“Get there early” is the advice from veteran radio presenter “Whispering” Bob Harris, who alongside music journalist Colin Hall, former custodian of John Lennon’s childhood home, will present The Songs The Beatles Gave Away at The Witham next month.
The duo, who met 20 years ago, talk about their love of The Beatles and songs that Sir Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison penned for other artists.
The stage production, inspired by the Bob-hosted BBC Radio 2 documentary that featured interviews conducted by Colin, and his latest book of the same name, delves into an often-overlooked aspect of the Fab Four’s story.
The Old Grey Whistle Test presenter, who interviewed all four members of the original super band, said: “Everyone loves The Beatles. They were so prolific in their song writing but they chose to give away songs to other artists. There are nearly 30 songs that The Beatles never released themselves.”
Trading stories, people may not have heard before, the pair include testimonies from Sir Paul and George Harrison, along with clips of the songs themselves.
The show starts long before the lights dim, the Old Grey Whistle Test presenter said. Guests arriving for the show will be able to sit back and listen to specially devised playlists, featuring songs The Beatles covered in their early days performing in Hamburg.
He said: “I have taken quite a lot of time to create playlists so as they are arriving at The Witham, they can immerse themselves in The Beatles’ music.”
He has also created different playlists for the interval and end of show chronologically charting the compositions.
Bob added: “The pre-show play list is almost an hour long so I can highly recommend that everyone gets there early as it will feature some of the early tracks The Beatles covered.”
The 77-year-old has had an overwhelming reaction to the show, which started off as a 20-date tour.
“It is amazing we originally thought we would do about 15 or 20 gigs but we have extended the tour and we now have bookings until 2024. We are doing 55 dates, possibly more.”
“I love being in front of an audience and everyone loves The Beatles. We don’t like the travelling, particularly on the motorway, but the gigs are really lively and we have known each other for 20 years. We have a lot of fun.”
The Songs The Beatles Gave Away plays at The Witham at 7.30pm on October 3. Tickets are available at thewitham.org.uk
