Success for eight-hour Spirit of 67 event in Harrogate

Organisers are celebrating the success of a unique and independent four event/four venue arts and music event in Harrogate.
Singer-songwriter Nick Ellis at The Factory in Harrogate as part of Spirit of 67 event.Singer-songwriter Nick Ellis at The Factory in Harrogate as part of Spirit of 67 event.
Singer-songwriter Nick Ellis at The Factory in Harrogate as part of Spirit of 67 event.

Spirit of 67 was packed throughout last Saturday in a continuous eight-hour celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album and the Summer of Love.On show were local art and music talent plus VIP guest performers from London, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Halifax.The event was co-organised by RedHouse Originals gallery, 108 Fine Art gallery. The Factory (Poliform North) and Graham Chalmers of the Harrogate Advertiser.Highlights included a talk and book signing with Mike McInnerney and Dudley Edwards, legendary art figures in the 60s psychedelic movement.McInnerney played a crucial role in the International Times and UFO club, while also designing the cover of The Who's classic Tommy album.Edwards, who lived with both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in 1967 was involved with most of the major events at the height of the Summer of Love in London and gave much of London its psychedelic look.Each event saw a very different rendition of The Beatles' A Day in the Life; all of which proved outstanding - from a delicate version by Dan Webster of The Birdman Rallies with the Harrogate Symphony Orchestra string quartet, to DJ Rory Hoy's imaginative dance remix; Patrick Wise, Paul Taylor and Heath Common's powerful dark electronica reinterpretation to The Strawberries' stunning straight rock version.As part of the day, which took place in sequence and was chaired and MC-ed throughout by Graham Chalmers, a well-received exhibition took place at RedHouse Originals gallery in Harrogate featuring art by Sir Peter Blake and Ian Skelly of The Coral plus classic 1967 rock photographs by Gered Mankowitz (Rolling Stones and more) and Leni Sinclair (American photographer, radical political activist and co-founder of the White Panther Party along with John Sinclair,Spirit of 67 was the bigger follow-up to last year's successful Spirit of 66 in Harrogate.

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