Edinburgh bands to take on Helter Skelter eight-hour Beatles marathon to raise money for MND charity

A special eight-hour Long and Winding Road concert will take place this weekend, with 10 Edinburgh bands taking to the stage to perform more than 100 Beatles classics to Help raise money for a motor neurone (MND) charity.

The event on Saturday, November 25 at Assembly Roxy at Roxburgh Place has been put together by US-based Edinburgh musician Stuart McGachan, who lost his father Patrick McGachan to the condition last week. All profits from this special concert will go to the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation founded by Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir, who died in November last year after suffering from MND.

The charity funds research for treatments and hopefully an eventual cure for MND, a life-shortening condition of which a third of those diagnosed succumb to within a year.

The Beatles marathon is scheduled to run from 3pm until 11pm, with families including small children welcome. Acts including Mountain People, Kings of Marigold, Sebastian Dangerfield and Monticule will perform tracks by the Fab Four to raise money for charity.

The cause is very personal for those involved, as organiser Stuart McGachan, who has come back home for this special concert, explained: “The marathon has been inspired by my dad's love of The Beatles, passed down to the whole of our family throughout his life. He sadly lost his battle with Motor Neuron Disease last week. He was an amazing dad, grandad, husband, father-in-law, and friend who brought us all together.

"This week has been tough, and the show will be too, but it gives us great comfort knowing that he passed away knowing that we were doing this for him, and everyone suffering directly or indirectly through this horrible disease. The My Name'5 Doddie Foundation has been a joy to work with, along with the amazing musicians that have volunteered their time and talents. It's been a welcome distraction to what's been going on, and we hope we can make you all proud.”

Stuart now lives in Columbus, Ohio, where a Beatles Marathon has flourished into a major annual event in the local music calendar, so much so that in recent years, Sirs Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have even introduced the event via video message.

Tickets for Edinburgh’s first Beatles Marathon can be purchased in advance from the Assembly Roxy website, and donations can be made via JustGiving. An all-day ticket for adults is £18, and for under-18s it is £14. Children under 5 can attend for free, but must have a ticket.

The marathon is taking place just weeks after the release of ‘Now And Then’ by The Beatles, when music producers used artificial intelligence to isolate vocals recorded by John Lennon 50 years ago to create the band’s final song, which shot to Number 1 in the UK Official Charts. Organisers of the marathon are hoping that this iconic release will see Edinburgh Beatles fans Twist and Shout their way to Assembly Roxy on Saturday to enjoy more of the band’s hits live on stage.