"Backbeat" Film (1994)

1994 proved to be one of the most fertile years for Beatles-inspired filmmaking. The titles of cinematic classics either directly about The Beatles (“The Secret Of Roan Inish”, “Blue Chips”) or clearly inspired by their music (“Ski School 2”, “Wesley Snipes’ Sugar Hill”) were ’94’s dominant cultural and commercial hits. (Yeah, go ahead and f off, “The Air Up There”.)

Perhaps the most notable fab film from that year was “Backbeat”, which focused primarily on Stuart Stucliffe’s brief but incredibly/debatably important tenure as a Beatle. What does the film get right? What does it get terribly, offensively wrong? How do Beatles (and cinema, damn it) EXPERTS Tony & T.J. feel the film holds up on its’ 31st anniversary? (Forgot about that milestone, huh, Calderstone/Polydor??) The Gab Two deep dish “Backbeat”, and more, including:

🤜 Before he became a brilliant artist and bassist, was Klaus Voormann an eminently punchable German street urchin?

🍻 (Angry Chicago guy:) How come the fellas who wrote the musical “Hair” didn’t make no song about R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills? And how come The Lemonheads didn’t fix that when they had the chance? And how come the White Sox ain’t got no more dollar beer nights, why don’t Steve Dahl do something?

🐓 Would there even be a Hooters without “Backbeat?” And does that make The Beatles technically responsible for Hooters? Or vice versa? Like, could there even BE a Beatles without Hooters, man? Why are you so afraid to consider all opinions?

 

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