USA: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono attend first Beatles-sanctioned stage show in Las Vegas.
Record ID:
219610
USA: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono attend first Beatles-sanctioned stage show in Las Vegas.
- Title: USA: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono attend first Beatles-sanctioned stage show in Las Vegas.
- Date: 6th July 2006
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DEBBIE HARRY, SINGER OF BLONDIE, SAYING: "They (The Beatles) are the founding fathers in a way you know they really are that quintessential pop Euro English British pop and it had a huge influence in the 60´s, in the mid 60´s, and it has carried through." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR ERIC IDYLE SAYING: "I think it is great The Beatles in Vegas I think it is about time." (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS HELEN MIRREN SINGING HER FAVORITE BEATLES SONG "YESTERDAY" SAYING: "That is as far as I am going." JULIAN, SON OF JOHN LENNON WITH HIS MOTHER CYNTHIA EX ' WIFE OF JOHN LENNON SPEAKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) JULIAN LENNON, SON OF THE LATE JOHN LENNON, SAYING SAYING: "Well I think The Beatles were one of the best if not the best at what they did. Cirque du Soliel are certainly the best at what they do. I think it´s a unique collaboration I am looking forward to the show tonight." (SOUNDBITE) (English) YOKO ONO, WIDOW OF THE LATE JOHN LENNON, SAYING: "I think John (Lennon) would have loved it and that is the only regret I have is that he is not here."
- Embargoed: 21st July 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVAAJV7FCY42B2Q2SR1ONGDSGNRW
- Story Text: The surviving members of The Beatles, along with
family members, celebrated "Love" in Las Vegas on Friday
(June 30) on the opening night of the Cirque Du Soliel
show.
"I am excited it is a great show. I have seen the
previews I have finally come to see the culmination. But I
am very excited great music and it is remixed for the first
time ever and Cirque du Soliel man its a mixture,"
McCartney said on the arrival line.
Lucy swoops on a trapeze across a sky twinkling with
diamonds, Mr. Kite presides over a psychedelic circus of
stiltwalkers and acrobats, and the unmistakable voices of
John, Paul, George and Ringo fill the surround
sound-equipped arena.
With a little help from a lot of friends, The Beatles are
brought back to life in a Cirque du Soleil spectacular that
marks the band's first agreement to collaborate on a stage
show.
In the desert gambling city of Las Vegas, the Canadian
acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil opened its "Love"
celebration of the musical legacy of The Beatles that was
almost five years in the making.
"Love" was born of a friendship between the late George
Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte. It was
blessed by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, supported by
John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, and masterminded musically by
legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin.
"We were very concerned the very strange thing is that
you know sometimes we do not agree with each other as you
know, we are famous for that, but we agreed on everything
and it´s just beautiful ," Yoko Ono told Reuters.
Staged in a custom-built, 2,000-seat theater at the
Mirage hotel, "Love" takes its audience on a
part-chronological, part-fantasy journey through the life
and times of the four young men from Liverpool who inspired
a worldwide Beatlemania that continues 40 years after their
first hit record.
High-wire acrobats, break dancers, trampoline artists
and skaters bring life to characters like Sgt. Pepper, Lady
Madonna and the sea world of Octopus's Garden in a visual
feast of color, light and adventure.
Audio clips from decades-old Beatles recording sessions
and interviews, photo montages and footage from their famed
last concert on the rooftops of central London play in huge
back projections.
But for avid Beatles fans, the real star of the show is
the music -- some 130 songs remixed, mashed up and born
again with a clarity never heard before.
"They are the founding fathers in a way you know they
really are that quintessential pop Euro English British pop
and it had a huge influence in the 60´s, in the mid 60´s,
and it has carried through," said singer Debbie Harry of
Blondie.
Sir George Martin, who worked on every Beatles album
except "Let It Be," and his son Giles Martin spent two
years working from the original master tapes of The Beatles
sessions to produce a 90- minute soundtrack that is played
through six speakers in the back of each seat as well as a
panoramic sound system.
McCartney's "Yesterday" feels so close you can hear the
strings of his acoustic guitar snapping on the neck.
Well-known songs like "Revolution" and "Come Together" are remixed wi
th snippets from other Beatles hits while
tracks like "Get Back" and "Within you, Without You" are
intermingled.
McCartney, who has already seen the show in preview,
and Starr were closely involved in the project as were
George's widow Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono. The idea of
teaming up with Cirque du Soleil first came from Harrison
before his death in 2001.
"I am just obviously really sorry he is not here at
all but obviously not here tonight. But it is fun it´s
been a great creative process and a great gift to me to be
involved in it and I hope a great gift to everybody else
because I think it is very inspired and inspiring," said
Olivia Harrison.
The go-ahead for the show came in 2002 from Apple Corps.
Ltd., the English company that administers The Beatles'
interests.
"I think John would have loved it and that is the
only regret I have is that he is not here," said Yoko Ono
of her late husband John Lennon. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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