John Lennon Songbook returns to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
John Lennon would have turned 75 this autumn. And despite it being 35 years since he was murdered in New York, the Lennon ‘legend’ lives on.
Now The John Lennon Songbook is returning to the Philharmonic Hall in a new staging as part of the Liverpool Philharmonic Summer Pops and the Liverpool Phil’s 175th anniversary.
First performed in Liverpool to sell-out audiences in 2008 during the city’s year as Capital of Culture and again in 2010, including performances in Shanghai and Beijing during the Phil’s first tour to China, Liverpool actor and vocalist Mark McGann reprises his role as Lennon in the concert. The 53-year-old first stepped in to the shoes of John Lennon as a teenager at the Liverpool Everyman in the 1981 hit play Lennon, written by Bob Eaton, which made him a star. He has since reprised the role on stage and on film, including in his show In My Life and has picked up a coveted Olivier Award along the way for his portrayal of the Beatles’ frontman
He said today: “‘It’s been an honour and great privilege to work closely with the world class RLPO on The John Lennon Songbook in recent years. “I certainly hadn’t expected to be approached by a renowned symphony orchestra to perform John’s searingly honest, warts and all, autobiographical compositions. “I also admit that I initially thought it a rather strange marriage of musical genres but was intrigued by the challenge of bringing such iconic rock and pop songs effectively to an orchestral conclusion.
By: Catherine Jones
Source: The Liverpool Echo
