With more Beatles cover bands, posters, T-shirts and themed karaoke parlors than you could poke a hard day’s night at, the Beatles’ lasting influence in Japan isn’t hard to spot.

They’ve released the greatest number of Beatles album pressings of any country, host the official John Lennon Museum and do the moptop really well.

Back in the day, a man named Takashima brought the band out for their legendary 1966 tour, and on July 8 he will be in Sydney sharing tales from his fifty-year career in the music industry in Japan, including the early days of the country’s infatuation with the Beatles and his experiences dealing with Brian Epstein [read more]