and that’s all I would think about. The Beatles were my gateway band and naturally I got into their contemporaries first. The second path I created in this series is The Next Beatles.

Some of the bands in this blog post are ones that people might think were left out of the first blog post. Hear me out, I couldn’t just make one big mega blog post, since it’s a lot to go through. At the same time, I don’t want to write a less detailed blog post so I can cover more bands in one blog post, so a multi-part approach is better so each part is tailored to what people want to specifically learn about.

What do you mean by Next Beatles?

The “Next Beatles” is a label that’s been applied to many musicians who are contemporaries as well as those inspired by The Beatles. When Beatlemania was at its height in 1964 and 1965, every record label were hoping to strike gold and have their answer to The Beatles. It’s a winning formula, right? There was that constant search for the “Next Beatles”. Everyone was copying The Beatles, either by covering their songs or writing songs that had elements of Merseybeat in it. It’s just a repetition of how everyone was copying Elvis and there were musicians marketed as being like Elvis.

In this blog post, I’ll be talking about rock bands that have been compared to The Beatles and hailed as their successors. Usually they have something Beatlesque about their sound, it’s a bit pop, a bit rock, it’s tuneful, it’s memorable.

Once again, this is a series giving new Beatles fans three different paths of getting into classic rock. Longtime classic rock fans might enjoy this series too, since I often find I’ll go ages without listening to a favourite band but get back into them thanks to something I’m reading or watching. To quote the original post:

I know how magical The Beatles are and I think you can find a lot of other great stuff in other bands, just keep an open mind. I have carefully selected and curated these three paths that you can take: classic rock that you might love if you love The Beatles. No AI, no algorithms, just me and my knowledge of classic rock. Good old rule of three, simple as. I will limit each path to 15 bands so you’re not too overwhelmed because I know that one of the reasons I may not get into something is I’m overwhelmed by how much there is and I want to keep it simple. This isn’t an exhaustive list and I know it won’t please everyone because someone will inevitably say “you forgot my favourite!”, but the whole point is for this series is to be a starter and a springboard to get into more classic rock bands and artists.

So without further ado, here’s my list of “Next Beatles” and Beatlesque artists that Beatles fans will absolutely love. My goal on this blog is to turn you onto music (like we say on Grant’s Rock Warehaus!) and share classic rock history in a fun and approachable way.

1. The Byrds: Folk, Psychedelic, and Country Rock Pioneers

This is probably the band you think was missing from the first blog post, but hear me out, I think they were more of a Next Beatles and they even inspired a bit of their sound too. It’s really not so straightforward to do categories, but anyway, let’s talk about The Byrds and how great they are. Both bands admired each other and The Byrds have cited The Beatles as a big influence. George Harrison said that The Byrds inspired “Here Comes The Sun”.

Much like The Hollies, The Byrds are known for their harmonies. They’re also rock pioneers who were important in the development of three rock subgenres: Folk Rock (electric folk), Psychedelic Rock, and Country Rock. I can’t think of a lot of bands that have this kind of versatility, diversity of sound, and influence, well I mean there’s The Beatles. I love their jangly guitar sound and that influenced a lot of bands, think Big Star, Tom Petty, The Smiths, REM, and The Three O’Clock.

If I had to pick some favourite Byrds songs, it’s hard to keep the list short, but I’ll keep it to 10 songs:

Also, check out the Warehaus Acid Test show episode on The Byrds, we play an hour’s worth of great Byrds songs here!

2. The Monkees: The Prefab Four

The Monkees were specifically casted and created after the successes of A Hard Day’s Night and Help!. The band’s name followed the similar naming convention of The Beatles and The Byrds, animal names spelled a bit differently. Some people call The Monkees the Prefab Four, as in prefabricated. But what if I told you the truth is actually more complicated than the pop history telling of the story? Bob Rafelson came up with the idea to do a TV show about a young pop group before Beatlemania. In 1962, he tried to pitch the idea to Revue Productions, but they rejected it. He did not give up on this idea and he kept it in his back pocket, and Beatlemania rolls around, their movies are a success and his interest in realising the idea for The Monkees was revitalised, like this could really work! Imagine A Hard Day’s Night, but as a TV show! Screen Gems approved it.

Now it’s time to cast a band. The easiest thing to do would be to cast an already existing band, since they already know each other. Their first choice was the then-unknown The Lovin’ Spoonful, but that didn’t pan out. Next, they looked to Davy Jones, who coincidentally was on the same episode of The Ed Sullivan Show as The Beatles, but as a cast member of Oliver!. He had signed a contract with Screen Gems to appear in their programmes and he was the first Monkee to be casted. One down, three to go. Hundreds auditioned to be in the Monkees, and of them, three were casted: Micky Dolenz, former child star and the son of actor George Dolenz; Mike Nesmith, the son of the inventor of Liquid Paper Bette Nesmith Graham; and Peter Tork, who was personally recommended by Stephen Stills at his audition.

The music is a bit poppier than The Beatles. It’s really good and it appeals to both boys and girls. Early on, they had outside songwriters like Boyce & Hart, Goffin/King, Neil Diamond, Carole Bayer Sager, and Mann/Weil writing their hits and it was all really manufactured with session musicians and the Monkees had had enough and wanted to have some control, creative freedom, and autonomy. The producers and network didn’t like that and so the show was cancelled in 1968. The movie Head came out in 1968 and it was not the best received because it was a departure from what their child and teenage fanbase were used to and grownups were listening to hard rock and psychedelic rock. It has a cult following and it’s great to watch while stoned.

Anyway, here are some of my favourite Monkees songs:

Check out the Grant’s Rock Warehaus Acid Test episode on The Monkees:

3. The Easybeats: Australian Beatles

Did you know that Angus and Malcolm Young of AC/DC were from a musical family? That’s right, they had older brothers who were in rock bands in the 60s. Their brother Alex was in the band Grapefruit and their brother George was in The Easybeats. George along with bandmate Harry Vanda were the powerhouse songwriting team. The Easybeats were all immigrants from the UK, except for Harry Vanda, who is from the Netherlands and the last surviving member of the band. They met at the Villawood Migrant Hostel in Sydney in 1964 and one year later they were in the top 10 in Australia. Their sound is very much like British Invasion and it’s no wonder they got so popular in Australia. Rock bands from overseas rarely go there, so it’s a big deal when a British or American act tour, which means there’s a lot of love for homegrown bands with similar sound. Overseas, they had success with “Friday On My Mind”, which reached the top 20 in the US and top 10 in the UK. Don’t just take my word for them being the Australian Beatles!

Here are some of my other favourite Easybeats songs:

I also did an Easybeats episode on Grant’s Rock Warehaus. Check it out!

4. Emitt Rhodes: The One-Man Beatles

As a teenager, Emitt Rhodes was in two LA bands, The Palace Guard and The Merry-Go-Round. The latter band had some success, with their debut single “Live” reaching #63 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. They broke up in 1969 and Emitt Rhodes went solo. His voice definitely reminds me of Paul McCartney and some people have thought that this was a secret Paul McCartney project. Interestingly enough, his first instrument was the drums, but he could also play piano, guitar, and bass. He was raised in Hawthorne, California, the same hometown as The Beach Boys.

Some musicians dread the Beatles comparisons because they want to be seen as great in their own right, but Emitt Rhodes was so happy to be compared to them because they were his idols. He once said “The Beatles were an inspiration. I would have followed them into space.” He loved covering their song “Michelle” when he was a teenager.

Sadly, Emitt Rhodes stepped away from music way too soon, stopping performing in 1973 because of legal battles and performing being a lot of work for little reward. Isn’t that the truth! He later ended up being diagnosed with depression.

Here are some song recommendations for Emitt Rhodes:

5. Billy Preston: The Fifth Beatle

A lot of people have been called “The Fifth Beatle”. Musicians wise it’s either Pete Best, who was their drummer before Ringo Starr; Stu Sutcliffe, who was the original bassist; or Billy Preston, who worked with them on Let It Be. Did you know that Billy Preston was the only artist who got jointly credited with The Beatles on a song? That song was “Get Back”. He played the Fender Rhodes electric piano on that one. Guess how old he was when he played on that song? Only 22 years old!

How did Billy Preston link up with The Beatles? He was a child prodigy who started his career in the late 1950s. He was playing with Nat King Cole on TV at 11 years old. From there, he worked with Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and The Everly Brothers. Living the dream! At 16 years old he released his debut album 16 Yr. Old Soul. He got to know The Beatles as a teenager in 1962 during their Hamburg days. John Lennon was so impressed he wanted Billy Preston to join the band. Paul McCartney was like no way, it’s hard enough to come to an agreement with just the four of them. George Harrison ran into him in 1969 when Billy Preston was opening for Ray Charles, thinking that kid looks familiar. Almost a decade later he was in the Robert Stigwood film Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton (also great artists to listen to if you’re a Beatles fan). He remained a friend of The Beatles even after their breakup.

Here are some Billy Preston song recommendations from throughout the 60s and early 70s. If you love organ instrumentals, you’ll love his 60s albums:

6. Badfinger: The Next Beatles

Badfinger have one of the saddest stories in rock and roll. This Welsh rock band got the attention of British Invasion legends like Ray Davies, Peter Asher, and The Beatles. How did Badfinger get connected with The Beatles? Mal Evans and Peter Asher saw The Iveys (their name before Badfinger) at the Marquee Club and they sent their demo tape to all The Beatles. All four agreed to sign them to their label Apple Records. They were the first non-Beatle act to be signed to the label.

Paul McCartney helped put Badfinger on the map by giving him his song “Come And Get It” after feeling saddened by comments from Badfinger saying they felt neglected by Apple. It was their first hit, reaching the top 10 in the UK and US in 1969. That song was on the soundtrack for the film The Magic Christian, a film starring Ringo Starr and Peter Sellers. The band’s name Badfinger came from ‘Bad Finger Boogie’, a working title of ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’. They had two more top 10 hits with “No Matter What” and “Day After Day”. The Ham/Evans composition “Without You” was a big hit for Harry Nilsson and they won an Ivor Novello award for song of the year. Badfinger also played on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and played at the Concert for Bangladesh.

Sadly, Stan Polley screwed the band over, stealing their money. Pete Ham took his life and Tom Evans did a few years later, never feeling the same again after the suicide of Pete Ham.

Here are some great Badfinger songs:

7. Big Star: The Descendant of The Beatles and Byrds

Big Star are one of those bands that deserved way better. Along with Badfinger they were a big part of that early 70s power pop sound that was a successor to The Beatles and The Byrds. Alex Chilton was formerly in The Box Tops, who had a hit with “The Letter”. Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were both big Beatles fans and bonded over that. The Byrds and The Who were also big influences on their sound. They titled their first song #1 Record and well, it didn’t get anywhere close to being #1. It’s one of the best “flops” you’ll ever hear. Chris Bell was in a dark place afterwards and left the band. They would gain a cult following, but sadly Chris Bell died at 27 like Pete Ham and he never got to see the retrospective appreciation of the band and revival of interest. Their song “In The Street” would go on to be the theme for That 70s Show, as performed by late 70s power pop band Cheap Trick. If you’re not listening to Big Star, what are you doing? That’s gotta change.

Here are my favourite Big Star songs:

8. Todd Rundgren: Another One-Man Beatles

Like Emitt Rhodes, Todd Rundgren’s a musician who can play every instrument and he’s been compared to The Beatles, but he has a complicated relationship with them. He grew up on British Invasion and soul music. In the late 60s he was in a band called The Nazz, named after The Yardbirds song “The Nazz Are Blue”. His life changed when he heard Laura Nyro and it had a major impact on his songwriting. Oddly enough, as much as he loves The Beatles, he had a beef with John Lennon, seeing his peace protests as a virtue signal. The song “Rock & Roll Pussy” from A Wizard/A True Star was a diss track about John Lennon. He also called Paul McCartney a “strange guy”. He got along better with Ringo, touring with him in his All Star Band. He also co-produced Badfinger’s Straight Up with George Harrison. His 1980 album with Utopia Deface The Music was an homage to The Beatles. The first track “I Just Want To Touch You” was supposed to be in the soundtrack for the film Roadie, starring Meat Loaf, but the producers didn’t put it in the movie, fearing that The Beatles would sue because it sounds way too much like them.

Regardless, if you’re a Beatles fan, you might like Todd Rundgren. He’s incredibly talented and played pretty much every instrument on Something/Anything?.

Here are some great Todd Rundgren/Nazz/Utopia songs:

9. ELO: Symphonic Beatles

If you ever wanted to know what The Beatles would have been making in the 70s, ELO would probably have been the direction they would have gone in. In the Beatles’ later years their sound had become more layered, complex, and their songs featured instruments typically heard in orchestras. Jeff Lynne himself said of ELO’s mission: to pick up where The Beatles left off. Of course, Jeff Lynne would go on to be in the Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison. He also c0-produced George Harrison’s Cloud Nine and Paul McCartney’s Flaming Pie.

ELO were formed out of the ashes of The Move and I’d recommending listening to The Move as well, they’re great too! Cheap Trick (which we’ll talk about later in this blog post) covered one of their songs, “California Man”.

You really can’t go wrong with 70s ELO, so here’s a starting point:

10. Wings: Paul McCartney’s 70s Band

Is it cheating if I mention Wings? I don’t think so! Wings weren’t just Paul McCartney and friends. They were a proper band and the other band members made significant contributions. George Harrison once said “If you want to see the Beatles, go see Wings.” So I say Wings are a great fit. Of all the post-Beatles music, Wings is the most Beatlesque. Band on the Run is a fantastic album, definitely recommend that one. Wings Over America is a great live album too.

Here are some of my favourite Wings songs:

11. The Poppees: Perfectly recreating that 1963/64 sound!

This band were short lived and while they’re obscure, it’s hard to find anyone else who faithfully recreated The Beatles’ early sound like this. Check out my interview with Arthur Alexander here. The band broke up in 1976 because the style they were going for was quite restrictive and the music scene was changing to punk and new wave. For a Beatles connection, they covered “Love of the Loved”, a Paul McCartney composition that Cilla Black recorded.

I’ll let the songs speak for themselves:

12. Klaatu: Canadian Beatles Soundalikes

This Canadian band were named after a character from a science fiction film called The Day The Earth Stood Still. They got a few hits in the mid 70s and were seen as mysterious because on their album 3:47 EST, there are no included pictures of the band or biographical information, no names of the musicians, just some hippie looking artwork of a sun in a forest with mushrooms and butterflies. Because there was no internet, rumours about the origins of the band spread. Some people were convinced this was a secret Beatles project released under a different name. These rumours helped sell copies of the album because people were curious! Who could blame people for starting these rumours because on Ringo Starr’s album Goodnight Vienna, he is dressed up as the character Klaatu. Coincidence? In my opinion, Klaatu sound like a cross between The Beatles, Yes, Starcastle, and a little bit of ELO, but I wouldn’t say all of their songs sound like The Beatles.

Some Beatlesque Klaatu recommendations:

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
California Jam
Sub-Rosa Subway (this one reminds me a lot of The Beatles’ “It’s All Too Much”, which is one of my favourite Beatles songs)
True Life Hero
Doctor Marvello (a little raga rock on this one)
We’re Off You Know
A Routine Day
Juicy Luicy
Dear Christine

13. Cheap Trick: Illinois Beatles

Cheap Trick were big fans of British Invasion music, like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Who, and Kinks. Great example of late 70s power pop. A journalist once called them “The Beatles with balls”. Twelve years after The Beatles were the first rock band to play the Budokan in Tokyo, Cheap Trick recorded their iconic live album At Budokan. In Japan, Cheap Trick were huge and had fame comparable to The Beatles. The fans would give them gifts and scream, which was unusual for concerts in Japan since audiences are typically very quiet.

A little bonus for you guys, check out their performance of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Robin Zander perfectly captures The Beatles’ vocals!

If you want to get into Cheap Trick, the best album for that is easily At Budokan. Even if you’re not into live albums, you’ll love this one. I’ll share my favourite songs from the album:

14. The Knack: Late 70s Power Pop band accused of ripping off The Beatles

This group were formed in 1978 in Los Angeles by Michigan born Doug Fieger, who had previously been in the band Sky, and Berton Averre. Fieger met Averre just after moving to LA and they started writing songs together. Thanks to “My Sharona” their debut album Get The Knack was a top selling album in 1979. The album cover looked a little like a Beatles album cover, except with late 70s hair. Some of their outfits were a bit mid 60s looking. Fieger said that their mission was to revive the sound of the 60s for a generation who were too young to appreciate it as it was happening. Their fame was short lived and their songs after “Good Girls Don’t” didn’t achieve commercial success. The Beatles comparisons kind of backfired and it didn’t help that they turned down high profile performances and interviews. People see them as a one hit wonder, but I think they have other good songs. If you like Cheap Trick, you’ll like Get The Knack.

Basically, all you need to listen to is Get The Knack, don’t bother with the other albums:

15. Oasis: Britpop Beatles

Oasis are a band that I’ve described as The Beatles with the Kinks’ sibling dynamic. In my opinion they’re the most classic rock Gen X act. There’s no question that The Beatles have had a huge impact on Oasis. I mean look at this edit of an interview Liam Gallagher did with Vogue. Liam Gallagher said in an interview of The Beatles’ influence: “They’re the best and still are and I think if you’re going to be as good, you gotta learn from the best and they’re the best.” He also said he loves John Lennon’s voice. However, George Harrison called Liam Gallagher “a bit out of date”, “silly”, and “excess baggage”. Britpop is basically a new spin on British rock and roll from the 60s and in my humble opinion, it’s the best thing from the 90s. Oasis didn’t have The Beatles’ consistency in quality of discography, but their first two albums Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? are masterpieces, no skip albums in my opinion. These are my favourites from those albums:

So this is my list of “Next Beatles” with recommendations tailored for Beatles fans. The Diversity of Classic Rock was written as the guide I wish I had to classic rock when I was getting into classic rock as a teenager and I hope that this blog post has been educational and informative.

Are there any other Beatlesque bands I missed? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Next stop for this series: The Beatles’ influences!

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2 responses to “Beyond The Beatles: Part 2: The Next Beatles”

RonNasty64

August 6, 2026 at 1:08 pm

IIRC every new band seemed to get that “next” moniker, but I think Difford and Tilbrook of Squeeze got the “next Lennon and McCartney”. tag.

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Charles Schoeneman

August 13, 2026 at 12:35 am

When the Bryds performed the song I Wasn’t Born to Follow, they left out Carl King’s third verse. Listen to Peter Torks version of Carol Kings song is by far the best.

Off the record:
No Buddy Holly no Beatles

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