The
fifth Beatle is an informal title that various commentators in the press and entertainment industry have applied to persons who were at one point a member of
the Beatles, or who had a strong association with the "Fab Four" (
John Lennon,
Paul McCartney,
George Harrison, and
Ringo Starr) during the group's existence. The "fifth Beatle" claims started appearing in the press immediately upon the band's sensational rise to global fame in 1963–64 as the most famous quartet in pop culture.