<DIV>Formed in Liverpool in 1960, the Beatles became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. The group—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—built its reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period. Molded into a professional act by manager Brian Epstein, the creativity of producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential. They gained popularity in the UK after their first single, “Love Me Do,” became a modest hit in late 1962, and acquired the nickname the Fab Four as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year. The Beatles are the best-selling band in history, with sales of over one billion units estimated by EMI Records. They have received seven Grammy Awards from the American National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score, and 15 Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.</div>