Lovers of The Beatles are being urged to bring or find their Valentine when King’s Heath’s All You Need Is Love Festival returns on Saturday 15 February.
The mini festival will also have a Now and Then Theme to celebrate the enduring legacy of The Beatles.
Now: The Beatles have recently received 2 Grammy Award nominations for the long lost and lovingly restored John Lennon song “Now and Then” and to celebrate Beatles fans will Come Together on Saturday 15 Feb 2024 to celebrate the day in 1963 when Beatlemania first came to King’s Heath and Birmingham!
Then: Exactly 62 years ago on 15 February 1963 The Beatles made their Birmingham debut at King’s Heath’s tiny now burnt down Ritz Ballroom next to the Hare and Hounds. They had originally been booked to appear on 11 January but blizzard like conditions prevented them from arriving so the gig had to be re-arranged for 15 February. And Ma and Pa Regan who ran the Ritz were delighted because they had persuaded Brian Epstein not to increase their fee even though The Beatles were now No.1 in the charts for the first time with “Please Please Me”. Screaming fans at the front entrance to the ballroom on York Road meant The Beatles could only get in to perform by climbing up a ladder from Milford Place. They returned again to the Ritz to play a second hurriedly re-arranged gig on 5 July 1963. But the next times they returned to Birmingham they would play the much larger venues of The Hippodrome and the Town Hall and the rest is history!
Now top tribute band Nottingham based The Fab 4 will play hit after hit after hit in a unique commemorative concert that will include a special segment featuring “Please Please Me”,” I Want To Hold Your Hand”, “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Twist and Shout” that The Beatles first performed at the Ritz Ballroom in 1963!
Bob Prew and Ken Whittaker from the local charity Kings Heath Walk Of Fame said, “We have booked the The Fab4 to help us to commemorate this major event in King’s Heath’s and Birmingham’s musical history because they were the first band invited to play at the Paul McCartney Auditorium at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts…..what higher accolade could a Beatles tribute band be accorded?”
The Fab4 also starred in the Liverpool celebrations of the re-release of the Beatles “Yellow Submarine” and performed for the BBC’s “Music Live” celebrations at the Royal Albert Hall.
And The Fab4 starred in the sell out “Cavern to Rooftop” tour with the unforgettable Alistair Taylor, former General manager of Apple Corporation, who worked very closely with the Beatles and who said
“I have seen and heard hundreds of Beatles tribute groups. Some of them have been very, very good, but none have surpassed the FAB 4. There is a passion in their playing which reminds me of “the boys”!
Don’t miss out on this unique celebration of the day Beatlemania first came to King’s Heath and Birmingham!
King’s Heath Cricket and Sports Club on Alcester Road South is an Unreserved Seated Venue. with Dance Floor. There is a Car Park at the rear and No. 50 Bus stops outside
Tickets cost £12 + BF from
www.wegottickets.com/event/639392
£15 on the door if any are left but this event is likely to sell out in advance