Beatles Dub Club
Plant 4, Bowden
Sat Feb 28, 2026

Just to set the record straight (see what I did there?) I like to listen to my Beatles, one side of vinyl at a time. I'll even play both sides again if time is on my side. In my day a DJ played a record and when that record finished he would play the next one. There was even a brief silence between the 2 records…..so, maybe it's time to see what the kids are up to these days.

The show time of 5pm makes for a family friendly atmosphere in a smallish room with rows of seats. The dance floor in front of the DJ is soon populated with small children as parents look on.

What is played is a mash up of styles and genres; reggae, ska, dub, house, drum and bass and it all goes to prove that you can’t break a Beatles song. So robust are the songs' arrangements, lyrics, melodies and harmonies that you can approach the songs from any angle and they still carry that Beatle magic.

DJ Arnold from the UK is a low key, amiable guy who makes everyone feel relaxed and welcome. A good DJ is a magical weaver of spells and combining all the disparate styles into an hour long show with appropriate and enchanting segues is the DJ’s job here. DJ Arnold is more than up to the job.

Whilst the children present have now all but taken over the space, parents are gradually loosening up, swaying and singing along and inching towards the dance floor.

The DJ set is accompanied by a screen displaying a mishmash of Beatles imagery, some of it AI generated, some taken from old archival footage and also footage of DJ Arnold performing at various summer festivals. Whilst today's 5pm show is an ideal way to kick off your Fringe festival evening, the equivalent of a pre-dinner drink if you will, it would be something else to experience at a festival or a late night club.