Ashley Naylor On The Give Peace A Chance, The Words Of John Lennon In Concert

Give Peace A Chance, The Words and Music of John Lennon in Concert will be touring Australia in July. It is a celebration of John Lennon’s music, passion and protest, being played in Australia’s most prestigious venues, including Adelaide’s Festival Theatre on Saturday 12 July 2025.

I speak to the Musical Director of the show, Ashley Naylor, guitarist for The Church, Paul Kelly, The Stems and beloved Melbourne band Even, amongst many other ventures. Ashley is also an acclaimed solo artist.
Congratulations on being Music Director for the Give Peace A Chance The Words And Music of John Lennon In Concert touring July.

With so many great Rock n Roll giants out there, why John Lennon?
Thanks Geoff, it is an honour indeed. The catalogue of Lennon/McCartney songs is just so strong and timeless. John’s songs have a particular resonance in the wake of his departure from the world and the unflinching honesty of his lyrics.

There have been lots of John Lennon tribute shows over the years but I have never seen one for Paul McCartney. Do you think this is because he is still alive and touring?
That would make sense, he is still accessible to many concert goers. He is universally admired but arguably not as romanticised as Lennon.

Did you get to see McCartney when he toured a couple of years back? Eighty years old and a three-hour performance was pretty special.
I saw him twice in 2017, once with my son in Melbourne and also in Sydney with Jack Housden. Both shows were incredible and very moving.

I guess a lot of preparation and work goes into a show like this. It’s not something you throw together on a weekend. How long have you been working on this show?
The show has been in the planning stages for a couple of months now, the music work ramps up from here on. Honing parts, allocating songs to artists, ensuring we bring a rock md roll mindset to this theatre production.

As Musical Director, did you have input into which singers to use? (Adalita, Steve Kilbey, Kevin Mitchell, Diesel, Isabella Manfredi) and how did you go about choosing the singers being used? (Good choices by the way)
The producers of the show had a list of singers in mind, many of which I had worked alongside. All of these people will bring a special vibe to the show.

All great singers but the surprise for me was the inclusion of Isabella Manfredi from The Preatures. She is an electrifying singer and a great addition to the team.
Izzy is a great artist and always brings special magic to any show she’s a part of. I know she will slay, whichever songs she performs on the show.

Any band will tell you; the singer is only as good as the band behind them. Haha. Who is in the touring band for this show, other than Ashley Naylor?
I’ve drafted my Spaceship cohort, Wez Prictor, Richard Bradbeer, Lachlan O’Kane and our colleague Ben Mellonie from Ten Gallon Head on guitar

Being Musical Director, does Ashley Naylor get to pull rank and step up to the microphone and sing a song or two during the show?
Ha ha…yes…I stipulated that I would like to sing a number too.

How hard was it to choose which songs to perform from Lennon’s vast range? I guess some just speak for themselves to be chosen, but can we expect some deep cuts?
As this is a larger scale theatre show, the premise is to focus on the more well-known material.

It is common knowledge that despite Beatles songs being credited to McCartney-Lennon, many were individually written. I presume Lennon written Beatles songs will feature in the show as well as the solo Lennon numbers.
Yes, that’s correct. Many Lennon fans know the lyrical shift in Lennon’s Beatles material from ‘Help!’ onwards. It gets starker and more personal in the solo material and it’s great to present this all together in the show.

What is Ashley Naylor’s favourite Lennon solo album?
At this point in time, I think John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band for its sheer rawness and brutal honesty. I really like Shaved Fish as well as it packs all the solo highlights into one LP and marks the beginning of the Lennon retreat from the entertainment world in 1975.

George Harrison would make for an interesting show. I can see Steve Kilbey filling this role. Maybe you could work your way through all four Beatles over the next four years.
Never say never Geoff. I’d love to be involved in any Beatles related shows in the future. I have a particular affinity with this music.

You’re playing the prestigious Adelaide Festival Theatre. That must be a blast.
Yes, playing in theatres like this is a privilege and a thrill.

To end, a bit of trivia about John Lennon. He was the last of the Beatles to get his driver’s licence, for good reason: he was a notoriously bad driver and had poor eyesight. Do you have any Lennon trivia to finish on?
I love the quote when he refers to being obsessed about a particular artist to the point that he might wear the same colour socks as that artist.

Interview by Geoff Jenke

Catch Give Peace A Chance, The Words and Music of John Lennon in Concert on the following dates, tickets HERE…