The Beatles referenced in the Simpsons

The first episode of the fifth season of The Simpsons was called "Homer's Barbershop Quartet". It tells the story of Homer's succesful barbershop quartet the Be Sharps, and closely follows the storyline of the Beatles' rise to fame.

Interestingly, there are two big cameos by George Harrison and David Crosby.

Some of the references to The Beatles:

- The first LP is called "Meet the Be Sharps"
- Moe's Tavern is called Moe's Cavern
- Chief Wiggum is thrown out, like Pete Best was
- The second album is called "Bigger than Jesus"
- The Be Sharps walk over Abbey Road
- On the album cover, Homer turns his back
- Barney has a Japanese conceptual artist as a partner
- There is a song called "number 8"
- A rooftop concert on top of Moe's Tavern

Where is the Magical Mystery Tour Bus now?

The Beatles directed The Magical Mystery Tour TV special in 1967. Following a (largely improvised) script that took them to the south of England, we see The Beatles board a bus.

If you ever wondered where the bus is now, I have good news: it has not been scraped, but was bought by Hard Rock Café. Until recently it could be seen at the largest HRC at the Universal Studios in Orlando.

The current location is back at The Warehouse at the Memorabilia HQ of the Hard Rock Café.

The Hard Rock Cafe acquired the actual Magical Mystery Tour bus in 1988 and it is the single biggest piece of rock n’ roll memorabilia they own. It took four months, 2,000 man-hours and a cost of $100,000 for HRC to completely refurbish the bus using vintage parts to replicate the original designs and details. The bus is stored in the Hard Rock Cafe warehouse and is put on display for special occasions.

Trivia

The bus is a Plaxton bodied 1959 Bedford Val Panorama Elite bus with the license plate URO 913E. This bus was new to coach company Fox of Hayes when leased by The Beatles for the film in 1967