THE BEATLES IN AUSTRALIA to Open at Arts Centre Melbourne, March 2014

In June 1964 Australia was captivated by the talent, the songs and the charm of The Beatles during their first and only concert tour to our shores. Visitors can relive the excitement of these heady times when a new exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the tour, The Beatles in Australia, opens at Arts Centre Melbourne in March 2014.

Developed by the Powerhouse Museum and Arts Centre Melbourne the exhibition explores the story of the Fab Four's thirteen days 'down under' and the tour's lasting impact on Australian music and popular culture.

"While The Beatles' career has been documented in great detail, the story of their tour to Australia is less well known. The eruption of Beatlemania here was more intense than anywhere in the world," said Powerhouse Museum curator Peter Cox.

"This country had never witnessed such displays of adulation by screaming teenagers. When the Australian promoter Kenn Brodziak negotiated the tour, The Beatles were not well known. By the time they arrived, they were the biggest musical act in the world. Their records sounded fresh, young and different and their music and style had a huge influence on teenagers in Australia."

The tour was a major Australian event of the 1960s and ignited an exciting period in music and culture. From 1964 the pace of social change accelerated, not just in music, clothing and hairstyles, but in social attitudes, as young people demanded greater freedom in all areas of their lives.

The Beatles in Australia exhibition will present the sights and sounds of Beatlemania -- the arrivals, the press conferences, the concerts and the screaming fans - through newsreel footage, television reports, radio coverage, fan letters, magazines and press clippings. Rarely seen objects from museums, fans and collectors will also be displayed including a suit worn by John Lennon, on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

"Documents drawn from the Kenn Brodziak Collection housed at Art Centre Melbourne's Performing Arts Collection will provide visitors with a rare glimpse into the intense planning undertaken in the days and weeks leading up to The Beatles' arrival in Australia," said Arts Centre Melbourne curator Carolyn Laffan.

These exhilarating times, which live on in the memories of those who lined up for tickets, waited at the airports, gathered outside the hotels and screamed inside the concert halls, will be recreated for all to enjoy.

Visitors will have the opportunity to play a Beatles jukebox, test their knowledge in an interactive quiz, hear interviews with tour participants, explore fans' scrapbooks and record their own impressions of Beatlemania.

The Beatles in Australia exhibition is scheduled to run at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, from 26 September 2013 to 16 February 2014, and at Arts Centre Melbourne, from March to July 2014.

Powerhouse Museum and Arts Centre Melbourne presents The Beatles in Australia at Arts Centre Melbourne, Gallery I in March - July 2014. FREE. For more information about Arts Centre Melbourne visit artscentremelbourne.com.au or phone 1300 182 183. Become a fan of Arts Centre Melbourne on facebook or follow @artscentremelb on Twitter.

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