The Beatles were inspired by John Cage!

[Quijote]

Never been a fan of the Beatles - I'm afraid I'm with Glenn Gould on that one!

Fair enough. I'll be waiting for Michael to come charging in on this one!

[Chris]

I think the avante-garde influence lead to some of their worst music, too - Revolution 9 being the ultimate example.

[Peter]

Never been a fan of the Beatles - I'm afraid I'm with Glenn Gould on that one!

[Quijote]

Well, well, who would have thought?! The Beatles were influenced by avant-garde composers John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Lucio Berio (among some others). Check out the link to this recent article in The Guardian (no paywall):

‘The King Lear in I Am the Walrus? That came from John Cage’: Paul McCartney on the Beatles’ debt to great avant-garde composers

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...-am-the-walrus

And here are YouTube links to some of the pieces mentioned:

Luciano Berio

John Cage

Pierre Henry