12:41pm Friday 12th March 2010
By Jon Butler
The Bootleg Beatles show succeeds on many levels. Of course first and foremost there is the music. Deftly delivered and a joy to listen to.
Their decision to use five real musicians instead of a synthesiser for the brass and string arrangements really added authenticity to the sound, but that wasn’t the magic ingredient that made this special. So what was the spark? As you would expect the costumes and wigs (all shake proof) were wonderful, and the mimicry of the Fab Four was uncanny, from the actual physical likeness of ‘Paul’ to Macca himself, to the less complimentary bow legs of ‘John’. Easier to imagine Lennon’s secular world than him being able to stop a pig in a passage.
Then there was the constant backdrop of nostalgic video images of the sixties; everything from kids in the slums of Liverpool to more disturbing images of Harold Wilson telling us devaluation was good for us.
All of these elements obviously contributed significantly, but what really elevated this spectacular celebration into something special was the cleverly observed script that interweaved contemporary slants on the Scouse sense of humour such as ‘I Am The Walrus’ being introduced as an Oasis cover. “Bloody tribute bands,” observed ‘John’. Good stuff.
This highly detailed set never seemed to miss a trick and inevitably at the end of the show the York audience was asked if they thought the band had passed the audition. The standing ovation confirmed a resounding, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!”
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