A LIVERPOOL AFFAIR Four Armenians from Tbilisi Call Themselves The Blitz Beatles Text and Photos by GEOFF LAITIBERTSEN t is November 199 I . We sit in a desperately dingy flat in asuburbofliverpml, chatting. The Blitz Beatles, four Arihbrtians from Tbilisi, Georgia, then on their second tour to Liverpool, have taken me into
their inner circle of confidants. As they ply me with something they call coffee, our attention is suddenly taken by a BBC news report coming from a small black-and- white TV screen. Georgia appears to hover on the brink of civil war. They pick up on the background soundtrack and the comments ofordinary Georgians. We see paramilitary figures firing guns and bits of
former haunts of their idols. As it huddles into the tiny dressing room behind the stage ofthe Orrell Park Ballroom, where the Beatles often played for fees that would now harldy buy four pints of beer, the resident emcee remarks how much the Blitz remind him of the Beatles. When the gig is over and the adrenaline still high, a frequently observed occurrence begins with a gentle tapping on the the dressing-room door. Enter an ex-member of a Liverpool rock band with sincere congratu-
masonry flying through the air. Drummer Ben Osimov points excitedly at the screen. "My flat is on that street!," he says. At that moment the Blitz tourof Liverpool effectively ends, though it would take
parison, the Blitz look a little awkward. By the time they finish "I Saw Her Standing There," the hall, packed with thousands, is on its feet. The contest is over. A cluster of Beatles contempofaries come backstage to endorse that decision. For these four Armenians this represents a climatic triumph, but it brings no commensurate financial reward. By Octoberthe band prepares toretum to Tbilisi. Drummer Ben Osimov has given way to Nodi Ostatishvili and formed a new Armenian band, "Gen6tic Code." These friends fl y in to take over the c ity center house from the Blitz. A party is held to celebrate the launching ofthe sister band. A clutch of Armenian musicians are reunited in aforeign country. In a house in the shadow of Liverpool Cathedral they sit in
candleJight, singing beautifully harmonized sharakans. It is a moving moment.
anotherday ortwo to realize it. Band leader Valery Kocharov tums to me and shakes his head. "Crazy, just crazy," he says. Concerns about family and
The band appears to fulfill an emotional need in a city that has suffered a lot ofsetbacks in the last 20 years and that still moums the loss of its greatest treasure. "The
justone more worrytobe Blitz launch into anotherheady night, playing the muBeatles in Liverpool are like sic of theBeatles like no otherband something holy," says Kocharov. has ever done since the originals His stage persona is John Lennon, themselves. and when he goes down to the loIn the late 1970's Kocharov cal pub for a pint, John is what he formed the Blitz Beatles Club in is called. Tbilisi to listen to and play the muThis summer the city of Liverpool played host to the sic of the Beatles. then an activity still frowned upon by the authoritallships of the world in a major ties. In 1980 the band traveled to a maritime extravagaiza. The city large rock festival in Moscow, newspaper looked for an essential where it played to great acclaim. Liverpudlian symbol to greet the Kocharov is an artist ofconsidsailors of the world, andchose four Armenians to be that symbol. erable stature in Georgia, a successful painter and sculptor as well ai But what of the future of the an influential figure in the developBlitz? Their early difficulties with ment of Soviet rock. His passion English, their extreme good manThe Blitz are, clockwise lrom top left, Valery Kocharov, Valery for playing the music of the Beatles Ambarzumian, ners and openness, combined with ZaZa Sakhamberidze and Nodi Ostatishvili. led to a buming desire to play in the their poorly planned tours-a spiritual home of the Fab Four. In 1989 a consequence of unpredictable visa grantinglations and eagertorecounttales of theirperhas left them farfrom well-rewarded for their videotapeoftheband was senttothe organizsonal contact with the Beatles in the old days. talent and success. High British living costs ers of the Intemational Beatles Convention In September this year the biggest ever in Liverpool and an invitation was duly reand Georgian infl ation mean they retum home International Beatles Convention assembled with less than expected. Liverpool, a foreign ceived. in Liverpool. Here every obscure piece of The band attracted the attention of Alan city in its own countqr, adores them, has memorabilia is availablti, but the real draw is Williams, the original manager of the Beatles adopted them. Butrockbands are like sharks; the music. The audience is truly international. and the man who once rather audacioulsy they must move forward or die. Though they with American and Japanese rivalling the have found a new spiritual home, the Blitz, told John trnnon, "You'll neverwork again." British in numbers. The Blitz are tense. Half Under Williams' guidance, the Blitz had a like theirheroes before them, mustbreak loose adozen bands will play, each hoping to sway sobering introduction into the delights of and break out. a frighteningly knowledgeable audience that Westemcapitalismandmadehardlyapenny. they have the most authentic Beatles Sound. They dispensed with Williams. Some have studied the body language and Geoff Lambertsen is a freelance writer. He lives in Liverpool, England. The band has performed in many of the chatof theoriginals and reproduce it. Bycomfriends
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AIM, DECEMBER 1992