Edinburgh Fringe 2024

Sitting on a Cornflake: Songs of Lennon-McCartney

Brothers Broke

Genre: Music, Musical Stories

Venue: theSpaceUK

Festival: Edinburgh Fringe

Low Down

Review

If you like the Beatles but you have no clue where the title ‘Sitting on a Cornflake’ comes from then this is a show definitely for you. If you like the Beatles and know where the title comes from, this show is also for you. However if you know that the song, that ‘Sitting on a Cornflake’ comes from, is based on a poem by Lewis Carol, because you read that in the Beatles biography, then this show is also for you- but you won’t walk away learning anything new. You ‘Beatlemaniac’s’ however get the privilege of sitting listening to Beatles songs in a casual gig with likeminded people. Sounds to you, doesn’t it?

The two Irish brothers that go by the name ‘Brothers Broke’ are no stranger to the Edinburgh Fringe. They been performing their shows since 2021, with one of their shows, ‘When Judas met John,’ the story of Bob Dylan and John Lennon’s relationship, with five star reviews. 

Sitting on a cornflake has a similar format. They tell the story of the legendary songwriters Paul McCartney and John Lennon through the Beatles anthology, telling the stories behind their songs in a chronological order. 

The show opened with the brothers standing on stage with just a bass and an electric guitar. A Lennon top was dawned by one of the brothers, immediately setting the scene for a performance by genuine Beatles fans. I myself am a massive Beatles fan so I was very excited to attend. I was impressed by their level of description about each songs. They gave informative explanations that didn’t feel patronising. As a Beatles fan I have heard the same iterations of stories being told over and over again. However what the brothers shared were much richer stories which really set up the meanings for the songs existence and showed that what Lennon-McCartney created was much deeper than surface level.

That being said, as a big Beatles fan I didn’t walk away with any new information, and to be fair- they had no chance of telling me anything I didn’t know unless it came from Paul McCartney’s mouth himself. They both may not be Paul however they both has a slight McCartney-esque vocal quality to their voices. Their harmonies were gorgeous and didn’t attempt to reach the higher vocal notes done originally by Lennon-McCartney. However I really liked how they weren’t trying to be a tribute band of any sorts. This was more of a celebration and appreciation of the Beatles, performed in their own original way. 

It must be said that these talented musicians, very impressively took on the task of performing extremely hard Beatles songs considering they are a duo with just a bass, acoustic and electric guitar. Who knew that is  all you needed to mask the absence of a full orchestral band? 

There were lovely low-key conversations with the audience, with no-pressure audience participation to sing the songs (which isn’t a hard job) which created a lovely environment as if you were at a local pub gig. Everyone who saw the show was there with a mutual love for Lennon-McCartney and it felt very wholesome and supportive.

The only disappointment of the show was the fact that it was only 45 minutes, meaning they couldn’t get through a lot of the songs and explanations within that time frame. However they did the best they could with the time they had as they were well balanced in their discography. To combat their time constraint they successfully did a mash up of songs which transitioned very intelligently. 

I must say this is the perfect show to see after a busy day at the Edinburgh Fringe. A relaxing gig, with likeminded people and perhaps walking away with more knowledge about the two greatest songwriters of all time. Or perhaps it’s just the start of your night and you want to get into the mood to listen to good tunes. It’s a win win both ways. The 9:20pm time slot is brilliant for it. It’s a lovely show to see!

Published August 8, 2024 by Heidi Steel