BEATLEMANIA lives on, and the tribute band that grew out of the West End show of the same name continues to delight audiences around the world with their accurate portrayal of The Fab Four.

The Bootleg Beatles return to York Barbican tonight (April 4), ahead of a summer when they will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by performing shows with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Bootleg Beatles formed after the Beatlemania! tour ended and the four band members decided to carry on touring in their own show in 1980. It goes without saying the line-up has changed since then, now comprising Adam Hastings as John since 2011; Steve White as Paul since 2012, Stephen Hill as George from 2014 onwards and Gordon Elsmore as Ringo from last year.

For Nottingham musician Steve White, it wasn’t a case of "Wanted: bass player – must be left-handed" when he landed the job of portraying the greatest left-handed bassist in the world. “No, I’d been in a lot of Sixties' bands, playing rhythm guitar, and the band I was in sort of morphed into a Beatles tribute band," he explains. "I ended up playing John, but people said I should really have been Paul as I looked more like him.

“The thing is, I’m right handed. So what I did was learn all the parts on bass right-handed, then I bought a cheap bass and strung it left-handed and it went from there.”

Next, The Bootleg Beatles contacted him. "Yes, I got a call from them to stand in for their bassist as he was sick, and this went on for a while, and when it was apparent that he couldn’t carry on they asked me to do it full-time. So I didn’t audition, I sort of did an apprenticeship.”

The Bootleg Beatles show is in four sections. "That’s right,” says Steve. “We do it in chronological order. The first half starts with us doing the Mop Tops era, and then Sgt. Pepper as we introduce more musicians [a small orchestra in fact] so we can do songs like All You Need Is Love. After the interval, it’s the Magical Mystery era and then Abbey Road and the end of The Beatles’ career.”

Keeping on top of the shows is a full-time job. "Yes, the research never ends really,” says Steve. “There’s always new and better footage coming to light, which we all watch to get all the subtle nuances of their mannerisms. We never feel that we’ve got it completely nailed and that keeps it fresh for us. We never become complacent."

Last year, Ron Howard's film, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week brought the world previously unseen footage of the Fab Four touring the United States. "We saw it in Australia, and we thought it was amazing,” says Steve.

Why in Australia, you ask. The Bootleg Beatles take their show around the globe. "The hours are very gruelling and the schedules are quite punishing, and we travel the world but never see it, but the connection you have with the audience more than makes up for it,” says Steve. “We involve the audience as much as we can and when you see the room reacting, with people singing and clapping, it’s very rewarding and fulfilling.”

Steve, a lifelong Beatles’ fan, sums up his role as a Bootleg Beatle: “The music is just timeless and a great pleasure to play,” he says.

The Bootleg Beatles play York Barbican tonight (April 4), 7.30pm. Tickets update: still available on 0844 854 2757, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.

By Martin Hutchinson