The film, directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard, features remastered footage of the band’s sell-out stadium concerts in America, which followed their early days playing in The Cavern Club.
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Viewers will be treated to remastered footage from the band’s historic Shea Stadium concert in NY, the first of its kind to play to more than 55,000 people.
Director Ron Howard attends the world premiere of “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years” in London September 15, 2016.
Both Ringo and Sir Paul said the film brought back memories of the wonderful times and, particularly, their unsophisticated sound system.
Along with the talk – a lot of it from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr – comes the concert footage, including a knockout “Twist & Shout” (Manchester, 1963) and a rendition of “Help” (Blackpool, 1965) that showcases the quartet’s ineffable coordination of a disarmingly honest lead lyric, euphonious answer harmonies, explosive guitar licks and locomotive drums. “We couldn’t hear ourselves when we were live, as there was so much screaming going on”. We wanted to do well.
Seriously, though, Paul and Ringo liked Howard’s idea of a film documenting their time on the road.
While there are plenty of laughs, the film also examines the impact of fame on the band and how The Beatles railed against segregation at certain USA venues.
Sir Paul said: “We were kind of quite intelligent guys, looking at the political scene and, coming from Liverpool, we played with black bands and black people in the audience, it didn’t matter to us. We picked them up”.
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Perhaps the best thing about Eight Days a Week is the reminder- desperately needed these days, when nostalgia for a supposed “greater” time is obscuring the horrors of recent history- that the supposedly innocent past was hardly innocent.
