The Ultimate Beatles Show – The ‘White Album’ On Stage, Note For Note

Published on: 4 Aug, 2025
Updated on: 6 Aug, 2025

Classic Albums Live – bringing the Beatles to Guildford

By David Reading

It’s been 55 since the Beatles split up, but a show that’s coming to Guildford in September could possibly be the next best thing to hearing them perform.

An audience at G Live will hear all 30 songs from the “White Album” played by a Canadian touring company just as they sound on the record, note for note.

The “White Album” – officially titled simply The Beatles – must surely be one of the most diverse music projects of all time, containing styles as varied as folk, country rock, blues, old time music hall, hard rock, psychedelia and avant-garde. So this performance by Classic Albums Live could be the ultimate Beatles challenge.

Craig Martin – “We pay the album the ultimate respect”

CAL is no tribute band in the usual sense. Their founder, Craig Martin, says: “The concept take is simple: perform classic albums exactly the way they were recorded – note for note, cut for cut, as the original artists intended it to be. No gimmicks, just pure musical excellence.”

From that first few seconds when you hear the rushing sound of a jet coming in to land (in the opening track, Back in the USSR) the audience is transported through 93 minutes of some of the Beatles’ finest music.

CAL is considerably bigger than most touring outfits. “When we perform the Beatles, we hire a great many musicians to get every sound just right,” says Martin. “When it comes to properly performing ‘Glass Onion’ or ‘Revolution 9’ it’s all hands on deck. Our string and horn sections have become well versed in orchestral percussion.”

Ah yes, Revolution 9. How do they handle that surreal cacophony of sound effects and tape loops that goes on for eight minutes and 22 seconds?

Martin acknowledges the difficulty. “We have been working our way through Revolution 9 since the series began,” he says. “Seeing this performed live confuses half the audience and thrills the other half.”

So what are the main challenges involved in performing such an iconic album?

“Getting the beautiful sound of the voices is always the most daunting task,” Martin says. “We take our time and find the musicians for the right part. Matching the musician to the album is crucial. When we say note for note, we mean it.”

Martin’s long history in music began with an early introduction to the Beatles.

“My family came to Canada from England,” he says.” My mum would call me to come watch The Beatles. My father would call me to come watch The Stones. Here in Canada I come from the club circuit. I began composing music for television all through the 90s. CAL changed everything. I risked it all. No regrets. Not a one.”

Martin founded the company in 2003. The first album he tackled was Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, in Toronto in April of that year. He says he has become a main employer of musicians across North America. The group is a mainstay in many great North American theatres and concert halls, performing roughly 200 show every year.

Previous projects for CAL include masterpieces like Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Led Zeppelin II and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.

Martin is thrilled to be introducing CAL to the UK for the first time. “Performing in the UK adds a ‘coming home’ feel to the White Album,” he says. “We’re going to pay this album the ultimate respect and perform it note for note, cut for cut.”

The show comes to G Live on Thursday, September 4.

For more information and tickets, visit https://www.classicalbumslive.com/