About the Project ...
The Mystery Tour Revival Project was set up in February 2001 from my desire to write a factual book incorporating The Beatles, and in the setting of what has been my home town since 1991, the picturesque town of Newquay, Cornwall.
I was aware that the group had been in the west country to film location scenes for MMT, and on further investigation found that they had actually used Newquay as a base for their stay of three nights, back in the autumn of one of their most creative years 1967.
The original aim of this project website was to give general information about The Beatles` stay in Newquay, and the excitement generated at the time, leaving long lasting affectionate memories for those who were there at the time.
However the whole project evolved from a book to a film in August of 2007, following a chance meeting with film director David Lambert. The film set out to include both the memories from Newquay, that had already been collected, and also a whole host of new stories from the people in Kent, where The Beatles completed their location filming.
The film took nearly twelve months to make, and is now on general release in the UK and USA. Its title is The Beatles : Magical Mystery Tour Memories
Full details re the production of this film are featured in the section `Film / DVD on this site.
About 6 months into the original project came the idea of an official plaque for Newquay, and with the kind support and co-operation of The Tourism Association, the plaque was made and stands in the centre of the town at the top of the grassed recreation area known locally as the 'Killacourt'.
The positioning was significant with the Atlantic Hotel in the background, the scene of so much excitment back in September 1967, with their famous guests in residence. The plaque was unveiled on a pleasant Saturday afternoon, October 19th 2002, by the then Mayor of Restormel, where a large crowd of people had gathered to watch.
Pictured above left, the plaque in it's picturesque setting, and project organiser Keith
Gray with the Mayor and his wife, at the unveiling ceremony.
Also providing the background colour and authenticity to the unveiling was a replica Magical Mystery Tour bus, which had been kindly supplied by Cavern City Tours of Liverpool, and driven down to Newquay for that special commemorative weekend. The bus did a couple of trips `in the tyre treads` of the original bus, 35 years earlier, before it departed for Liverpool the next morning. On the evening of that busy day 19th October, there was a very successful dinner dance function at The Atlantic Hotel (where else !).
More recently, in 2007, we marked the 40th anniversary with an even more successful
dinner dance at the same venue, where almost 300 people turned up, most of them in very flamboyant sixties gear !!
