"A Hard Day's Night": Film Altered Pop History

 

"A HARD DAY'S NIGHT" FILM ALTERED POP HISTORY

Beatles tribute band, Abbey Road, performs album in its entirety at Saint Rocke on November 4

HERMOSA BEACH, CA (10/25/2012) Nationally touring Beatles tribute, Abbey Road, performs the "A Hard Day's Night" album cut for cut with a full set of other Beatles hits in a show which includes three costume changes on Sunday, November 4 at 8 pm at Saint Rocke. The concert is 21+. Doors are at 6 pm with the opening act beginning at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at www.saintrocke.com or by calling 310 372 0035 (box office open between noon and 5 pm). Saint Rocke is located at 142 Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach 92054.

A low budget film which was intended as a device to sell soundtrack albums in the United States, the Beatles' 1964 film, "A Hard Day's Night", became an astounding critical and financial success and is credited with inspiring the 60's spy movie craze, the popular television "The Monkees", MTV and the way record companies market pop artists today.

Although the Beatles were virtually unknown in the United States in October of 1963, United Artists knew the Beatles would become popular. The Beatles' record label, Capital, was refusing to release their music in America. This is where the United Artists' plan went into action. "Our record division wants to get the soundtrack album to distribute in the States," said Bud Ornstein in 1963, who was the European head of United Artists, "and what we lose on the film, we'll get back on the disc." The plan was to produce a low budget "exploitation" movie, which was very commonly done to promote recent hits by popular artists like Elvis Presley, and obtain the rights to release the soundtrack album in the United States.

With a mere budget of $500,000 and a working title of "Beatlemania," this "mock documentary" was filmed in less than a week and subsequently nominated for two Academy Awards, made the Time Magazine list of all time great 100 films and was described as "the Citizen Kane" of jukebox musicals by the Village Voice. Film critic Roger Ebert described the film as "one of the great life affirming landmarks of the movies." Contrary to United Artists' expectation of losing money, the black and white film was a huge commercial success and convinced United Artists to produce a larger budget Beatles film, "Help!", a year later.

"A Hard Day's Night" also cemented the Beatles' popularity in ways that were not imagined at the time. "The film showed fans four distinct Beatle personalities, the success of which changed the way bands were marketed," explained Abbey Road's manager Tom Maher, who was on the management team of Guns N' Roses and now is on the management team of Motorhead, Anthrax and Puddle of Mud. "Previously the Beatles were marketed as a group, but it became clear that fans loved seeing their differences and identified with them individually," continued Maher.

"This model became the template for acts like The Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys," said Maher.

The title of the album was the accidental creation of drummer Ringo Starr, who described a late night as 'a hard day's night.'

"The title was an off-the-cuff remark by Ringo. You know one of those malapropisms - A Ringo-ism, where he said it not to be funny...just said it," explained John Lennon in a 1980 interview with Playboy. "So [director] Dick Lester said, "We are going to use that title," Lennon explained. 

The "A Hard Day's Night" soundtrack album contains some of the Beatles' most famous songs, including the title track with its recognizable opening chord, a Gsus4. The album was number one on the Billboard chart for 14 weeks, longer than any other album in 1964. 

If you wish to interview band members or manager Tom Maher, call 562 597.9989.

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Nationally touring Beatles tribute, Abbey Road, performs the "A Hard Day's Night" album cut for cut with a full set of other Beatles hits in a show which includes three costume changes on Sunday, November 4 at 8 pm at Saint Rocke. The concert is 21+. Doors are at 6 pm with the opening act beginning at 7 pm. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased online at www.saintrocke.com or by calling 310 372 0035 (box office open between noon and 5 pm). Saint Rocke is located at 142 Pacific Coast Highway in Hermosa Beach 92054.

PHOTO TAG: "ARGoofy" shows (l-r) Chris Paul Overall ("Paul"), Jesse Wilder ("George"), Axel Clarke ("Ringo") and Gregory Wilmot ("John"). "GoodSP" shows Wilmot, Clarke, Overall and Wilder.

Some additional information about the "A Hard Day's Night" album:

A Hard Day's Night is the first Beatles album to feature entirely original compositions, and the only one where all the songs were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Normally, McCartney and Lennon would contribute a roughly equal number of songs to each album, but A Hard Day's Night is the one Beatles album on which Lennon's dominance as songwriter is by far the greater, being the primary writer of 9 of the 13 tracks on the album, and co-writing only one song with McCartney (I'm Happy Just to Dance with You).

The album was the first by the Beatles to be recorded entirely on four track tape, allowing for good stereo mixes.

And some additional information about Abbey Road:

With their tight harmonies, flawless note for note renditions of Beatles hits, custom–tailored costumes, vintage instruments, Liverpudlian dialect and precise attention to every detail, Abbey Road – A Tribute to the Beatles has honed their show to become one of the most musically and visually satisfying Beatle tribute acts in the world.  Abbey Road recreates the magic, music, wit and charm of the Beatles, including the Fab Four’s cheeky personalities, familiar onstage banter and patter between songs.The musicians in the band are between 22 - 33 years of age and are age appropriate for the original artists when the Beatles were playing.

 

“The show delivers!” said the L.A. Times. “If you see one tribute show, see this one – smart and loads of fun,” said the O.C. Register. “This is the ticket for you,” said the Idaho Statesman. Abbey Road headlined Beatles Festival 2010 and headlined Knott's Berry Farm on New Year's Eve.

 

The musicians in Abbey Road also perform in a nationally-touring Beatles musical called "In My Life", which played to a sold out crowd at the Canyon Theatre Guild in May of this year."In My Life" traces the trajectory of The Beatles, seen through the eyes of their manager, Brian Epstein. With multimedia projections, elaborate costume changes and classic Beatles hits, the show conjures the nostalgia of one of the most popular bands in rock's history and is widely considered by industry insiders to be the most unique Beatles show in decades.

Three costume changes cover the full range of the Beatle experience and beyond, with authentic early black Beatle suits, Sgt. Pepper’s regalia and Abbey Road attire. Hear the piccolo trumpet solo on Penny Lane and the full orchestration of A Day in the Life. Relive the emotional intensity of Paul’s moving Yesterday solo, as well as the high energy of stadium songs like Twist and Shout and other Beatle hits.

And some additional information about manager Tom Maher:

The band is managed by Tom Maher, who was part of the management team for such world class acts Guns N' Roses, Slash, Blind Melon, Zakk Wylde, Danzig, Leon Russell, John Jorgenson and My Little Funhouse.  Maher is still currently in management for  Motorhead, Anthrax, Puddle of Mud, Sepultara, Zebrahead,  My Vitriol, as well as up and comers Orange, the UK's Obsessive Compulsive, and Finland's Icon Crash.