AS A big fan of The Beatles, I went to see The Bootleg Beatles for the first time around ten years ago. At the time I didn’t think a ‘tribute’ Beatles band would be any good. How wrong I was.

The atmosphere was so nostalgic that I could have been back in the 1960s watching the real thing. So here I am again, watching them at The Barbican.

Kicking off the show with I Want To Hold Your Hand, complete with mop-top hairstyles, they take the audience through each era, belting out classic songs from the early days right through to Sergeant Pepper and The White Album.

Using original Vox amplifiers gives them their authentic sound and with an orchestra in tow, they can give us live performances of songs from the albums that were originally never toured.

Giving us hits such as Please, Please Me, Help and Twist And Shout, it wasn’t long before the crowd were up from their seats singing along and having a boogie.

All the boys are brilliant in their roles but ‘John Lennon’ is spooky, his rendition of Strawberry Fields and I Am The Walrus were uncanny.

The Bootleg Beatles give an impeccable live performance and are one of the first and best ‘tribute’ bands.

They are a talented group of musicians with more than 30 years experience of twisting, shouting and letting it be, they have got their show, style and, most importantly, the songs to a fine art.

- Gemma Jaques