In February 1963, when I was eighteen years old, I was invited to a party by a girl. I was used to getting invited to parties, not because of my good looks or outstanding personality, but because I had the best record collection in our group and could bring the music with me. On this occasion, I turned up at the party with only one record; it was “Please Please Me” by the Beatles. When I arrived at the party, the hostess looked disappointed that I had only brought one record but I announced that it was the only record that they were going to need.

This particular song had just entered the NME Top Ten and would go on to be a number one, although that fact is not recognised as the “official chart” uses the charts of a music newspaper that no one ever bought. It was not the Beatles first hit; “Love Me Do” had scraped into the Top Twenty but had largely passed everyone by.

So what was it about the Beatles, and “Please Please Me” in particular, that was so revolutionary? They lined up as a foursome with whoever was doing the lead in front, very much like Buddy Holly and the Crickets. The harmony style in the main chorus was very much taken from “Cathy’s Clown” by the Everly Brothers; the change to falsetto and screeching “oohs” were similar to “Only the Lonely” by Roy Orbison and “Tower of Strength” by Frankie Vaughan; all previous number one hits in the early sixties. It was simply the fact that they took the best of what was around at the time, adding their own brand to create something which, as a whole, was both unique and original.

Even before the explosion of tribute bands that now exists, individual artists and groups unashamedly copied other artists and groups. Then we had impersonators, most notably of Elvis. Some of these enjoyed some success but none were lasting. So how much of the work of others should influence us and how much invention is needed in order to make an original brand.

“Standing on the shoulders of giants” is a phrase which has been used more than once to describe innovations in science and other disciplines. It is not problematic to use others as an influence but I would suggest that you need three things to call it your own brand. Firstly, let yourself be influenced by more than one artist or group. Combining attributes in this way, gives you a new take on what you produce. Secondly, you need some sort of inventive spark which makes you different. Finally, you need to develop your style with time in new directions. Most household names in the music industry have followed these steps.

The combination of influences, originality and development is the takeaway message for today. It’s far from easy, but realistically it’s the only way to get to and stay at the top.