Monday, July 7, 2025
spot_img

Magical Tour: Reliving Beatlemania

Date:

Share post:

spot_imgspot_img

SHILLONG: NEW YORK,DEC. 8, 1980 : The world held its collective, bated breath in horror as sounds of gun-shots aimed at music icon and former Beatle John Lennon reverberated world-wide. The irony could not have been more pronounced: a family man who had , of late, withdrawn himself into a cocoon, becoming another victim of mindless violence. A peace activist whose mantra was “All we need is love” and “Give Peace a Chance” bludgeoned into silence by a fan who, like thousands of others, must have basked in the glorious sunlight that the Beatles music had come to mean, relieving them of the drudgery, the pain and the angst of every day life.

31 years and a day later, a leading, Kent-based Beatles tribute band , the Counterfeit Beatles , are set to turn the magical clock back and afford Shillongites with a glimpse of the era that heralded the zenith of musical spendour. Complete with the signature Beatles costumes and regalia, Counterfeit Beatles is a leading tribute band dedicated to the Fab Four and have played before packed audiences worldwide, warming up shows for giants like Coldplay, Elvis Costello and Steve Winwood.

That the music created by Lennon and Mccartney has shaped Shillong’s myriad musicians is beyond doubt. Right from the heydays of 60s Rock and Roll that saw pumped up youths screaming to the sounds of I Saw Her Standing There, Twist and Shout and Help to the psychedelic miasma of I am the Walrus, Strawberry Fields and I’m Only Sleeping, the Beatles music captured the zeitgeist of a generation that gyrated , swayed and rocked to the magical sound of albums as diverse as Rubber Soul, the White Album, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Club band and Abbey Road. Their legacy has spawned many a starry-eyed teenager’s dream to make it big some day, leading to the proliferation of local bands that saw in the meteoric rise of the four boys from Liverpool a reflection of the growing aspirations of many a Shillong musician. And what majestic possibilities, what magical sparks those dreams helped lit! Were not the Fentones and Blood and Thunder, Eddie Rynjah and Toto Wahlang, the Rumnong Brothers and the King Apple a slice of that dream?

As Shillong prepares to roll up for its magical tryst with their much-adored heroes, albeit vicariously through Counterfeit Beatles, one hopes the season of love and optimism that characterized much of the Beatles music finds enough resonance in the hearts of all Shillongites to see them through the cold,wintry days ahead!

spot_imgspot_img

Related articles

15 pc of $23 trillion global gold market now held in India: Report

New Delhi, July 7:  While global forex reserves total around $12.5 trillion, the gold market is currently valued...

Wiaan Mulder scripts history with triple century on Test captaincy debut

Bulawayo, July 7: Wiaan Mulder etched his name into South African cricket folklore with a historic 300-plus knock...

Manu Bhaker spearheads India’s squad for Asian Shooting Championship

New Delhi, July 7: National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has revealed the Indian squads for upcoming international...

Fintechs must curb fraud with AI use, ensure financial inclusion: DFS Secretary

New Delhi, July 7: Fintech companies should leverage their strengths and innovation by not only extending financial services...