Director Danny Boyle on his new film that imagines life without the Beatles

Would there be hip-hop or house music without the Beatles using the studio as an instrument? Would we have had Live Aid without the Concert for Bangladesh? Would the US Civil Rights movement have been delayed if they had agreed to play to segregated audiences? These are just some of the questions John Maguire asks Danny Boyle, director of a new film that imagines a world where the Fab Four never existed

Danny Boyle: ‘I’m not downplaying it when I say I love the Beatles, but Richard Curtis is a proper fanatic’ Pic: Lawrence Smith/ Fairfax Nz

Imagine there’s no Beatles? It’s not easy, even if you try. “Hmm . . . it’s not, is it?” agrees Danny Boyle whose new film Yesterday, titled after one of ...