2005

Welcome to Liverpool!
It’s here at last, Beatle Week 2005!!! We know you will enjoy it, seven days and nights of Beatle music, provided by bands from all over the world. 
I’m writing this after returning from California, where I managed to catch up with Shannon in Malibu. The Hard Days Night Hotel project is finally underway and she is just about to begin work on the 120 murals / paintings that will adorn the hotel. A major undertaking and one that will finally come to fruition after years of endeavour in getting the project off the ground. The hotel will open in late 2006 / early 2016, so next year we will be able at last, to give you a major preview of what the hotel will look like and you will be able to book for Beatle Week 2016!!
I’m sure many of you watched the BBC2 documentary re-the hotel, which only showed a very small percentage of the blood, sweat and tears that has gone into it. Cavern City Tours will not actually own any of the hotel, but we have non-executive directorships and a decent contract that gives us a significant voice in the decision  making to facilitate the needs of the fans. 
The hotel is now a £14 million project and I’m sure the wait has been worth it! The City certainly needs more hotels. As you know in the last twelve months, Liverpool (and Beatle Week) has lost both the North Western and  Moat House Hotel, which we have  used for over fifteen years. Indeed, the City is akin to a building site at the moment as it prepares for 2008 and European Capital of Culture status. There is over £2 billion worth of investment and construction currently underway, which is the biggest City Centre development in Europe. However, we are experiencing the pain before the gain as certain parts of the City can look fairly ugly with all of the building work going on. 

This years Beatle Week brochure should be renamed "The Kiss of Death!". It seems that every venue I picked to stage events has closed down in the last twelve months (i.e. The Comedy Club, Strawberry Field and The Royal Court Theatre). The Royal Court has actually re-opened as a refurbished 400 seater comedy cabaret club, which is far below the capacity we needed. Obviously this has all been out of our control, however we have found a more than suitable alternative. 

The Friday afternoon ‘No more Landmines’ concert will be held on site in the Adelphi Hotel Ballroom. All of the Royal Court Theatre gigs will be held in the Carling Academy, Hotham Street (just behind the Empire Theatre) which is no more that a three minute walk from the original venue. The Carling Academy is the City’s premier rock venue, with a capacity of  1,400 but it only has 200 seats, so if you need to be seated, get there early.

It is a fantastic venue and we will be interested to hear your comments after Beatle Week to determine whether it becomes our long-term venue for future Beatle Weeks.  

After a lot of panic and pandemonium, we have managed to confirm Strawberry Field Garden Party will take place, despite the fact that the  children’s home has closed. It will possibly be the last ever staged event in the grounds and will be quite a historic moment. Strawberry Field will donate the funds raised from the Garden Party to children’s charities on Merseyside. 

To this end we ask you to show your support by buying an exclusive ‘Strawberry Field Forever’ affinity band for £2.50. This strictly limited edition of 1.000 will boost our funds for the day. We have pledged a minimum of £3,000 and we hope to raise a lot more. Incidentally we may need volunteers at Strawberry Field to help man some of the stalls. An announcement will be made on the day, so keep your ears peeled! 

The closure of the Comedy Club was also a blow to our plans. Furthermore, Neil Innes announced that he would like his Liverpool gig to be the last ever Rutles gig (an end of an error indeed). It was felt that the Thursday evening would not be a fitting finale, so this was switched to Friday night. On Thursday evening Neil Innes will play his solo show (a non Rutle show) at The Cavern Club. 

On Friday the Australian Beatles will re-enact the 1964 Adelaide show and the Rutles farewell performance will top the bill. This dovetailed nicely from our point of view, as the Reenactment Concert was proving troublesome. The Fab Four from LA obtained a Las Vegas residency and The Parrots encountered personal difficulties in traveling. Even our replacement band ‘Abbey Road’ from Brazil, who were scheduled to re-enact Shea Stadium, cancelled on August 1st! 

Their attention to detail in cloning the Beatles went to the ultimate level - they decided to split up!! Still, despite all, I believe the Friday concert is stronger than the original and I’m sure that it will be an historic occasion. 

If that was not all, the terrorist bombs in London led to a spate of cancellations from Japan and The USA and the subsequent killing of a Brazilian in London by the police, who wrongfully assumed he was a terrorist, has become a major diplomatic issue between the countries and has sadly led to cancellations by Brazilian fans and bands. 

As I write this I still don’t know if any of the Brazilian bands are coming for definite. Such are the joys of life. My own slant is that by not traveling you have conceded defeat to the terrorists but on the other hand I respect and understand the counter argument. As you can see, it hasn’t been an easy programme to put together! 

Another opportunity that you must not miss is the inclusion of the Wirral in the Mathew Street Festival on the Monday. There are two stages at the Pier Head on the Waterfront in Liverpool. You can watch the bands there and then catch the Ferry over to the Wirral (£2 return). Hal Bruce will be playing his Beatles medley (every song recorded by the Beatles in 21/2 hours!) on the Ferry, which will whisk you to Woodside, Wirral where there will be another huge outdoor stage. If you look at the two line-ups in Liverpool and Woodside, I think you may  see a similarity in line-ups from  Live Aid, Wembley 1985 and  Philadelphia! 

You may even catch Wirral’s Ambassador, Mr Mike McCartney who has promised to catch the bands on the Wirral. 

On the Beatle front it has been another fairly busy year with a new great album from Ringo, John`s acoustic album, Beatles Capital Years Boxed Set and another Macca DVD (Live in Red Square) and a new album ‘Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard’ to be released in September, followed by another US tour! Phew!! 

Indeed, the launch of Paul’s new album will take place in the Cavern Club on September 7th. Details of how to get tickets will be available over this weekend. 

The Cavern Club was very busy this year with the opening of licensed Clubs in Adelaide and Buenos Aires and appearances at the Cavern Club, Liverpool by Kenney Jones (Small Faces / Faces / Who), Nigel Kennedy, Fish, James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Embrace, Travis and Elbow (all of whom have had number one albums in the UK and all over the world). We will also be looking to formally celebrate Johns 65th birthday in October and an appropriate vigil in December. Life always seems hectic at CAVERN CITY TOURS. 

All in all, the scene is set for another humongous weekend, eat drink and be merry whilst we celebrate the music of the greatest band ever. Suffice to say, this event would not be possible without the considerable input from a number of people with special thanks to Ian, Victoria, Ray, Helen, Neil B, Stevie P, and all our wonderful staff. 

Thanks also to Shannon, Jean Catharell, Charles, Bengt Warmlind (www.magicalbeatletours@yahoo.se ) and last but by no means least, the lovely Nina, who has worked so hard again compiling this excellent programme. 

The love you take is equal to the love you make. 

Bill , August 4th 2005