“Merseyside” Brings Back Beatles

The Beatles performed their first concert in the US for only a couple hundred people, with over 70 million Americans watching on from their TV sets. As music teacher Eric Sinclair said, “this was the 60’s version of going viral.” So on Tuesday, hundreds of Exonians and town folk alike gathered in the Assembly Hall to relive and enjoy Beatles’ songs, and appreciate their impact on our world in Exeter’s first ever BeatleMania.The concert included two Beatles cover bands, Meta-Beat, a local Exeter group, and Merseyside, a band started by Les Harris Jr., that includes the academy’s guitar teachers, Bobby Squires and Sinclair. The name Merseyside comes from the Mersey River, that runs through Liverpool, which is the city the Beatles call home.“I was having lunch with Mr. Squires and Mr. Sinclair, and we were talking about the Beatles, and how we all grew up with them. We all loved playing Beatles music, so we decided to have a jam session just for the fun of it,” Harris said. “The jam session went pretty well, so we did it a couple more times, and then we thought, ‘Maybe we should play a concert here!’”Since their first performance, they have had many other gigs at Beatles conventions in New York, the Ioka Theater, and many outdoor concerts in Exeter, Dover and Newburyport. One of their largest gigs was backing up Tony Sheridan, a singer of the Beatles era.“We were together for around three years, and it was so much fun. We just love doing this,” Harris said.Beatlemania marked the first reunion the band Merseyside has had in 20 years. “Our first 20 year reunion was the first gig that we played, and this reunion was the anniversary of our last gig together, in 1994,” Harris said.When asked about why they decided to play Beatles music and why it is still important, Sinclair said, “The Beatles had a huge musical and social impact on the world. There music is still being played, sold and performed, and it is hard to imagine what the past 50 years would have been without them.”In terms of the audience’s reception, it ranged from singing along, videotaping and even dancing towards the end. “The show was definitely a success. We had a lot of people here, and a lot of listeners who don’t normally come to Exeter concerts,” Sinclair said.When asked whether or not we could expect other gigs in the future, Harris replied, “Probably! After our first 20 year reunion, we said that we would never do anything, and we ended up doing this! We love it, so who knows? I hope we do!”