Beatlemania

Four decades on from the release in 1967 of what is arguably the most famous album in pop music, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was set to be performed live at a large musical theater in central Berlin on Wednesday night.

The concert was the brainchild of German film director and Beatles' fanatic Wolfgang Becker, best known for his international hit "Goodbye Lenin." It's the end result of an idea that grew beyond all proportions.

"Originally, the plan was to just play acoustically in someone's kitchen," Becker told DW-WORLD. "Then we thought we'd do it in a bar. But it just kept growing and growing."

And grown it has. Becker's band now consists of dozens of musicians -- some professionals, some gifted amateurs -- including directorial colleague Tom Tykwer. A forty-person choir sings background vocals, and Indian musicians have been enlisted to play George Harrison's raga-inflected "Within You, Without You."

With a little help from his friends

The ensemble first performed the record at a private party in a Berlin club this summer. Word of the gig spread, and a local radio station contacted Becker about playing it in public as part of the station's anniversary celebrations.

"I'm not really nervous," Becker said ahead of the gig. "But when people are paying money to get in, you do feel a different sense of responsibility."

The musicians begin with the title track and continue on through the Fab Four's psychedelic opus, concluding with what some consider Lennon and McCartney's finest composition, "A Day in Life."

The band's musical co-leader Niko Weidemann said playing the full record presents some unusual challenges.

"The individual songs are not all that difficult to play, but if you look at it as a total work, it can be tricky," he said. "We listened to the original album, and what we heard was how the Beatles really pushed the limits with the restricted means at their disposal. They never intended to perform the record live -- it's a studio production full of overdubs. But when it is played live on stage by a big band with a brass section and a choir, it's really fantastic."

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Whether Becker's band is authentic is anyone's guess. But there's something fittingly ironic about a group of latter-day Fab Four fanatics covering a concept record about a fictional band as played by the Beatles.

And the performance suggests that had the Liverpool quartet played "Pepper's" live, it might well have rocked -- a good thing since Becker has invested considerable time and money in the project.

"If you go to Wolfgang's home, it's absolutely full of Beatles' records, posters and memoriabilia," said Adrian Kennedy, a DW-TV producer and on-air personality who serves as the emcee. "I don't think he's making any money from it. It's just for the love of the music."

Even more ironically, "Sgt. Pepper's" isn't even Becker's favorite Beatles album.

"No, that would be 'Revolver'," Becker said. "But we completely forgot the fortieth anniversary of that record, and we were determined not to miss another opportunity again."

Audience members have been asked to dress up in 1960s style, and a "Lovely Rita" award will be handed out after the famous final piano chord of "A Day in the Life" has finished reverberating in the rafters.