I am of the opinion that you can divide the world into two types of people – those who love the music of The Beatles, and those who have not heard The Beatles’ music.
It would seem that the Fab Four are currently having something of a “moment”. Again. This started in March when one of their songs featured in the box-office hit Project Hail Mary. Then a few weeks ago the English Football Association did something which they had not done previously which was to announce the squad that was going to this year’s World Cup via a short film, and this was soundtracked with a Beatles song. I would not be surprised if The Beatles has a tune which is appropriate for every significant occasion or life event. And today is Global Beatles Day, which is an event up until ten days ago I had not even heard of let alone known that it has existed since 2009 – perhaps it is bigger that side of the Atlantic than it is on this side. What is more it is a “day” that is not a cynical cash-grab confected by a mega-corporation to shift more product but was initiated by a North American fan of The Beatles, Faith Cohen, in order to celebrate The Beatles’ music and cultural impact, and also to bring the music of The Beatles to a wider audience, to such as those who had not heard it before. Another purpose is to promote the values that The Beatles stood for such as peace and love, harmony and unity; goodness knows we need more of those in these current troubled times. June 25 was chosen for the day of this celebration as it was the day back in 1967 that the BBC broadcast The Beatles representing the UK performing a song which appeared on a programme, Our World, that was being broadcast globally live to an estimated audience of 400 million. Faith also mentioned that the day would be an opportunity for fans to share memories or even physical material which related to The Beatles. This is my contribution.
When I was at The Lakes International Comic Art Festival back in 2024 I ran into fellow British CAF member Robert Bown, and after we had had a brief chat and compared our CAF galleries on our smartphones I asked him if he was related to Jane. He said that he was not. I did not put this question to him in the hope that he would ask me if I was related to Jack, in order that I could relation-flex, but he did not, and anyway, I ain’t.
Best of luck to the England football squad (and also Scotland’s team who as of this writing can still qualify for the second round), thanks to Faith, and a happy Global Beatles Day to one and all.
Altogether now … everybody … love is all you need.
