This Thursday, October 8th, 2026, we’re dedicating the show to The Beatles, with music from across the extraordinary career of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.

We’ll revisit the songs, recordings, and Liverpool story of the Fab Four while also turning our attention to one of the most important albums in their musical development, Rubber Soul, and the continuing interest in hearing the Beatles catalogue through new mixes and restored recordings.

We’ll take a closer look at Rubber Soul, the Beatles’ sixth UK studio album, and the creative leap the group made during this period. With songs such as “Drive My Car,” “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” “Nowhere Man,” “Michelle,” “In My Life,” “If I Needed Someone,” and “You Won’t See Me,” the album found the Beatles expanding their songwriting, instrumentation, and studio experimentation. Author and musician John Kruth will help us explore the story behind the album through his book This Bird Has Flown: The Enduring Beauty of Rubber Soul.

We’ll also celebrate John Lennon’s birthday on Friday, October 9th, remembering his music, songwriting, humor, personality, and enormous contribution to the Beatles and popular music. John would have turned 86 this year. His sister Julia Baird will share personal memories of John and their Liverpool connections, while John Kruth will also discuss Hold On World: The Lasting Impact of John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band: Fifty Years On and the creative partnership between Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Liverpool remains at the heart of this story. Tony Cook will take us through Beatles landmarks and his work as a Magical Mystery Tour guide, while filmmaker Simon Weitzman joins us to discuss Real Love: The Story of International Beatleweek, documenting how a local Beatles gathering developed into a worldwide celebration and pilgrimage for fans.

From Liverpool and Rubber Soul to John Lennon’s life and the enduring international Beatles community, we have plenty of music and memories to share.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, October 8th. 2026

Don’t miss it!

Guest(s) for our show:

Date: Thursday, October 8th, 2026

🚌 Tony Cook

Tony Cook is a Liverpool Beatles tour guide who introduces visitors from around the world to the places connected with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and the early history of The Beatles.

As a guide for Liverpool’s Magical Mystery Tour, Tony will talk about the Beatles landmarks that continue to bring fans to the city and the stories behind the places where the Fab Four grew up, met, performed, and began their remarkable journey.

🎬 Simon Weitzman

Simon Weitzman is a filmmaker who joins us to discuss the new Beatles documentary Real Love: The Story of International Beatleweek, exploring the history and remarkable growth of Liverpool’s annual Beatles celebration.

The documentary traces the festival’s beginnings in the late 1970s and its development into an international destination for Beatles fans.

It also marks 40 years since Cavern City Tours took over the organization of the event and looks at how a relatively small gathering developed into one of the world’s major celebrations of Beatles music and culture.

❤️ Julia Baird

Julia Baird, John Lennon’s sister, joins us for a particularly meaningful conversation as we celebrate John’s birthday on October 9th.

Julia will share personal memories of her brother and talk about their family connections and the Liverpool places that formed part of John’s early life.

Her perspective brings us closer to the person behind the music and to the city that helped shape the young John Lennon before The Beatles changed popular music forever.

📚 John Kruth

John Kruth is a singer-songwriter, musician, and author who joins us to explore two important chapters in the Beatles and John Lennon story.

His book This Bird Has Flown: The Enduring Beauty of Rubber Soul takes us behind the scenes of the Beatles’ landmark 1965 album and examines the songwriting, performances, influences, and musical experimentation that made Rubber Soul such an important turning point for the band.

John will also discuss Hold On World: The Lasting Impact of John Lennon & Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band: Fifty Years On, revisiting Lennon and Ono’s relationship, their creative collaborations, and the intensely personal music that emerged from this period of John Lennon’s post-Beatles career.