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If you could catch a full-on Beatles set with today's standards, what would be your dream set list?

Let's say it's 2024 and magically The Beatles have reunited and will perform a show passing through all of their career just for you. What would be the perfect tracklist? I decided on a standard of 30 songs which is what Paul plays today on his shows. I also tried to split evenly with every member being a lead singer proportionally to their released tracks (I came up with 10 for John, 10 for Paul, 4 for both, 3 for George, and 3 for Ringo).

I haven't adventured myself much into their solo works, so this show would be 100% Beatles.

This was my favorite outcome:

  1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Paul

  2. With A Little Help From My Friends - Ringo

  3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds - John

  4. Penny Lane - Paul

  5. Strawberry Fields Forever - John

  6. I Am The Walrus - John

  7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - George

  8. Blackbird - Paul

  9. Yellow Submarine - Ringo

  10. Yesterday - Paul

  11. In My Life - John

  12. Ticket To Ride - John

  13. Love Me Do - Paul

  14. She Loves You - John/Paul

  15. Can't Buy Me Love - Paul

  16. A Hard Day's Night - John/Paul

  17. Please Please Me - John

  18. I Want To Hold Your Hand - John/Paul

  19. Get Back - Paul

  20. Don't Let Me Down - John

  21. Let It Be - Paul

  22. Across The Universe (World Wildlife Fund Version) - John

  23. Come Together - John

  24. Something - George

  25. Oh! Darling - Paul

  26. Octopus's Garden - Ringo

  27. Here Comes the Sun - George

  28. A Day In The Life - John/Paul

  29. Now And Then - John

  30. Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End - Paul

I also tried splitting the singers evenly through the show, but I also found it interesting to separate the show in a few eras, that's why even though you have little George songs, 2 of them are within 4 tracks. I also avoided the most to repeat the vocalists back-to-back but this still happened.

Speaking of eras, and given the complexity of some shows today, I split them into these. The number in parentheses is the song number.

  • Sgt. Pepper's/Magical Mystery Tour (1-6)

  • White Album (7-8)

  • Middle Era (9-12)

  • Early Era (13-18)

  • Get Back (19-22)

  • Abbey Road (23-27)

  • Closing/Encore (28-30)

I think it would be possible for each era to tell a little story, in the same vein as the Sgt. Pepper's concept/Yellow Submarine movie. Not to deviate too much from the music, it could be some quick 5 minutes videos of them rehearsing or telling a narrative as the YS movie, and depending on the complexity, even era-accurate clothing (Sgt. Pepper's costume for 1-8; Suits for 9-18, Abbey Road cover clothing for 19-30)

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Ringo singing revolution 9

Firing a machine gun with live rounds for authenticity.

u/CountJohn12 avatar

And acting out the lyrics including becoming naked on stage. Peace and love.

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u/Anxious-Raspberry-54 avatar

In another lifetime...

Beatles reunion show in 1979. I decided to run with it, given the following:

Music fleshed out by adding Billy Preston and Denny Laine, strings and horns

No Yoko

No Linda

2 solo songs each

Approximately 2 hrs

Not just hits

All periods

The theater goes dark...we hear John's voice..."We're just a band that made it very, very big."

Opening Set (Sgt. Pepper “Suite”)

  1. Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

  2. With A Little Help

  3. Strawberry Fields

  4. Penny Lane

Early Days/Hamburg Set (4 Beatles only!)

5. Slow Down

6. Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey

7. Roll Over Beethoven

8. Honey Don’t

Solo Set 1 - All Musicians

9. Whatever Gets You Thru The Night (special guest: Elton John)

10. Band on the Run

11. All Things Must Pass

12. Photograph

Acoustic Set

13. In My Life

14. Blackbird

15. Here Comes The Sun

“Rock Set”

16. Come Together

17. Got To Get You Into My Life

18. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (special guest: Eric Clapton)

19. Octopus’ Garden

20. Hey Bulldog

21. Paperback Writer

22. Day Tripper

23. Flying (A cool extended version. Let musicians stretch out a bit)

Solo Set 2

24. Imagine

25. Maybe I'm Amazed

26. Give Me Love Give Me Peace On Earth

27. It Don't Come Easy

Finale

28. I Saw Her Standing There (4 Beatles only)

29. Twist and Shout (4 Beatles only)

30. I Want To Hold Your Hand (4 Beatles only)

31. A Day in the Life (all musicians)

Encore

32. Something

33. I’ve Got A Feeling (John/Paul duet)

34. Hey Jude

35. Abbey Road Medley (start with Because)

Set length: 2 hrs 12 mins

This is just a show I would really enjoy. Maybe you could make your own!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FQKhDEnExrfQcQVXLOJ6b?si=sF3PefPURQ2UgqbFI3XA7w&pi=YkXsvjK1SsGjH

That is a fantastic way to open the show with that John quote, and then straight into Pepper!

Getting Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane out of the way early on feels like a very ‘them’ thing to do too.

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u/illusivetomas avatar

i pick like all their trippiest songs prob lol. tomorrow never knows/its all too much are a must

Honestly, I would kill to see one of their Hamburg shows.

u/CountJohn12 avatar

Wild Honey Pie like 240 times in a row.

Rocky Raccoon