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The countdown is on with just a week to go before the acclaimed new music show Something About George – The George Harrison Story embarks on its inaugural tour.
The production, which pays tribute to the man dubbed the “quiet Beatle”, will visit seven UK venues before a 15-day residency at the Edinburgh Fringe.
And West End performer and musician Daniel Taylor has been immersed in last-minute preparations for the summer tour which have included making a pilgrimage to The Beatles Story at Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock to help him connect with and research the late legendary guitarist and songwriter.
Something About George won plaudits from audience and critics alike when it officially closed the Liverpool Theatre Festival last September.
It will be performed in its original one-act festival version at the fringe’s Assembly Festival Gardens in Coventry, UK City of Culture and then at Edinburgh, where it will be at the Assembly Festival for two weeks.
And a new full two-hour show, with visuals, soundscape and set will be performed at the other venues, with Daniel Taylor on lead vocal and acoustic guitars, telling the story of George and joined by three other top musicians – keyboard player and vocalist Jordan Alexander, Jon Fellowes on lead guitar and vocals and Callum McMillan on percussion.
The tour opens in Basingstoke on Thursday 9 June before moving on to Millom in Cumbria (11 June), St Helens (16 June), Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre (18-19 June), Coventry (21, 23 and 25 June), Banbury (30 June) and Ilkley (8 July). It will be at the atmospheric The Bijou in Edinburgh from 4-18 August.
The 2022 dates will be followed by an even more extensive tour which is planned for 2023.
Featuring songs like My Sweet Lord, Something, and Handle With Care, Something About George showcases Harrison’s incredible solo material and music from rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest supergroup The Traveling Wilburys, which was made up of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. And any show celebrating one of the Fab Four just has to include a few classics from The Beatles.
From heartbreak to hedonism and songwriting to success, Something About George celebrates a life that was anything but quiet.
This remarkable tale comes from the creators of the critically acclaimed production Something About Simon – The Paul Simon Story, which was a smash hit when it premiered at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre in 2018. The show went on to triumph at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, where it was chosen for a residency at the Fringe Encore Series at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City, where it played six sell-out performances. The show was also part of the programme at the inaugural Liverpool Theatre Festival in 2020.
Daniel Taylor trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London and is an award-winning actor, producer, and director.
He has previously played John Lennon in the award-winning Lennon Through A Glass Onion, Sammy in Blood Brothers, and appeared at the very first Liverpool Theatre Festival in his show, The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper.
Daniel said, “I’m really looking forward to taking Something About George on the road with the band and performing it for UK audiences this summer. We had a great reception when we premiered the show at the Liverpool Theatre Festival, and I can guarantee people a fantastic journey through George’s life and amazing music.
“It was brilliant to be able to visit The Beatles Story at their kind invitation and to get to learn more about George and his progression from fresh-faced teenage Liverpool guitarist to thoughtful student of Indian music to becoming one of the most famous and successful songwriters and performers the world has ever seen.”
The Beatles Story’s Marketing and PR Executive Mason Griffiths added, “We at The Beatles Story were delighted to welcome actor Daniel Taylor to our immersive Beatles museum at Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock to aid his research for the upcoming production of Something About George – the George Harrison Story.
“Among other things Daniel had the opportunity to see George’s very first guitar, and to take a journey through his career from those early Cavern Club days right through to his spiritual solo career.
“After talking to Daniel and producer Bill Elms, it’s clear that Something About George – the George Harrison Story will be a brilliant storytelling experience; an in-depth homage that explores many aspects of George’s work and life, and I can’t wait to see it.”
Something About George – The George Harrison Story is written by Jon Fellowes, who co-produces show alongside Liverpool-born singer-songwriter Gary Edward Jones and theatre producer Bill Elms. Collectively, the trio are Something About Productions, the creative team behind the hugely successful Something About Simon – The Paul Simon Story.
Co-producer Bill Elms said, “It may be 20 years since the world lost George Harrison, but he lives on through his incomparable music, and this show created in Liverpool highlights the legacy he left the world.
“It was great to be invited to visit The Beatles Story and to see so many important artefacts connected with George, and learn more about key moments in his life and career. He may have been the ‘Quiet Beatle’ but he still speaks loudly through his wonderful songs.”
Image: Danny at Entrance – Credit Beatles Story
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