Come Together brings us all back home.
Following the success of last year’s smash, Two of Us, Tom Connor and Mark Newnham reprise roles they were seemingly born to play as Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
Two of Us was outstanding entertainment and Come Together is no less joyful in the company of first-class musicians and the greatest song book of all time. Everyone from Beatles’ aficionados to proud Scousers will lap up a show that features no less than 35 Lennon & McCartney songs.
As with Two of Us, Come Together takes us on a journey from their humble beginnings at Woolton Village Fete in 1957 as The Quarrymen to the final performance as the best-selling music act of all time on the rooftop of the Apple building on London’s Savile Row.
In contrast to last year’s outing, Come Together gives us a little more song deconstruction and explanation and there’s evidence of even more impressive research from referencing a 1958 song of theirs, Because I Know You Love Me So, to Newnham’s Lennon saying that the song that broke the band in America, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, was written “one on one, eyeball to eyeball” with McCartney.
And of course, many of the Fab Four’s biggest tunes are here from their explosive early pop tunes, like From Me To You, to their more experimental and introspective rockers like Hey Jude, showcasing the development of their songwriting partnership. Yet it was equally excellent to hear Lennon’s poignant ballad to the memory of his mother, Julia, from The White Album and – bringing it right up to date – the last Beatles song, 2023’s Now and Then – yet another number one.
It’s 60 years this month since the Beatles started recording A Hard Day’s Night and the filming of the movie of the same name. It’s nit-picking, but in showing how these four lads shock the world, ignoring this song which ushered in Beatlemania could be considered a slip, and in general more variation from the last outing’s track listing would give the two shows some distinction. After all, everyone round here knows every song.
That said, all the songs were played wonderfully, from the majestic rendition of Ticket To Ride to the astonishing A Day in the Life which closes the first half and the medley that opens the second, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Magical Mystery Tour, Strawberry Fields and Fool on the Hill.
And it takes some bravery to perform solo in front of an expectant audience as Connor does with Yesterday and Newnham does with In My Life and to play those classics perfectly. The band of Ben Gladwin, Greg Joy, Adam Keast, Mike Woodvine are as outstanding as they were 12 months ago and rightly given the space to display their own talent. And the harmonies? Well they’re Beatlesesque.
Directed by Bob Eaton, supported by musical director Howard Gray, with sound by Kate Harvey and set and lighting by Christopher McCourt and Ian Scott, and video design by Jamie Jenkin, it looks great and sounds it too.
It may not differ much from last year’s show, but as a performance and a celebration of this mighty duo’s genius, it’s still a five star show. Only the Beatles’ music more than half a century later could make people unite in this way. Can you imagine a similar evening in 2085 in Taylor Swift’s home town?
Come Together is a limited run until 6 April, so don’t miss out on the best gig in Liverpool this year. Tickets from £15 available at What’s On – Royal Court Theatre (liverpoolsroyalcourt.com)
Jonathan Caswell
