John Lennon's piano and a Great North Run finale for the Great Exhibition of the North

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John Lennon's piano and a Great North Run finale for the Great Exhibition of the North
More details of an exciting programme have been announced by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley who is visiting the region today
BY DAVID WHETSTONE
7 SEP 2017


The piano owned by John Lennon which is to be loaned by The Beatles Story, Liverpool (Image: Gareth Jones Photography)

John Lennon’s favourite piano and the space suit worn by astronaut Helen Sharman will be among iconic objects on display in next year’s Great Exhibition of the North – while the 2018 Great North Run will form part of its grand finale.

These latest attractions of the Great Exhibition, hosted by NewcastleGateshead and designed to highlight the achievements and innovations of the North of England, have been announced by Karen Bradley, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, who was due on Tyneside today.


As 57,000 runners make their final preparations for Sunday’s Simplyhealth Great North Run, it seems their 2018 counterparts will be putting an extra special footprint on the glorious history of the event.

Ms Bradley said: “The Great North Run is a British sporting institution that has raised the profile of Tyneside across the world.

“It is a fantastic example of how events like these can change a city’s culture and I am thrilled it is partnering with the Great Exhibition of the North.

“The race will be the perfect finale to the three month Exhibition, which will celebrate the very best of art, design and innovation across the whole of the North of England and help boost investment and tourism in the region to leave a lasting legacy.”

Brendan Foster, chairman and founder of the event, said: “2018 will be another milestone year for the Simplyhealth Great North Run as the centrepiece to the Great Exhibition of the North’s final weekend.

“The region is at the very heart of mass-participation running and this partnership should help to inspire even more people to get active and take part in running, the most accessible and inclusive sport of all.”

The piano and the space suit will join Stephenson’s Rocket for the Great Exhibition. But whereas the steam locomotive was made in Newcastle, these newly announced attractions, both to be displayed at Great North Museum: Hancock, give a taste of how the event will represent the wider North.


The new online branding for the Great Exhibition of the North (Image: NewcastleGateshead Initiative)

The piano is to be loaned by The Beatles Story, a major attraction in Liverpool where the ‘Fab Four’ are celebrated as world famous pop music pioneers and jewels in Britain’s cultural crown.

“Any exhibition of great things from the North of England should reference The Beatles, or at least one of them,” said Martin King, director of The Beatles Story.

“John Lennon’s favourite piano from his New York years featured on many of his solo works and, poignantly, was the last instrument he ever played.

“We hope visitors will look upon it and think about the four lads from Liverpool who are still, 50 years on, considered to be the world’s greatest ever band.”




The upright piano, from the studio of Record Plant Recording in New York, was much loved by the charismatic Beatle.

He played it many times during recording sessions for several albums including Imagine, Walls and Bridges and Double Fantasy – and shortly before he was murdered in front of his New York home in December 1980.

The piano’s ivories were also tickled by Bob Dylan, Pete Townshend, Lou Reed and other pop music greats.

The 22lb Sokol space suit – like Rocket, to be loaned by London’s Science Museum – was worn by Helen Sharman, who is from Sheffield, when she visited the Mir Space Station in 1991. It has never been displayed in the North before.


The spacesuit worn by astronaut Helen Sharman when she visited the Mir Space Station (Image: Jennie Hills, Science Museum Group Collection)

Sharman, who was chosen from among 13,000 applicants to join the British Juno Mission, said: “I’m delighted that the loan of my space suit by the Science Museum Group will help the Great Exhibition of the North to celebrate the many incredible scientific, technological and cultural contributions made by northerners.

“I hope that the story of a young person from Sheffield becoming the first Briton in space will inspire young visitors to believe that they too can achieve something completely unexpected.”

Also announced for the Great Exhibition is a new solo show at BALTIC by Newcastle-born artist Michael Dean who was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2016.

Sage Gateshead, meanwhile, is commissioning an animated musical adventure called Seven Bridges by Tyneside composer Ed Carter and children’s TV script writer Katie Simmons.

The aim of the film, featuring locations along the Tyne to Dunston Staiths, will be to introduce children to the architectural and engineering landmarks of the region. It will be presented live with music by Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Sir Gary Verity, chair of the Great Exhibition board, said other iconic objects from across the North would also be on display during the event, which runs for three months from June 22, 2018.

“The programme highlights we’ve announced today reflect what an exciting event the Great Exhibition of the North will be in 2018,” he said.

“We’re telling the story of the North through its people, music, art and inventions.”

The latest announcements, he said, were “just a flavour of what people can expect when the Great Exhibition of the North takes over the buildings, streets and public spaces in NewcastleGateshead next summer”.

Organisers hope the event will attract an additional 1.2m visitors to the area and provide a £184m boost to the economy.