Doc/Fest - Sheffield

In the days of Communist Russia, you could be accused of espionage for listening to the Beatles’ infectious tunes on home stereo. But it didn¹t stop tales of John Lennon sightings from popping up and stories of impromptu Beatles concerts from spreading around the nation. It took a few years for the Beatles music to sneak through the cracks in the Iron Curtain. But when it did it had the same profound affect on youth culture like it did anywhere else, because those cracks represented a respite from Cold War culture as well as all the freedoms, fun and new ideas of the West. The ramifications of the Beatles era are still felt in Russia today through the dozens of diehard fans who celebrate the music through ingenious modes of expression and with as much, if not more, passion than when they heard it a generation ago. The Beatles inspired some to build their own guitars or to start their own bands while they also spurred the government to go into the bootleg record business. Leslie Woodhead’s latest work, which recently featured on the BBC, is a fantastic insight into a little known element of the Beatles legacy.