A hard day's night: 40 years later, The Beatles in Prague
http://www.praguepost.com/tempo/4580-a-hard-days-night-40-years-later-the-beatles-in-prague.html
Czech Museum of Music seeks to capture the history and influence of
the Fab Four
Posted: June 2, 2010
By Laura Garcia Martinez
Despite any impression given by their 1968 song "Back in the
U.S.S.R.," the Beatles never made it behind the Iron Curtain in the
1960s, but that doesn't mean they didn't influence Czech youth of
that, and successive, generations.
"Under communism, young people were really attracted to Western
culture, to everything that was coming from the other side of the
Iron Curtain," said Veronika Seidlová, co-curator of the forthcoming
"Beatlemania!" exhibition at the Czech Museum of Music. "The Beatles
were an icon of this fascination with the West."
The exhibition launches June 4 and runs through early next year. It
gathers Fab Four memorabilia and tracks the band's general history
along with focusing on the influence the band, and its members, have
had in the Czech Republic.
"Our aim with this exhibition is to try to get close to the people
who want to remember those times," Seidlová said. "Men and women who
were young then, wearing long hair and were kind of persecuted by the
older generations."
After the 1980 murder of John Lennon, a spontaneous tribute to the
musician began in Prague, where people started writing and painting
on a Malá Strana wall. It eventually became a symbol of protest
against the communist regime. The wall remains and is known as the
Lennon Wall, located just around the corner from the museum.
"John Lennon is still an icon of peace, and the Beatles' music gave
people the confidence and desire to express their own emotions and
desire for peace," said Clare Ireland, general manager of The Beatles
Story, a museum based in Liverpool that collaborated with the Czech
Museum of Music on the exhibition.
The displays, of course, also go beyond the band's influence in the
Czech Republic and track their evolution more generally.
Lifesize wax statues of the band originally from a Madame Tussaud's
exhibition will be on display. The Beatles were measured for the
statues in March 1964, in the midst of filming A Hard Day's Night.
"To add to their authenticity, the waxworks wear suits designed and
tailored by Dougie Millings, who was their favorite tailor at the
time," Ireland said.
The statues are insured for ?250,000, making them the most valuable
objects in the exhibition. Also on hand is an original gold-plated
banjolele (half-banjo, half-ukulele) formerly owned by George Harrison.
"It's difficult to place a value on Beatles memorabilia, as it's all
an important part of history," Ireland said.
Seidlová also says the exhibition will track the breakup of the band
and the post-1970 solo careers of John, Paul, George and Ringo. She
says the controversial components of the band's breakup - like Yoko
Ono - are included.
At 6 p.m. the day before the exhibition officially opens, a free
concert including Slovak Miro birka, the Czech band Pavel Sedlá ek &
Cadillac, plus The Bugles, a Beatles revival band, takes place.
Concert attendees will get the chance to preview the exhibition a day
early and a "ticket to ride" the exhibition is half-price that night.
Culture Minister Václav Riedlbauch will officially launch the exhibition.
--
Beatlemania!
When: Friday, June 4, through Jan. 10, 2011, closed Tuesdays
Where: Czech Museum of Music (Karmelitská 2/4, Prague 1-Malá Strana)
Admission: 100 K , 60 K seniors and students, 160 K family
.
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