This November NZ Has Ticket To Ride!

MEDIA RELEASE: 20th August 2007
For Immediate Release

This November NZ Has Ticket To Ride!

Five of Australasia's most illustrious performers backed by an outstanding ten piece band will provide audiences across New Zealand a 'ticket to ride' the concert experience, Let It Be: The Beatles Songs of Lennon & McCartney.

The song-writing partnership of Lennon and McCartney has long been regarded as the finest collaboration in musical history - from the days The Beatles had mop-top haircuts and sharp suits through to their flamboyant Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club psychedelic phases. Let It Be honours the musical and lyrical depth of this phenomenal duo and their much loved repertoire of classics.

Celebrated vocalists Sharon O'Neill, Darryl Lovegrove, Mark Williams, Glenn Shorrock and Doug Parkinson are joined by the renowned Day Tripper Band to capture the magic and spirit of The Beatles' songs of John Lennon and Paul McCartney for the 5 centre national Let It Be tour. Each artist, all of whom have been personally influenced by The Beatles, bring their own style and vocal ability to some of the most famous lyrics that not only convinced a generation of teenagers to "twist and shout" but gave birth to worldwide popular music.

A former Silver Scroll winner, New Zealand's Sharon O'Neill was one of the dominant female voices throughout the 1980s and has most recently performed with seminal New Zealand girl group When the Cats Away and opened for Leo Sayer during his Australia-wide tour. With an outstanding musical career spanning 35 years is Glenn Shorrock best known to NZ audiences as the front man for the internationally successful Little River Band. 'Soulman' Doug Parkinson has won numerous Australian awards and in his long career has supported many international acts including The Who, The Pointer Sisters and Bob Marley and the Wailers. In 1969 his band, Doug Parkinson In Focus, recorded The Beatles' Dear Prudence which topped the charts and in 1975 he appeared in the Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Clubs Band stage production. Darryl Lovegrove played John Lennon in the acclaimed 2000 New Zealand production of Looking Through A Glass Onion, An evening with John Lennon in words and music and the lead role in the Arena Production Jesus Christ Superstar. Having toured extensively with some of the big names in music including Gary Glitter, The Hollies, Tim Finn and Renee Geyer NZ singing legend Mark Williams joins this high quality 5 star musical ensemble for a magical evening of Beatles music.

Completing the impressive Let It Be line up is musical director Paul Berton along with some of Australia's leading musicians in the ten piece Day Tripper Band. This accomplished line up will bring all their craft and musicianship to lush interpretations of The Beatles' most popular songs. Befitting the calibre of the artists and music Let it Be will be presented at the prestigious Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Arts Centre and Queensland Performing Arts Centre as well as NZ presentations in Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington. This year's Let It Be tour follows a sell-out 2006 Australian tour.

Paul McCartney once said, "Very early on I met John and we then, gradually started to write stuff together. There's a lot of random in our songs ¦then bang, you have the jigsaw puzzle." And that's exactly what you'll get with Let It Be, as it honours the musical and lyrical depth of one of the finest song writing duos of our time.

"For me, hearing the Beatles' Love Me Do for the first time, was as important an occasion as the news of President John F Kennedy's assassination, the death of Elvis or Neil Armstrong's moon walk. No-one before or since has mastered the art of crafting a three minute piece of music into an emotional, unique experience. And not just once or twice, but on just about every track they recorded."
Doug Parkinson

The Let It Be Tour will be performing at:

ASB Theatre, AUCKLAND - Saturday November 10 at 8pm. Book at Ticketek
Founders Theatre, HAMILTON - Monday November 12 at 8pm. Book at Ticketdirect
Great Town Hall, CHRISTCHURCH - Wednesday November 14 at 8pm. Book at Ticketek Regent Theatre, DUNEDIN - Thursday November 15 at 8pm. Book at Ticketek
St. James Theatre, WELLINGTON - Friday November 16 at 8pm. Book at Ticketek

TICKETS GO ON SALE MONDAY SEPTEMBER 3

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