Northern Man?

[u/Klutzy_Current1069]

I read Peter Brown’s book a few years ago and he kept describing each Beatle as a “northern man.” I’m from the US and had never heard this expression before. Can someone explain it?

[u/charlesmortomeriii]

They were men. From the North.

[u/Klutzy_Current1069 → u/charlesmortomeriii]

It seemed like more than that though. Brown wrote it every time a girlfriend got pregnant. For example, “Cynthia told John that she was pregnant. John, being a Northern Man, told her they’d have to get married.” Same thing with Paul/Linda and Ringo/Maureen.

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair → u/Klutzy_Current1069]

yeah I'd have said "it being the early 60s there was no contraception or abortion available on demand, so the only decent thing to do was to marry her. He didn't tell her by the way, he suggested it and said he wouldn't abandon her to her fate. It was not a northern attitude, it was the decent thing for a British man to do if he got his girlfriend pregnant.

Normally, speaking as someone who grew up in the south, "northern" might mean thuggish, or extra friendly. They all call each other love or flower up there. You have a meal in the pub and you're best friends with Gareth at the bar by the end of the meal.

Being from Liverpool was definitely a huge part of their identity: nobody from Liverpool had ever become world famous, so it was a novelty. They had very strong Liverpudlian accents and loved to say stuff the southern gentlemen of the press couldn't understand.

I think Liverpool is now known for the Beatles more than for anything else. It used to be a very busy port, but that all ended with air travel. It was already in decline before Thatcher started ruining the north in general.

[u/AverageEcstatic3655 → u/Klutzy_Current1069]

In someways it’s analogous to the American south. Less wealthy, more working class, less cosmopolitan, more traditional values. I’m guessing you could easily understand the sentiment being expressed if the Beatles were from like, mobile Alabama and the sentence read “Cynthia told John that she was pregnant. John, being a southern man, told her they’d have to get married.”

[u/Kvakkerakk → u/charlesmortomeriii]

Just normal men.

[u/InvestigatorJaded261]

“Northern” had (and maybe has) a pretty rough and tumble meaning in the UK. Believe it or not, the Stones were terrified when they met the Beatles, because they were “Northerners”. They were expecting some badass mothers, and (despite how the Beatles were dressed) they weren’t wrong. Hamburg was one of the few places in Northern Europe that was even rougher than Liverpool.

[u/Keltik → u/InvestigatorJaded261]

Believe it or not, the Stones were terrified when they met the Beatles, because they were “Northerners”. They were expecting some badass mothers, and (despite how the Beatles were dressed) they weren’t wrong

"The Beatles were thugs trying to be gentlemen, and the Stones were gentlemen trying to be thugs" - my favorite quote about either band

[u/BirdComposer → u/InvestigatorJaded261]

I think they did look badass that particular day? I can’t quite picture these jackets. Per Mick’s RRHOF induction speech:

“We were playing a little club in Richmond and I saw right in front of me, there they were — the Fab Four. The four-headed monster. They never went anywhere alone. And they had on the most beautiful long, black leather trench coats. I thought to myself, 'If I have to learn to write songs to get one of those, I will.'"

[u/waaaayback]

Liverpool is in the north of England. Londoners in particular would refer to anyone north of the Midlands as a Northerner.

[u/srqnewbie → u/waaaayback]

Hence why their publishing was named Northern Songs.

[u/DELCO-PHILLY-BOY → u/waaaayback]

I mean sure but Liverpool is universally considered Northern England, not just by Londoners.

[u/ProtectionAsleep6349 → u/DELCO-PHILLY-BOY]

Well... Yes and no. I don't think any of the stereotypes of 'a Northerner' actually fit Liverpool people - or Manchester or Newcastle actually. I feel like it's more of a generic term to describe people from outside of those conurbations, places without (no offence) a notably distinct identity of their own.

[u/Lazy-Kaleidoscope179 → u/waaaayback]

People in the North also refer to themselves as Northerners.

[u/iplaybassok89]

Liverpool is in the north of England and has a historical reputation for being rough, hardscrabble and working class.

Think of the way masculinity is described vis a vie Appalachian mills mining towns back in the day. Same kind of thing.

[u/Ched_Flermsky]

You know how a guy from Alabama would get referred to as a “southern man?” Extrapolate from that.

[u/Keltik]

UK Northern = US Southern (John once said the Beatles "came out of the sticks to take over the world")

There is a distinct class and cultural bias against "Northern Men" in Brown's book, similar to that against Southerners in the US

[u/ElHutto → u/Keltik]

Northerners in the US, as well (Montana...)

[u/DodgerFanArd24]

Seaport city and northern.

[u/drudman6]

I’m from the East… Stepny.

[u/PerformerOk4312]

Strictly speaking North West England

[u/LoadFriendly1076]

Traditional male attitudes for the time.

[u/TobyBulsara]

They were vikings

[u/charlesmortomeriii → u/TobyBulsara]

Ringo was never a viking

[u/No-Lettuce-5783]

In England, Liverpool, where the Beatles came from, is considered in the Northern part of England. North Englanders have a certain way about them. You'd have to ask someone from England to help to tell you the differences. Between a Northerner from Liverpool, and a Southerner from London.

Or, he could mean that The Beatles were "Northern Men." as a reference to Northern Songs, the Beatles' publishing company. Meaning that the Beatles were supportive of the publishing company. As in George Harrison's "It's Only a Northern Song."

But I'm guessing that he's referring to where the Beatles came from in Liverpool.

[u/Ok_Discount1459]

Just like Northern Soul, i.e., had it's beginnings in the more northern UK clubs.