AND FINALLY

Jan 26th was a day in the life of surreal achievements for pop culture as Liverpool Hope university announced it had awarded its first ever MA in Beatles studies. Fab Four Fan Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy is the proud recipient and she’s now one of a select elite group who know more about the influence of the mop tops and their popular Merseybeat sound on defining ‘identities, culture and society’, than, er, normal people.

Mary Lu (we’d like to think) said, “I Want to Tell You it was easy but I had to work Eight Days a Week and spend many a long Hard Day’s Night on my studies. I couldn’t have done it without the Help! of my tutors, who would always say We Can Work it Out. When I started out on this Long and Winding Road, Like Dreamers Do, I was Nowhere Man, but now I’ve got this Revolution-ary qualification, I’m Free as a Bird – With a Little Help from My Friends, It’ll be a Ticket to Ride around the media spouting forth academic waffle about Sergeant Pepper for years. Then when I’m Sixty-Four I hope to become a Paperback Writer. You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) - I am the Walrus.”

Beat combo experts we may not be, but SchNEWS isn’t worried – we’ve got a Doctor of Disco and a Professor of Punk...