LIVERPOOL.- From 25 May to 16 June 2017, Liverpool, the catalyst that ignited a musical revolution, celebrates The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the most influential album ever made – on the 50th anniversary of its release on 1 June 1967 during the ‘Summer of Love’.

Sgt. Pepper at 50: Heading for Home is an extraordinary response by some of the most exciting artists of today working from the city and across the globe, to the creative genius of the Beatles and this groundbreaking album. With performances, installations, live spectacle and moments of surprise across the city this summer, the spotlight will fall on Liverpool.

The programme features 13 major commissions from artists in all media working with Liverpool based cultural organisations to respond to the 13 legendary tracks on the album.

From Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral to Aintree Racecourse, Woolton Village to Tate Liverpool and St George’s Hall to Liverpool’s Royal Court, across clubs, parks, streets and docklands, Sgt. Pepper at 50 will reach out to every part of the city.

The programme is curated by Artistic Directors, Sean Doran and Liam Browne, and presented by the City of Liverpool, in collaboration with Liverpool’s leading cultural organisations, with the support of Arts Council’s Ambition for Excellence programme which is funded by the National Lottery.

The commissions respond to each track on the album: Side 1, over the first weekend (1-5 June), and Side 2 over the second weekend (8-11 June), preceded by the Overture (25-27 May), and concluded by the Coda (16 June, Bloomsday).

As well as being able to see exclusive work for the first time, audiences can get involved and perform in a number of works themselves.

Speaking at the launch of Sgt Pepper at 50 in Liverpool, Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “We want to stage a fitting celebration which brings about a whole new interpretation of this classic album. Sgt. Pepper pushed creative boundaries. We want to do exactly the same with this brilliant group of artists bringing their unique ideas into the mainstream and giving their work a Liverpool twist - thought-provoking, sometimes cheeky and always entertaining. I would like to thank Arts Council England for supporting this ambitious programme, allowing the city to reach its creative potential, maintaining our reputation as a European cultural leader.”

Highlights

Jeremy Deller with Metal: With a Little Help from my Friends
Track title: With a Little Help from my Friends
Citywide: From Thursday 25 May
With A Little Help from My Friends is a song about friendship, loneliness and love. By 1967 The Beatles were the most famous people in the world, a no doubt totally alienating experience considering their youth, and naturally they depended greatly on each other and on a few trusted friends for support. The relationship between the individual and society is a powerful theme in the work of Jeremy Deller and in his response to this song he has made two public art commissions that examine the nature of friendship and self-sacrifice, not just with those we know but also between strangers.

Judy Chicago: Fixing a Hole
Track title: Fixing a Hole
The Grain Silo, Great Howard Street, Opens: Thursday 1 June
The internationally acclaimed American artist Judy Chicago, one of the pioneers of feminist art in the 1970s, is commissioned to create a giant mural, the largest she has ever undertaken on the exterior wall of the derelict Grain Silo in Liverpool Docks – her response to the track, Fixing a Hole. Studio Tate will invite the public to draw their responses on the gallery walls. Presented in partnership with Tate Liverpool.

John Cage: Mr Kite’s MUSICIRCUS!
Track title: Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!
Aintree Racecourse: Sunday 4 June 2 pm – 5.50 pm
Mr Kite’s MUSICIRCUS! will take over Aintree Racecourse on Sunday 4 June, drawing on all Beatles music and featuring hundreds of Liverpool musicians, poets, dancers, circus artists, and spectators to take part in a giant free musical event, free to everyone to join in. As John Cage said: “My impression is that The Beatles’ place is not so much in the world of serious music as it is in the world as revolution. I think serious musicians would do well to follow their example in this respect.”