This blog has been in hibernation now for several months but
the time has now come to blow the dust off it.
At the end of July my life, and that of my family, was
turned completely upside down by a knock on my door at a little after midnight
one Tuesday night. My late night guests were the police informing me that at
approximately 4pm the previous afternoon my mother, while on holiday with a
friend in Pitlochry, had been killed in a car accident.
My life pretty much fell apart at this point. Even now, over
four months later, it is difficult to comprehend what has happened and to come
to terms with the fact that my mother, a constant source of love and support,
is no longer a bus journey away or on the other end of the telephone. I miss
her constantly and I suspect I always will.
What though has the above to do with Them Beatles?
There are two reasons why I start this blog entry by talking
about my mother.
Firstly, the very last time I visited my mother the topic of
conversation was Them Beatles, the pleasure that we derive from going to their
gigs and our excitement about our first ever trip to Beatle Week which was just
over a month away at this point. I was delighted that during that last visit I
got the chance to show my mother a picture of a kind gift that I received from
the band. I should note though that I still have a red neck from getting up on
stage in Livingston to receive it. That may well have been their intent all
along.
Secondly, and probably more importantly, I want to
acknowledge just how much going to gigs, meeting old and new friends and
generally losing myself in the music has helped during an incredibly tough
period. People have provided support to me, and Alison, at gigs without even
realising they are doing so. Music, and good company, truly can soothe the
soul.
One decision that we had to make after my mother’s death
would be whether we would still attend Beatle Week just a few weeks later.
Alison left the call to me. Everyone I spoke to felt that I would find it
beneficial to get away from it all for the week. In truth it wasn’t a difficult
decision to make. Where better to start the healing process than in Liverpool
surrounded by those that share your love of The Beatles?
First though there was a pre Beatle Week jaunt one Sunday
afternoon to Irvine to catch Them Beatles perform at Freckfest; a weekend long
music festival.
Them Beatles were bringing the event to its’ conclusion and
while it was obvious that the event was a well organised one by the Sunday
afternoon it was clear that it was starting to wind down. Them Beatles though
provided one last injection of rock ‘n’ roll and ensured that the festival
finished on a high note. They went down a storm with those still at the soon to
be no longer Magnum Leisure Centre and they would simply have blown the place
away had they been playing the Friday or Saturday night rather than the Sunday
afternoon.
And so to Liverpool.
Them Beatles played seven shows during Beatle Week covering
just about every aspect of The Beatles career, and beyond. We were fortunate
enough to catch six of the seven shows.
They must have lost pounds performing in the heat of the
Cavern Live Lounge on the Thursday night. It just about floored me and I was
standing at the back, bar within easy reach, and not under lights on stage.
The Cavern Club Beatles and Them Beatles shared the bill at
the Liverpool Philharmonic the following night with Them Beatles taking the
second half. Setting themselves an incredibly challenging set they reached new
heights.
The arrival of the sitar on stage drew an ovation from the audience
and an incredible performance of Norwegian Wood.
Personal highlight though came as a memorable evening drew
to a close. I recall thinking that I would love to hear Free as a Bird and Them
Beatles duly obliged.
Beatle Week proved to be every good as I had expected it to
be and my experience is probably worthy of a blog in its’ own right. Limiting
things to Them Beatles, Sefton Park on Saturday afternoon, a performance of
Yellow Submarine and the presence on stage of a football proved why the
Liverpool FC scouts haven’t been chapping on John’s door with a contract to
sign.
Given that just a few weeks had passed since my mother’s
death it perhaps wasn’t any great surprise that at times I found the experience
overwhelming. No more so than on the Sunday afternoon when Them Beatles
performed Rubber Soul in its’ entirety at The Adelphi Hotel.
In My Life can get me at the best of times and this wasn’t
the best of times. As Them Beatles performed that song and sang about those “dead
and living” I couldn’t help but think of my mother and I couldn’t help but
recall that the four guys on stage came to my mother’s funeral service
providing support and friendship when I needed it most. I’m not in the least
bit ashamed to say that I watched the rest of that particular show through my
own tears. It is a compliment to the skill in which it was performed that it so
moved me.
I had recovered in time though to attend my first All
Nighter deep in the bowels of The Adelphi Hotel. It was nearly 5am before Them
Beatles came on stage to perform their Hamburg set but trust me it was worth
the wait as they provided, leather trousers and toilet set round the head, kind
of anarchic set that I imagine those in Hamburg would have been. We even had
the rare sight of a Them Pete Best taking lead vocals.
It was back to The Adelphi the following day for only
marginally earlier finish. Them Beatles recreated the legendary Frost Show and
Hey Jude, complete with fans on stage, brilliantly. We didn’t have any tears
from me this time but there was an onstage marriage proposal (Alison don’t
worry – I’ve no intention of doing the same) and at one point it didn’t look
like Them Beatles would be allowed to leave the stage as the played umpteen ‘last’
songs.
And so brought our Beatle Week experience to an end. Or
rather not quite. As dawn was breaking and we clambered into our taxi back to
the hotel we spied the couple that we had seen at every Beatle Week Them
Beatles show. Warm handshakes and hugs were exchanged with the words “see you next year” secure in
the knowledge that provided we are all spared we will do just that. More new
friends made.
And for me that is one of the real pleasures of following
Them Beatles around; the friendships that have been forged in doing so. From
Sandra and Billy with whom we spent a lot of time in Liverpool with, to Johnny
and Carlan and to Jim, in full Pepper outfit, and Margaret who we met at
Lochwinnoch to mention just a few names that immediately spring to mind. That
really only scratches at the surface of the number of people we’ve had the
pleasure of sharing Them Beatles’ gigs with.
When Them Beatles played to a virtually sold out Pavilion
Theatre in September one of the joys of the evening was reconnecting with other
Them Beatles fans. There is a genuine sense of community that comes with following
Them Beatles. The music is obviously a huge part of it but it isn’t just that
that keeps us going to see them.
The total number of gigs that we have seen Them Beatles play
must now be approaching the 40 mark; and I’ve only really touched on a few that
we have seen since the blog’s temporary hiatus. I’ve not mentioned a fantastic
show at the O2 where Them Beatles celebrated the 50th anniversary of
With the Beatles or the last gig that we caught just this weekend at Celtic
Park. We’ll be through in Edinburgh for their gig at the Electric Circus this
coming weekend though and the blog will return after that gig. In the meantime
we hope to see whoever is reading this blog at a gig real soon and leave you
with this shaky, poor quality video from the O2 show.
Tom Evans
