Musicians, kids come together to celebrate Beatles

Friday, May 23, 2014

It was 50 years ago in June that Sgt Pepper taught the band to play. And to celebrate, hundreds of New Zealand musicians are teaming up to bring Beatlemania back to Auckland.

The Play It Strange Trust is uniting 150 musicians for two nights of music to mark the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' two Auckland Town Hall shows on June 24 and 25. Each night's performance will have a different line-up. Among those performing on June 24 are Don McGlashan, SJD and Tim Finn, with Peter Urlich, Jason Kerrison and Jordan Luck among those taking to the stage on the second night. And though there were swarms of teenagers screaming at the Fab Four 50 years ago, this time hundreds of schoolchildren will join the musicians on stage, performing Beatles songs they have been rehearsing in the lead-up to the shows. Thankfully, it seems John, Paul, George and Ringo haven't been lost among the Biebers and Mileys that dominate the charts today. Play It Strange CEO Mike Chunn says when one student was asked if she knew any Beatles songs, she replied that she knew every song from their No 1 album of chart-topping tracks.