A celebration (not a tribute) of one of the greatest albums of all time, The White Album Concert returns for another national run after sold-out tours in 2009, 2014 and 2018.
Three of Australia's finest rock & roll frontman – Chris Cheney (The Living End), Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon), Tim Rogers (You Am I) – and ARIA Award-winning solo artist Josh Pyke once again gather as a collective alongside a 17-piece rock orchestra to harness the power infused by The Beatles when they released 'The Beatles' (also known as the White Album) in 1968; a record that spent 16 weeks at number one in Australia.The White Album Concert tour plays Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Newcastle, Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney throughout September.
Chris, Phil, Josh and Tim are active in expressing their not imitating John, Paul, George and Ringo. Rather, this is a celebration, not a tribute band.
"We're bringing what we do in our own bands and our own careers to the show," Chris explains. "This is not us pretending to be The Beatles."
"We're aware there are people who covet The Beatles' records and their legacy so dearly," Tim continues, "and we want to pay respect to that, but almost tickle it a little bit, or prick it a little bit, because we're not a tribute act and we have no desire to do that.
"So we want to reinterpret it but not be disrespectful. But then also thinking that rock & roll is about being disrespectful."
Adds Josh: "In a respectful way, none of us does the songs exactly the way The Beatles did them, because then it would be like a pastiche rather than a homage.
"It's a completely different mindset to get into someone else's songs and, like Tim said, show the songs the respect they deserve; not just cover a song but really put yourself into it."
The White Album features so many of The Beatles' hits ('Back In The U.S.S.R', 'Helter Skelter', 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', 'Blackbird', 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road?') as well as numerous lesser known but equally great songs ('Dear Prudence', 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da', 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun', 'Rocky Raccoon', 'Julia', 'Yer Blues', 'Revolution 9').
"It's such a diverse record," Josh says, "and it was kind of an experimental record for them at the time. It's hard to sum it up and I think that's the beauty of the record and why so many people love it. It is hard to put it in a box."
Chris, Phil, Josh and Tim are doing something The Beatles never did – the Fab Four never performed the White Album live.
"That's the other cool thing about this project," Chris says. "You can't go on YouTube and look up The Beatles playing anything off the White Album because they just didn't."
Adds Phil: "When we first did it, we didn't know what it would be, or how it would work. It was an incredibly nerve-racking experience, because it's a mammoth record and the material is so diverse.
"But we made it work. People really enjoyed it, and we got such a kick out of it. We're excited to be doing it again."
Tickets on sale from 8 July.
The White Album Concert 2023 Tour Dates
Thu 7 Sep - Perth Convention CentreFri 8 Sep - Festival Theatre (Adelaide)
Sat 9 Sep - Hamer Hall (Melbourne)
Fri 15 Sep - Civic Theatre (Newcastle)
Sat 16 Sep - Canberra Theatre Centre
Thu 21 Sep - Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Fri 22 Sep - Sydney Opera House
Sat 23 Sep - Sydney Opera House
