"Quite soon after, I started getting into the Stones and other British groups, and the idea of playing the guitar seriously and being in a band really took hold. I followed all The Beatles records, of course.

"What's funny is, even though they were making so many breakthroughs sonically and changing the way music could be presented, I didn't process it that way at the time.

"Everything seemed to flow so naturally from them. You'd pick up Rubber Soul and it was fantastic. Then you'd get Revolver and it was amazing, too. You just came to expect it from them. I had no idea what hard work went into doing what they did.

"Guitar-wise, it's hard to say specifically what I got from them, other than their licks became part of my DNA like so many of the British bands I stated to follow, like The Yardbirds and Cream and Zeppelin. It all became this fantastic cocktail of guitar greatness that I was only too happy to drink in.

"Later on, probably around the late '60s, when they were getting ready to break up, that's when I started to appreciate what geniuses The Beatles were, how they set trends and broke every rule in the book. How they went from being this live group to mastering the recording studio and showing everybody that nothing was impossible, as long as you had the imagination and the guts to go for it.

"Plus, they had gone from singing these simple love tunes to writing songs about any topic you could think of. I think that's what really impressed me the most - they taught me that music could liberate you, teach you, take you somewhere else, expand your consciousness, all of that.

"The Beatles taught us all so much. They taught us to be brave, to follow our dreams and aim high. That's a wonderful legacy to leave."

Joe Perry is a guitarist, songwriter and singer for the band Aerosmith. His newest solo album Have Guitar, Will Travel comes out 6 October.