The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960, comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. The band achieved unprecedented levels of critical and commercial success, becoming a leading force in Britains cultural resurgence and ushering in the British Invasion of the United States pop market. However, the bands retirement from live performances in 1966 and rising tensions following the death of their long-time manager, Brian Epstein, eventually became untenable, causing The Beatles to split up in 1970. After the split, each Beatle went on to have his own successful and vastly different solo career, though they never again reached the critical and commercial heights of their time as a band. John Lennon was murdered in 1980, and George Harrison died of lung cancer in 2001. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr remain musically active. Despite rumors of a full-fledged reunion, the Beatles never reunited.