The Bootleg Beatles
| The Bootleg Beatles | |
|---|---|
 The Bootleg Beatles performing for Dutch television in 1981 |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Website | BootlegBeatles.com |
| Members | |
| David Catlin-Birch Andre Barreau Adam Hastings Hugo Degenhardt |
|
| Past members | |
| Neil Harrison Rick Rock Paul Cooper |
|
The Bootleg Beatles are a Beatles tribute band. They have performed over 4,000 times since their establishment in March 1980.
Contents |
[edit] History
The band's first performance was at a small student gathering in Tiverton, Devon, England. Following more low-profile gigs, the band performed a 60-date tour of the Soviet Union; further tours followed in Israel, the Far East, the Middle East and India. In February 1984, they were invited to perform in the United States, to commemorate The Beatles' initial US tour 20 years earlier.
UK success continued to prove elusive. In 1990 the Bootleg Beatles booked 10 shows in cities in which The Beatles had performed in their final UK tour in 1965. Audiences were small but enthusiastic, and another tour was booked for the following year. This proved more popular, and as each year went by so crowds grew, the tours expanded, and the venues got larger. Finally, a gig in Southampton caught the attention of Oasis, leading to the Bootleg Beatles supporting the Britpop band at Earls Court. This gave the band a contemporary audience and increased their credibility, launching them onto the premier European festival circuit and shared stages with Rod Stewart, Bon Jovi, David Bowie, The Corrs, Manic Street Preachers and Iggy Pop.
In 2002, the band played at Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Party at Buckingham Palace.
On 30 January 2009, the band played on the rooftop of 3 Savile Row, London, former residence of the Beatles' Apple Corps company, recreating the Beatles final public live performance which took place on the same rooftop 40 years earlier.[1] The band had also appeared on this rooftop ten years earlier, recreating the same performance to mark the 30th anniversary of this event.
In March 2011, Harrison announced that he was leaving the group. On 18 July, a press release announced his replacement as Adam Hastings, a musician from Newcastle upon Tyne.[2]
[edit] Show format
Typically, each gig consists of performances of songs from five eras. For the 2005 Christmas tour, these were:
- Part One: The Fab Four (1963–1965): "Beatlemania conquers the world"
- Part Two: Revolver (1966): "The end of touring and recording; two songs for Liverpool"
- (Interval)
- Part Three: Sgt Pepper (1967): "The psychedelic explosion"
- Part Four: All You Need Is Love (1967): "Magical mystery touring and a Yellow Submarine"
- Part Five: Let It Be (1968–1969): "Apple, Abbey Road and the rooftop finale"
During each act, the band are dressed in appropriate costumes. The duration of this production is approximately 2h15m.[3]
[edit] Members
[edit] Band
[edit] Current lineup
- Adam Hastings (John Lennon) – guitar, vocals, keyboards
- David Catlin-Birch (Paul McCartney) – bass, vocals, keyboards
- Andre Barreau (George Harrison) – guitar, vocals
- Hugo Degenhardt (Ringo Starr) – drums, percussion, vocals
[edit] Timeline
[edit] Orchestra
- Annette Brown – trumpet, piccolo trumpet, percussion
- Vanessa King – french horn, flute, vocals, percussion
- Sian Evans – viola
- Sheila Holdsworth – viola
- Robert Woollard – cello, fire extinguisher
- Jeff Moore – violin, keyboards, swarmandal
- Chris Cole – trombone
- Steve Peters – flute, saxophone, keyboards
- John Drinkwater – musical director (1993–1995)
- Duke Quartet (1993–1994)
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.nme.com/news/the-beatles/42429
- ^ The Bootleg Beatles. "The Bootleg Beatles Announce Their New JOHN LENNON". Bootleg Beatles. http://www.bootlegbeatles.com/media/New-Bootleg-Lennon.pdf. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ The Bootleg Beatles Yearly Book 2004-2005
