Fifty years ago, four lads from Liverpool with mop-top haircuts came on to the popular culture scene and revolutionised music. With celebrations all over the world this year, Dubai also plans to honour The Beatles and their enduring influence
They say it’s your birthday
The Beatles’ 50th anniversary is being marked around the world with various events this year, including a musical tribute in Dubai. The theatre director Duck Chowles (Under African Skies, Rock on Beethoven) is bringing The Fab Four: Music of The Beatles to Madinat Jumeirah from September 6 to 8.
All you need is love
“I had the idea of creating something beautiful to honour The Beatles for a long time,” says Chowles, who is from South Africa and, in fact, the first single he ever bought was their song Come Together. “After several trials and endless practices, the show was born in 2000. Ever since, it has been running on and off for 12 years.”
The most challenging part of putting the show together was organising the song list in an order that would allow for the “magic” to flow.
The Beatles’ magic was not just because they had a record 27 Number 1 UK and US singles and sold more than 700 million albums. The reason why the band’s music is timeless, Chowles believes, is because they “did everything in pop music before anyone else”.
“They were the first at everything that really mattered back then and still have priceless value.”
All together now
The evening will start with the cast in suits and mop-tops performing the early hits before progressing to the Sgt Pepper’s era with their trademark colourful uniforms. One of the main ideas behind the show is to pay tribute to the late John Lennon and George Harrison. During the second half of the show, expect a few surprises with some unexpected new arrangements of famous songs.
“If our show will inspire the audience and will leave a good memory in people’s hearts, it would mean that the Liverpudlians will always be remembered,” Chowles says.
“I believe their story is a great example of a journey to success through hard work, dedication, massive talent and a bit of luck. The fact that they spent those early years in Hamburg, Germany, playing in unknown clubs and polishing their craft, already gives their story a lot of depth.”
With a little help from my friends
To make the show as realistic as possible, Chowles found a strong cast and used fewer “gimmicks”, focusing more attention on the performance itself, making it simply about the music.
“Myself and the guitarist Andy Murray were able to get the correct harmony blend that is so important in a Beatles tribute. The rest of the cast were selected one by one. The female vocalist Celeste Ribeiro from Dubai, who appears as a guest singer, is adding a special vibe to the whole -performance.”
Judging from past shows, the Tina Turner version of Help has proved to be a show stopper, with Hey Jude also an audience -favourite.
With the success of shows such as the recent sold out Under African Skies, Chowles and his team, who currently run several shows at a time in South Africa, are planning to bring more productions to Dubai in the near future.
And in the end
The Fab Four: Music of the Beatles starts on September 6 and 7 at 8pm and on September 8 at 7pm at the First Group Theatre, Madinat Jumeirah. Tickets cost Dh185 and are available at the First Group Theatre box office. For more information, call 04 366 6546 or visit www.madinattheatre.com for more details.
melshoush@thenational.ae
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
The National selections:
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2.30pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: El Baareq, Antonio Fresu, Rashed Bouresly
3pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Alkaraama, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
4pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Lady Snazz, Saif Al Balushi, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Hive – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
5pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – (TB) Handicap Dh64,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
