The Beatles Story Museum at Liverpool’s Royal Albert Dock is celebrating 60 years of A Hard Day’s Night with a brand-new special exhibition and charity screening of the movie in partnership with Cavern City Tours (owners of The Cavern Club), Hard Days Night Hotel and the Strawberry Field charity.
A Hard Day’s Night is a 1964 musical comedy film starring The Beatles, and captures the band’s hectic lifestyle as they navigate a day of chaotic misadventures and the rise of Beatlemania, all set to a soundtrack of their iconic songs. The album was released in the UK on July 10th 1964 and was the first Beatles album to consist of entirely original material.
Also on July 10th 1964 was the Northern premiere of the movie, which was held in Liverpool’s Odeon Cinema, four days after the offical premiere in London.
60 years on, on July 10th 2024, The Beatles Story Museum, Liverpool launches its brand new special exhibition “60 Years of A Hard Day’s Night” to press and VIPs, with the exhibition opening to the public the next day.
Collectors Bruce and Martha Karsh have lent their support, with the exhibit inspired by Mark Lewisohn’s book ‘The Beatles A Hard Days Night: A Private Archive’ which was based on the Beatle-mad couple’s extensive archive.
The exhibition will allow visitors to step on set and become immersed in recreations of key scenes from the movie: Walk onto the platform at Marylebone Station and relive iconic clips from the film; come face-to-face with pieces of original memorabilia from 1964, including a very rare copy of the A Hard Day’s Night album signed on the front by all four Beatles, as well as original movie posters, lobby cards and cinema tickets.
The Beatles Story has also worked with tailor Gordon Millings to recreate the silver-grey suits worn by the Fab Four in the final scenes of the movie, using the original patterns drawn in 1964.
The original suits were created as part of a collection of around 30 outfits for the movie by Gordon and his father Dougie Millings. Dougie was known as “the Beatles’ tailor” and made more than 500 outfits for the band including their iconic collar-less jackets in 1962/63. Dougie’s association with the band even continued into the 1970s, and he created the suits for Wings’ Band on the Run album cover.
Millings said: “Reviving the silver-grey suits from A Hard Day’s Night has allowed me to honour my father’s legacy and the lasting influence of The Beatles. By using my father’s original patterns and fabric from the same Savile Row supplier, as well as the original techniques used by my father and I in 1964, we’ve recreated the suits with great attention to detail. This collection of suits is a bridge between past and present, and I cannot wait for fans to see them.”
Mary Chadwick, general manager of The Beatles Story, added: “Sixty years on, A Hard Day’s Night still captures that special Beatles magic and the wild excitement of the Beatlemania era. We’re really excited to unveil this special exhibition, where fans can relive the film’s essence and see original memorabilia and meticulously recreated costumes first-hand. It’s a privilege to support the Strawberry Field charity through our one-night-only charity screening at The Odeon Cinema, and we hope this event will make a real difference.”
Major Kathy Versfeld, mission director at Strawberry Field, said: “For Strawberry Field to be chosen as the charity for the special anniversary screening of A Hard Day’s Night is an honour. We are very grateful for this support which will help fund the incredible work that we do through our Steps at Strawberry Field programmes to support young people with learning difficulties and barriers to employment into paid work, and will help us continue to provide a place of sanctuary for visitors to Strawberry Field.”
The new special exhibition, 60 Years of A Hard Day’s Night, is included in the price of a standard Beatles Story ticket purchased online. For an additional £20, you can attend the one-night-only charity screening of A Hard Day’s Night at Odeon, Liverpool One on 10th July 2024 with refreshments included. All proceeds will be going to Strawberry Field.
