The Beatles on Goodnight Sweetheart

Although the Beatles were never actually on this very funny 1990's BBC sitcom that starred Nicholas Lyndhurst as time-traveller Gary Sparrow who flits between 1990's London and 1940's War-torn London their influence was strongly felt in the show.

The character of Gary can play the piano and in the 1940's Pianos were everywhere in pubs. Being a time-traveller, Gary knows all about the Beatles 20 years before they came into being and so sings their songs to the war weary masses. But he also claims he wrote them. Which, speaking from a 1940's viewpoint, he did but speaking from a 1990's viewpoint, he most certainly did not. Something which his Liverpudlian friend Ron is keen to point out. "It's not as if John, Paul, George and Ringo are going to walk into the Royal Oak and catch me at it" There was also a very funny episode centered around the song 'When I'm 64'when Gary plays it rather innocently in the 1940's and ends up nearly giving it to George Formby to sing! There have been MANY Beatles references in this show as the writers made Gary a huge Beatles fan and the opportunity for him to sing those songs in the 1940's pub setting was irresistible to them. Here are a selection of them from the show.....

Gary sings 'Penny Lane' in Liverpool, 1942.

Gary invents Psychadelia by singing 'I Am The Walrus' during an Air Raid in 1941

At a Tea dance, Gary serenades a little girl with the Revolver ballad 'Here, There and Everywhere' in 1941

Gary meets George Harrison in the pub in 1941 but not the George Harrison we know!