THE RUSH for the Beatles' "new" record - the first in 25 years - is amazing.

But though the eventual reaction may be like that experienced on going back to a holiday resort one raved about first time round - that is: not quite the same - is there something else behind the Beatles' revival, particularly in the case of older fans.

For, their unique music apart, the Fab Four were part of something else - an era when the times felt good and even larky, even if, in reality, there was much that was false and shallow about the so-called Swinging Sixties.

Is it nostalgia, then, for the feel-good factor - and the feeling that it is so long ago when we last had it?

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.