Biggest Ever "Let It Be" Tour Heads to Manchester!

Annerin Productions and Flying Entertainment present

FIRST NORTH WEST DATE AS PART OF 7-MONTH TOUR VISITING 26 VENUES

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Smash hit Beatles’ celebration show LET IT BE is heading to Manchester in two weeks for the first North West dates of its biggest ever UK tour.

LET IT BE will Twist and Shout its way into Manchester’s Opera House for eight (days a week!) performances, running from Monday, 29 February through to Saturday, 5 March.

The show arrives in Manchester just days before the 46^th anniversary since Let It Be was released as a single back on 6 March 1970. The song was penned and sung by Paul McCartney. And in April 1971, The Beatles won an Oscar for Let It Be as the Best Original Song Score.

The Beatles had a strong following in Manchester. Located just 35 miles down the Long and Winding Road from the Fab Four’s home town of Liverpool, The Beatles performed in Manchester numerous times in the early days of their illustrious career.

It is believed that The Beatles’ first real gig in Manchester was at the Oasis Club on 2 February 1962. The band later returned to the city many times, which included their only appearance at Oxford Street’s Odeon Cinema on 30 May 1963, which was also the 12th date of the group’s UK tour with Roy Orbison.

Following Manchester, the next tour date in the North West of England is at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre from Monday, 28 March, to Saturday, 2 April, again with eight performances. The Beatles also performed in the seaside town, playing Blackpool Opera House twice within one month on 26 July 1964 and 16 August 1964.

The Royal Variety Show
c. David Munn Photography

LET IT BE has embarked on its biggest ever tour thanks to Annerin Productions and Flying Entertainment.

The national UK tour started early January and, over the course of seven months through to the end of July, the show will play 26 theatres across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – entertaining theatregoers with a show spanning the iconic eras of the band’s illustrious career.

The mega tour is taking in Southend; Southampton; Bromley; Bath; Torquay; Truro; Sheffield; Manchester; Wimbledon; Dublin; Woking; Blackpool; York; Swansea; Edinburgh; Birmingham; Aylesbury; Darlington; Eastbourne; Canterbury; Bristol; Oxford; Dartford; Nottingham; Leeds and Brighton. Further venues are expected to be announced.

Sergeant Pepper Set
c. David Munn Photography

The tour has already received rave reviews from the venues it has visited so far. Here’s what the critics have to say:

“THE FOUR ACCOMPLISHED MUSICIANS RECREATE AN UNMISTAKABLE SOUND” The Stage

“THE MUSIC SHOWED THE LIVERPOOL LADS AT THEIR FINEST. SHOWING BRITISH IS BEST” West End Wilma

“IT’S NOT THE REAL THING, BUT THEY ARE AS NEAR AS DAMN IT” Plymouth Herald

“IT’S THE CLOSEST YOU’LL GET TO SEEING THE BEATLES” Torquay Herald Express

“GREAT CELEBRATION OF SOME OF THE GREATEST MUSIC EVER WRITTEN” West Sussex County Times

LET IT BE audiences can look forward to a show lasting more than two hours bursting with timeless hits, showstopping sets, dazzling costumes and a brilliant performance which fans will never forget. The show also continues to attract theatregoers and fans of live music, alongside the most dedicated Beatles’ enthusiasts.

The show features the music of the world’s most successful rock ‘n’ roll band in a spectacular concert charting the band’s meteoric rise from their humble beginnings in Liverpool’s Cavern Club; through the height of Beatlemania; to their later studio masterpieces. They were just four boys from Liverpool who went on to change the world.

The Beatles are music history’s greatest ever worldwide phenomenon, which is celebrated in abundance by the LET IT BE. The show is packed with over 40 of The Beatles’ greatest hits including She Loves You, Yesterday, Hey Jude, Come Together, Help!, All You Need Is Love, Penny Lane and, of course, Let It Be. Travel back to the Swinging Sixties when all you needed was love, and a little help from your friends!

The Let It BEatles at Shea Stadium
c. David Munn Photography

A cast of talented musicians will take to stages across the country as the Fab Four, wowing audiences with their effortless and indistinguishable portrayal as John, Paul, George and Ringo. The performers have already toured the show to some of the biggest stages in the world including Broadway.

The cast are Paul Canning and Reuven Gershon (John Lennon); Emanuele Angeletti and Iain Hornal (Paul McCartney); John Brosnan and Paul Mannion (George Harrison); Luke Roberts and Stuart Wilkinson (Ringo Starr). The band will be joined on stage throughout the tour by Michael Bramwell on keyboards.

Producer Jeff Parry from Annerin Productions commented: “What a fantastic start to the biggest ever tour of LET IT BE, we’re delighted. The reviews have been absolutely glowing and we’re only four weeks into a seven-month tour. We still have a long way to go and everyone involved in the show is extremely excited for what the coming months hold.

“The tour includes venues where The Beatles played at the absolute height of their fame – making it even more of a memorable show for those audience members who were lucky enough to have seen The Beatles play those theatres first time round. And of course, it will also be a special experience for the cast, who are following in the footsteps of four musical legends.

“New audiences are thoroughly embracing the show and we’re seeing a lot of loyal LET IT BE fans return to enjoy this new version. They’re on their feet, singing and dancing along, and they love the fact that the cast encourage them to take photographs and record the moment. So we invite music and Beatles fans to come and join in the fun, buy your Ticket To Ride the ultimate Magical Mystery Tour and experience the concert that sadly never was.”

The show has already wowed London’s West End and New York’s Broadway audiences. It recently completed a five-week run in the birthplace of the biggest band in the world, Liverpool, where it enjoyed 5-star rave reviews and sell-out performances at Royal Court Theatre Liverpool. The Liverpool run coincided with what would have been John Lennon’s 75^th Birthday, breaking box office records at Royal Court Theatre Liverpool as the venue’s fastest selling show.

Now seen by over 1 million people worldwide, LET IT BE continues to delight audiences across the globe, having recently performed to audiences in Germany, Japan, Moscow, and France.

LET IT BE has established itself as one of the West End’s most popular shows since originally opening at the Prince of Wales Theatre in September 2012, where it recouped its initial investment after just 18 weeks before transferring for a year-long run at the Savoy Theatre from January 2013 through to February 2014. Before moving to Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, the show completed an 8-month run at the Garrick Theatre in London’s West End.

A report released last week has revealed that The Beatles’ legacy adds £81.9m to the Liverpool economy each year and creates 2,335 jobs. Collaboratively produced by Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Liverpool through the Institute of Cultural Capital, European Institute of Urban Affairs and the Institute of Popular Music, the report was commissioned by Liverpool City Council to evaluate the current and future economic impact of The Beatles.

Website: www.LetItBeLive.com

Facebook: Let It Be UK Tour

Twitter: @LetItBeUKTour

LISTING INFORMATION FOR MANCHESTER AND BLACKPOOL

MANCHESTER

Opera House

29 February – 5 March 2016

0844 871 3018

www.atgtickets.com/manchester

BLACKPOOL

Grand Theatre

28 March – 2 April 2016