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Interview with the Keepers of Kolya Vasin's Beatles Museum
Interview with the Keepers of Kolya Vasin's Beatles Museum
December 28, 2024
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Interview with the Keepers of Kolya Vasin's Beatles Museum

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The Beatles Museum was founded by the well-known St. Petersburg Beatles fan Kolya Vasin. What sort of person was he?

Lyosha: What a guy he was — extraordinary, unlike anyone else, a hero of a hero-less time, the happiest person in the world, the most driven and stubborn, he did what he loved.

Grisha: Kolya was a Beatles fan. And he was different.

Kolya Vasin on August 22, 2018. Photo: Igor Vereshchagin

Kolya Vasin on August 22, 2018. Photo: Igor Vereshchagin

What is the museum's main mission?

Zlata: Researching the creative legacy of The Beatles, as well as the phenomenon of Soviet Beatlemania and Kolya Vasin's contribution to the history of the Beatles movement in the USSR and Russia.

Polya: The Museum's mission is to instill a culture of thoughtful and conscious listening to music (music in general, any kind), as well as to develop the Beatles community and bring people together.

Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum

Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum

How do new exhibits appear in the museum?

Polya: Visitors bring to the Museum anything related to the Beatles, from newspaper clippings, photographs, postcards, books about the Beatles to their own creations and crafts, autographs of people from the band's circle and even food! For example, the collection contains several bottles of 'John Lemon' lemonade and an empty package of 'Yellow Submarine' dumplings.

Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum

Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum

Last year the song 'Now and Then' was released, made based on a John Lennon demo using a neural network. How did you react to this event?

Polya: When the song was released, it was announced that it was the last song by The Beatles. But most likely there will be many more such 'last' songs ahead of us. There are still unreleased recordings: early, rare, rough, unfinished and not brought to a final version. At the Museum we believe the more Beatles songs — the better! In 'Now And Then' artificial intelligence was used only to clean John Lennon's voice from extraneous noise — so in this case it turned out to be an excellent assistant. There were many versions of this song before 2023, so-called bootlegs and fan interpretations. But finally the world saw its final version, approved by Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Beatles fans of different ages come to the Museum — and I think this song became a real gift from the beloved band for everyone who was born in another era and 'didn't experience' The Beatles.

Single cover. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Single cover. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

What tour programs does the museum offer?

Polya: We always recommend everyone sign up for the Museum's overview tour. In it we tell about Kolya Vasin's original ceramics, Beatles autographs and belongings, the story of the chief Beatles fan and his collection. The Museum also holds Beatles lessons for schoolchildren and students, extended author-led tours and other wide-ranging events on broad topics — from apartment concerts and English lessons using Beatles songs to drum workshops and 'Guess the Beatles Melody' games.

Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum

Photo: official VKontakte group of the museum

What are the museum's plans for the future?

Zlata: Preserving Kolya Vasin's creative legacy and promoting it worldwide.

Polya: Large themed festivals in Saint Petersburg and across Russia dedicated to The Beatles; expanding the collection and publishing books by the chief Beatles fan Kolya Vasin.

The questions were answered by the keepers of Kolya Vasin's Beatles Museum: Grisha — chief architect of the Temple of Love, Peace and Music named after John Lennon and The Beatles, friend of Kolya Vasin. Lyosha — Beatles fan, friend of Kolya Vasin, event manager. Zlata — specialist in children's programs at the Museum, tour guide. Polya — Museum administrator.

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