The Bootleg Beatles
are a Beatles tribute band. They have performed over 4,000 times since their establishment in March 1980.
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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.
The Bootleg Beatles continue to prove a popular attraction in the 21st century. Recent achievements have included playing at
Queen Elizabeth II's
Golden Jubilee Party at
Buckingham Palace in 2002.
Show Format
Typically, each performance consists of five acts, interspersed with newsreel footage. For the 2005 Christmas tour, the acts 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.
[1]
Members
Band
Current lineup
- Neil Harrison (John Lennon
) - guitar, vocals, keyboards
- David Catlin-Birch (Paul McCartney
) - bass, vocals
- Andre Barreau (George Harrison
) - guitar, vocals
- Hugo Degenhardt (Ringo Starr
) - drums, vocals
Timeline
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:110 bottom:60 top:6 right:6
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/2008
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors=
id:John value:red legend:John Lennon
id:Paul value:green legend:Paul McCartney
id:George value:blue legend:George Harrison
id:Ringo value:gray(0.45) legend:Ringo Starr
id:grid1 value:gray(0.3)
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1980 gridcolor:grid1
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1985
BarData =
bar:Harrison text:"Neil Harrison"
bar:Birch text:"David Catlin-Birch"
bar:Cooper text:"Paul Cooper"
bar:Barreau text:"Andre Barreau"
bar:Degenhardt text:"Hugo Degenhardt"
bar:Rock text:"Rick Rock"
PlotData=
width:14 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Harrison from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/2008 color:John
bar:Birch from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1986 color:Paul
bar:Birch from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2008 color:Paul
bar:Cooper from:01/01/1987 till:12/31/2000 color:Paul
bar:Barreau from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/2008 color:George
bar:Degenhardt from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2008 color:Ringo
bar:Rock from:01/01/1981 till:12/31/2002 color:Ringo
Orchestra
- Annette Brown - trumpet, flugel horn, piccolo trumpet
- Vanessa King - french horn, flute, vocals
- Sian Evans - viola
- Sheila Holdsworth - viola
- Robert Woollard - cello
- Jeff Moore - violin, keyboards, swarmandal
- Chris Cole - trombone
- Steve Peters - flute, saxophone
References
- The Bootleg Beatles Yearly Book 2004-2005