Bands come together for poignant Beatles marathon
- Published
Patrick McGachan died before The Beatles marathon was due to take place in his name
As manager of Columbus School of Rock, music is Stuart McGachan's job.
The former member of Scottish indie band We Were Promised Jetpacks has been living in the US since marrying his American wife seven years ago.
Having toured internationally with bands such as Death Cab for Cutie, Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad, music is his life.
And he credits his dad Patrick for passing on his passion as a little boy growing up in Edinburgh.
All this makes his latest project a labour of love.
"Dad loved The Beatles," says Stuart.
"He was born in 1951, so he was 12 years old when The Beatles kicked off, and he collected all of their albums.
"Yellow Submarine was one of the first songs I remember but across the years, he played us everything. It just becomes ingrained."
In February, Stuart took up the post of manager of the newly opened School of Rock, which, as well as teaching adults and children music, offers them experience of live performance.
This weekend's Beatles marathon was inspired by music lover Patrick McGachan and organised by his son Stuart
He discovered that his new home city of Columbus, Ohio, played host to a Beatles marathon.
Founded 13 years ago by musician Joe Peppercorn, in memory of a friend who'd loved the band, it has grown into a huge event, held every December.
Last year's event involved playing all 213 songs in The Beatles' back catalogue in one epic concert. Previous events have also been introduced via video message by Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
"It's an incredible event," says Stuart," and I immediately thought of my dad."
Stuart's dad, Patrick was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and was unable to make the trip, so Stuart decided to launch his own Beatles marathon, back in Scotland.
Not only would his father be able to attend, but they could raise money for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, external, founded by the rugby player Doddie Weir to raise awareness of MND.
Stuart McGachan and his dad Patrick shared a love of music and in particular, The Beatles
He put out a call on social media to former band mates and amateur musicians to take part in a one-day event at the Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh.
Forty musicians signed up, including Stuart's brother Scott and his band Unrising Sun.
"I'd say it's half and half, established bands and groups put together for the event," says Stuart.
"There are quite a few fathers and sons."
Then came the hardest part, deciding who would sing what.
Entire back catalogue
"Several of us will perform full albums - Rubber Soul, Revolver and the White Album. Everything else, we put on a great big list and asked them to pick their top 12 and take it from there.
"There were a couple of songs which were in demand. Get Back came up a lot but it was actually really easy to divide them up."
The event also encouraged musicians to look for rarer numbers such as Hey Bulldog (from that 1969 Yellow Submarine album) which one father and son will perform.
Across the day, the musicians hope to perform more than 100 Beatles songs.
"I did wonder whether we could manage the entire back catalogue but it felt like enough for the first event," says Stuart.
"It took Columbus 13 years to get to that stage."
One of the bands performing is Unrising Sun, which features Patrick's other son, Scott (far right)
They do have one extra song to consider. The song Now and Then was released earlier this month. The track, written and recorded by John Lennon in the late 1970s, was restored, and remastered with contributions from the other Beatles.
"We're happy to be riding on the coat-tails of The Beatles' new single," says Stuart.
"It's our flagship year but we believe we're at the start of something really special."
Sadly, Patrick died at the end of last week, aged 72, but he and his family are determined the event will still go on.
"Dad knew about the event and was very excited about it. It's actually been quite helpful to have something to focus on. Instead of sitting around talking about funeral arrangements, we're planning a huge celebratory event which will also raise money for research into Motor Neurone Disease.
"Dad's love of The Beatles was passed down to the whole family and we wanted to do something special for him, the community and the charity that has been so kind to us."
Stuart hopes that, as well as his own family, other family groups will drop in and out of their venue.
"The Beatles are one of the few bands who cross generations," he says. "Grandparents, kids, there's music to suit everyone. It's a real family event."
The Beatles Marathon is at Assembly Roxy on Saturday (25th) from 15:00 -23:00