F*** It, Let’s Just Play The Beatles

I’m going to start this article with a vital piece of advice of how to navigate a tricky situation. One I hope you’ll never face in your life but you can never be too sure so here we go.

The following sentence is spoken directly to you… “I don’t really like the Beatles. I always preferred the Rolling Stones.”

You reply, “I don’t think this relationship is working for me anymore. It’s been a good ride, Mother. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me – you know, the whole giving birth thing and all that. The years of unconditional love and support. It’s not gone unnoticed. But it’s time we went our separate ways.”

“What are you on about?” She’ll say. Naturally confused. You know what those Rolling Stones fans are like.

Anyway, you’ll stroke her face gently then leave immediately. Never look back. Of course she’ll phone you, visit your home unexpectedly and possibly use other loved ones to try and sway your decision but you must stay strong! Yes, special occasions like funerals and weddings will be awkward at first but eventually she’ll get the message.  This is the only way.

With one less birthday and Christmas gift to purchase you’ll have more cash to spend on things you like, such as attending F*** It, Let’s Play the Beatles at the Barrel House where you can take part in the wonderful tradition known as the pub sing-along.

The Great Pub Sing-Along: A Little History 

Just in case anyone reading this was born in 2003 or something equally as ridiculous as that, let me briefly explain the concept of a pub sing-along. Many moons ago the average person had it rough according to every film ever made. They would shit in a bucket and use that same bucket to collect turnips. Which they ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The rich took everything all the time and even though there was no industrial water pollution back then, no one ever washed.

So they ate from shitty buckets. They had nothing. Everyone was dirty and of course no one ever survived childbirth. The 16th century was tough. But even with all that going on the people found something positive to share. The coming together of two great necessities of life – ale and song!

For hundreds of years this fine tradition brought communities together in the warm smoky glow of the local pub. Instruments such as the fiddle, accordion, banjo, etc. were always welcome and you didn’t need to be a great singer because it was a group effort. Folk songs about love and loss. Spoken word about the sorrows of war. You name it, pub sing-alongs provided it.

There is such a deep history to explore but we haven’t got time for that because right here in Totnes the pub sing-along lives on with F*** It, Let’s Just Play The Beatles so let’s talk about that instead.

Perfectly Imperfect Performance 

A pub sing-along isn’t supposed to be slick, and Andy Hill’s modern take on the tradition is a perfectly imperfect performance. Andy doesn’t claim to be the best singer. Or best keyboard player, in-fact (his words not mine) (He is an outstanding player – Ed.), but his ability to dig deep into the Beatles back catalogue and entertain the crowd was an impressive feat considering he sang for pretty much three hours straight. He also took requests from the crowd which meant often singing those songs for the first time on the night while reading the music off a tablet.

Did they all go as well as he’d like? No. Did the bustling crowd of Fab Five fans care? Not in the slightest. They loved it. There was dancing, singing and laughter throughout the night and two encores which is a testament to Andy’s stamina as the only sober person in attendance.

Andy’s enthusiasm is infectious and it shines through during the show because his physicality is a joy to behold. He is, without a doubt, the biggest Beatles fan in the room and it’s fair to say, he’d happily donate a kidney to Paul McCartney just for five minutes alone together in the recovery ward.

That’s love. And that’s all you need apparently.