Abbey Road goes on the road with Mark Lewisohn
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| The surprises and delights of ABBEY ROAD, the Beatles’ final album – 50 years on |
September 2019 is the golden anniversary of the Beatles’ multi-platinum album Abbey Road – the last work they recorded before their seismic breakup. It was both the end of the Sixties and the end of the greatest band of all time.
To hail this anniversary, world’s leading Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn is touring a theatre show of illumination, intrigue, surprises, delights, humour, excitement and entertainment – a fast-moving and smart illustrated history of our forever national-heroes the Beatles, their brilliant album Abbey Road, and other major events of that extraordinary year 1969.
Mark Lewisohn has the world’s greatest archive of Beatles stuff, harvested over 40+ years of unrivalled deep access to archives and public and private collections. He will be showing audiences a stunning array of strong and relevant content, with rare music, photos, films and choice memorabilia. Audiences (even superfans) will see and hear things they didn’t know existed.
Hornsey Road (that intriguing title will be explained …), tells all about how the album was made and the many momentous events that occurred during its recording, when the Beatles were joyously together inside the recording studio but falling apart outside. This was the year of their breakup, and the album was made at a time of turmoil in their personal and business lives.
Abbey Road wasn’t just one of so many glorious and triumphant chapters in the Beatles’ unparalleled time together, it was their best-selling and last piece of work. Audiences at Hornsey Road will be constantly grabbed by the sights and sounds that show how it all came together.
Mark comments: “HORNSEY ROAD is all about Abbey Road, the people who made it and the time in which they did it. This artistic triumph was created at a hectic junction in the Beatles’ lives, and I’m going to be revealing the rich history, refreshing the remarkable stories behind its making, and bringing it all back by sight, sound and smell. I’ll be delivering an original and surprising look at this collection of great songs, superbly recorded by the Beatles and their producer George Martin fifty summers ago, and packaged in that highly-imitated cover art of the four of them on the zebra crossing in north London. I’ll be explaining the album’s making in the context of the 1969 contemporary music scene, and depicting the four Beatles as friends, bandmates and artistic individuals at the peak of their creative powers, crowning the many precedent-setting events of their previous six years together with this glorious parting shot.”
Here are details of the dates that have already been confirmed: Ticketmaster. An official site has also been established: HornseyRoad.net/
Sounds great, went to Ticketmaster to book but it's just looping. Look forward to this. Shame there are no Scottish dates
No thank you.
Lewisohn should better finish his books. We are not getting any younger.
My thoughts while I read the news. Better finish the books, Mark.
We all long for him to finish the next book, but 18 talks across three months will only take a fraction of his time. Essentially it will be the same talk every time, so he only has to prepare once. He could do it in his spare time, if he had any!
Also, the guy has to make a living. I don't know what his royalty flow is like, but he does this professionally, so no wages other than what he earns from Beatles work. Best of luck to him, I say.
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And wouldn't this topic be part of his research anyway? Not for the next book, but couldn't one say that this is actually helpful in that it can be part of the groundwork for the third?
Like a few others who left comments, I long for Mark's volume 2.
No we are not getting younger. I fear the next generation will not be as much demanding to know the Beatles full story.
If all goes well, most of us will read this Vol 2. we are all expecting.
Then what, we'll expect Vol. 3 ! When ?
I'm 70, will I still be able / interested / alive / remembering what Beatles mean when I'm 80 something ?
Still, I'm looking forward to Mark's show, and I'll be celebrating Abbey Road 's 50th anniversary in September with friends.
Mark is the absolute historian and fan, a great and serious researcher.
I live in France and I have booked my ticket and accommodation for him in Canter
From Mark Lewisohn …
I’m about to tour for the first time. No, I’ve not yet taken up singing, but I am becoming the first speaker to tour an album. My show, an entertaining illustrated history called HORNSEY ROAD, will mark the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road, telling the fascinating stories behind the songs and why the album became Beatles’ best-selling but final work. The tour is presently scheduled for 22 theatre shows in England between September 18 and November 8 and then closing on December 4. More dates are still being added, and I very much hope it will extend into Scotland, Wales, Ireland and then into other countries.
The first announcement was made last week, with thrilling effect: the date at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London is almost sold out, so a second performance – a same-day matinee – has been added.
Details here: hornseyroad.net
with some additional info here: marklewisohn.net/hornsey-road/
And for those wanting a crash reminder of Abbey Road, here’s the Wikipedia page. (I’m not endorsing everything it says, but it’s a fair start.) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Road
People are asking me …
Q: Why is the show called Hornsey Road?
A: I’m saving the answer for the stage. All I’ll say for the moment is … it’s what Abbey Road could have been.
and
Q: Shouldn’t you be behind your desk, writing Volume 2 of the All These Years trilogy?
A: Yes I should – but if I don’t do the tour I’ll starve and there’ll be no Volume 2.
So if you enjoy the Beatles, or any music, and if you like stories about music or musicians, please come along – support the books by supporting me. And, as people used to say, tell all your friends.
Best wishes,
Mark Lewisohn
How much time will be allotted for Q and A sessions ?
It would be nice if the tour also stopped in Germany!
Maybe in France ? 🙂
Come to Exeter please.
Mark's Vol 2 Please Please Me….!