Who's That Little Old Man?
The worldwide reissue of A Hard Day's Night

On Monday 9th April Beatlemania returned as cinemas all over the world premiered the newly reissued 'A Hard Day's Night'. In Liverpool, fans and 'celebrities' flocked to the Royal Philharmonic Hall for the showing of the film, which has been called 'the Citizen Kane of juke box movies'. Hollyoaks star Terri Dwyer had never seen AHDN but said after the premiere; "It was a brilliant film. I loved it. I didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed it… the story was entertaining and there was loads of different characters to keep me interested." Other celebrities included Ricky Tomlinson from The Royle Family, Claire Sweeney from Brookside and Alan Williams - the Beatles first manager. Sir Paul McCartney had been rumoured to attend the event (when isn't he!?) but, of course, he didn't. The fans however weren't disappointed; as for many it was the first opportunity they had ever had to see the Beatles on the silver screen.

Terry Crain who teaches the 'Beatles Internet Course' at John A. Logan College in Illinois told us that they too would be celebrating the re-issue of AHDN. Louise Harrison, George's sister, attended the event which included musical performances from the Union Jack Band and Dr Joe Brezniker, a critically acclaimed classical guitarist. The college were one of just 200 sites in the USA chosen to hold a 'pre-screening' of the film.

In Nottingham I joined my friends for an evening of Beatleness!! The Broadway Cinema held its first screening just an hour and a half after the official Liverpool premiere! It was fantastic to see our heroes up on the big screen - the picture was perfect and the sound crystal clear. I don't know how much 'cleaning up' they have done on the film, but it hasn't taken away any of the rawness which Richard Lester achieved with his then revolutionary 'fly-on-the-wall' technique. I spotted lots of little things that go unnoticed when watched on video, and I really felt as though I were on the train with the Beatles as the whole cinema swayed with the camera motion. It is very easy to dismiss black and white films as being less realistic compared to today's 'Technicolor' and computer generated effects but I can't imagine AHDN any other way. It certainly doesn't age the film - if anything it makes it timeless and more believable. Sitting on the front row (like the mad fans we are,) allowed us to be completely captivated in the action, and although we had all seen it many, many times before, the reaction of the audience around us, for many of whom it was obviously the first time, made me feel proud to be a Beatlefan. I feel like a proud mother when non-Beatlefans suddenly take note of the Fabs… whether it's the release of an album or book (1 and the Anthology being the most recent examples) or hearing people laugh at lines, which you had almost forgotten were funny with familiarity, in the films! I always smile inside and think, "I knew they were great all along!"

After the screening we made our way to the Broadway bar where the Beatles Tribute Band The Fab 4 were to play. The bar was packed solid with the audience from the premiere as well as other customers. The band played two fantastic sets and the audience had a great time. Tony Osborne (lead guitar), Blue (rhythm guitar), Pat Furber (bass) and Gary Holmes (drums) have been entertaining audiences all over the UK for over six years. They played at Beatleweek in 1998 and have played as part of the Mathew Street Festival at Yates in Liverpool for the past two years. The Fab 4 are very much a fans band, and encourage requests from the audience. They have a repertoire that covers the entire Beatles career and their renditions of Paperback Writer and Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds are among the best I have ever heard. They always finish with Hey Jude, giving the audience the opportunity to exercise their vocals chords and sing their hearts out, and the Broadway crowd sang along at the top of their voices!!

It's great to see that Beatlemania is still alive and well in my local town and all over the world - I wonder if they'll ever re-issue 'Help!' so we can do is all again!!

Nina Douglas
TWIL Issue Four May 2001