I recently read a post (can’t find it again!) where someone complains that “Beatle festivals” are bogus because no surviving Beatles ever go to them. He goes on to say that the fact that former Beatles personnel and friends - people who knew the members of the group - are invited is a travesty. These people, the post goes on to say, “feed off the Beatle name.”
My spin on this is that these Beatle events are not Star Trek conventions. Ringo and Paul are not like “Mr. Sulu” and “7 of 9″ (or Klingon #6 in The Wrath of Khan). Whatever their reasons for not wanting to come to these events honoring their glory days I think it is their business.
Shatner a Convert
It is reported that William Shatner’s attitude toward Star Trek conventions was disdain or, if he wanted to go, he’d in the day of his appearance, go straight from the airport to the stage, and then leave as quickly as possible. However, when he went on an extensive tour to promote Generations, he became (in the words out his book, Get a Life!) “Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning.”
Now, maybe Ringo and Paul will wake up one day and realize that they want to go to a few of these events to feel what their legions of fans felt for them. I mean it’s not like they are going to have their hair ripped out. (Hell, some of these fans are getting around with walkers). But it is their choice.
A ’60’s Carnival
However, for the fans and performers occasion like these give them the chance to get together with like-minded people and re-live some of the highlights. I really doubt that many of the fans were around during Beatlemania - and some have never seen the movies - but they are grand affairs where, for one brief time of the year, you can relive a time that changed the world. Because, it’s not just Beatle-everything, it also encompasses the styles and events that were going on at the time.
So, give it a go! List of Beatles Events in 2008