If any proof was needed that the music of The Beatles spans the generations, then the latest addition to the ever-expanding line-up for the Scottish Beatles Weekend is it.
Sam Bell, who played George Harrison in the recent Beatles movie Nowhere Boy, will be playing an acoustic set as part of the Saturday, August 13, event at Fat Sam’s, as well as soaking up the atmosphere over the weekend as a true fan.
So turn around in the crowd and there could be a genuine movie star beside you!
Just 19, Sam has recently returned from a North American tour with his band, The Targets, which he formed at the age of 12, having only picked up a guitar three years earlier.
The role of George Harrison came about through an open audition.
“I’m from a town called Winsford, which is between Liverpool and Manchester,” Sam says, “and heard about the auditions through a well-respected music producer in Liverpool named Steve Powell.”
Sam was originally asked to play Eric Griffiths, the guitarist in The Quarrymen before George.
“After having band rehearsals with The Quarrymen, the director Sam Taylor-Wood decided to cast me as George instead, which I was over the moon about. I also got offered to play George in the West End musical of Backbeat but I had to turn it down due to touring.”
Sam, who says his love of The Beatles goes back as long as he can remember, added, “I’m really looking forward to coming up to Dundee for the festival. The line-up looks great already and I’m proud to be joining it.”For more details of the event, visit www.scottishbeatlesweekend.com. Tickets are on sale from the website or from Groucho’s in Nethergate, Dundee, priced £20.