Special entertainmentA scene in the new biopic of Beatles manager Brian Epstein was filmed at the village hall where Ringo Starr debuted with the Fab Four , thus reenacting a period of Beatles history.
Midas Man was filmed at various locations across Merseyside, including the Hulme Hall in Port Sunlight, where drummer Pete Best was sacked two days later. It was there that Tarr performed with the orchestra.
The new film stars Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Epstein, the man who masterminded the Beatles’ rise to global superstardom.
Directed by Joe Stephenson, the film was also filmed in Blackpool, London and Los Angeles.
Sunshine Harbor Village TrustThe launch comes as VisitLiverpool and the Liverpool Film Office launch a new campaign – ‘Liverpool, the Ultimate Scene’ – showcasing the city region’s rich film history and its reputation as a center for film and film tourism.
Mike Ward, chief commercial officer at Port Sunlight Village Trust, said filming in 2021 was “definitely like going back to when the Beatles and Brian Epstein arrived in Hugh That night at Hulme Hall, we were on the cusp of taking over the world.
One of those who witnessed the filming was Port Sunlight-born tourist David Thomas, who attended the historic gig in 1962 just weeks after first meeting the band at the Cavern Club. Best is the drummer and the band has recently returned from a residency in Hamburg.
Best was fired on August 16, 1962 at the request of the other three band members, after their first recording session on June 6, where producer George Martin expressed discomfort with Best’s drumming.
wirral globeBest’s dismissal angered local Liverpool fans.
However, two days after the sacking, Starr found himself playing drums with the Beatles, scheduled to perform for the Port Sunlight Horticultural Society’s annual ball at Hulme Hall, now an events venue.
“I couldn’t believe the difference. They looked so different, in nice suits… I was so impressed by Ringo’s brilliant drumming,” Mr. Thomas recalled.
“I remember seeing their new manager, Brian Epstein, standing stage right in a dark overcoat.”
wirral globeThe Port Sunlight show comes at a time of personal and professional transition in the band’s history.
Five days after the Hume Hall concert, John Lennon married Cynthia Powell at the Liverpool Registry Office.
In less than two months, the band’s first single “Love Me Do” entered the charts on October 5.
A year later, their first hit album, She Loves You, came out, igniting Beatlemania and ensuring they would never play a venue like the Hume Hall again.
