New York, NY - The New York City-based band The Badge will recreate the final live performance of The Beatles on the thirty-fifth anniversary of the event. The concert, at 1 PM on January 30, 2004, is set to take place at the Guitar Center's Union Square store at 14th Street and 5th Avenue, instead of its original outdoor location at Wall Street due to the extreme weather conditions expected in New York City.

The Badge will also be playing at Arlene's Grocery on the evening of the 30th at 7 PM. The band will play the "rooftop set" along with a selection of its own material.

"Just as The Beatles treated London to a lunchtime concert, so will we," said Jeff Slate, songwriter, vocalist and bassist of The Badge. "We're going to break up a cold, gray January day with a little entertainment and at the same time pay tribute to an historic event in the life of the world's greatest rock n' roll band."

The Badge will not, however, be performing a note-for-note recreation of the concert, or dressing up in lookalike costumes. "We're not going to recreate the concert the way your average tribute band might," said Slate. "We're a real band, with our own legacy to create. We'll be playing the five songs The Beatles played that day, but we'll be doing it our own way. To me, that's the real way to pay tribute. In fact, there's really no other way in my mind."

On January 30, 1969, The Beatles performed material from their then as-yet unreleased "Let It Be" album, including "Get Back", "Don't Let Me Down", "Dig A Pony", "I've Got A Feeling" and "One After 909". The band were looking for a way to create a climax for the documentary cameras that had been tracking their rehearsals during January 1969, and did so by performing on the rooftop of their Saville Row, London, Apple offices. It was the band's final live, public performance together, and was stopped by police after noise complaints from area businesses.

"I hope" said Marc Teamaker, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of The Badge, "thatfor the 20 or so minutes we're performing that the people of New York City can stop what they are doing and come down and take some time to relax and reflect on the thirty-five years that have passed since these songs were last played this way."

The Badge is a four-piece band. Jeff Slate (vocals, bass & organ) is The Badge's heart and soul and is responsible for the band's signature sound. The band's principal songwriter, Jeff has a long list of credits as a professional musician, producer and engineer. As a solo artist Jeff has opened for Sheryl Crow, toured Europe and America extensively, and has recorded and performed with Pete Townshend of The Who, who acted as executive producer on a series of demos by Jeff in the mid-1990's. Jeff shares the songwriting and vocal chores with singer/songwriter Marc Teamaker (guitar, vocals & piano), evoking the songwriting teamwork and vocal pairings of Lennon/McCartney and Marriott/Lane. The lineup is completed by Nelson Pla (drums, percussion & vocals), and Matt Kalin (keyboards & vocals).

The Badge released their latest CD, titled "Calling Generation Mojo", in late September on the Detour Records label in the UK. The band will be touring the US and UK extensively in 2004. They will appear at London's 12-Bar Club at 9 PM on Saturday, February 21st.

Contact:
thebadge@digitalretro.com
www.thebadge.com