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62
 Before
the Moptops, before the suits, before the screams,
before the British invasion… it was pure rock and
roll! ’62 are a band that captures the look, sound,
and energy of the Hamburg/Cavern era, and is one of
only a few of the Beatle tribute bands in the entire
world to focus only on this early period. This year
has been a busy one with the group gaining two new
members and being selected as the ambassador band
for the Finger Lakes Wine Country’s "Riesling
revolution" ad campaign. They toured several
state wineries, and were featured prominently on television
and radio. Dave Pal (John), John Doud (Paul),
Scott Benjamin (George), and Dan Naylor (Ringo)
ACOÚSTIKA
 Acústika
are four young Brazilian women, previously members
of a group called The Pancake Band that had
performed to large crowds in Rio de Janeiro and São
Paulo, who in 2003 decided to give a twist to some
of the greatest classic rock songs of the twentieth
century. Despite their unusual interpretations of
songs by artists from The Beatles to Coldplay, using
classical instruments like the violin, flute, piano
alongside electric guitars, bass and drums; even translating
the lyrics into Spanish, Italian, French & Chinese,
Acústika have a warm reception everywhere they perform.
Their exquisite vocals harmonies, exciting musical
arrangements and lively stage performances are captivating.
We have no doubt that this group will be the
buzz of Beatle Week talk! Meet Tayana Dantas, Jane
Soren, Luciana Guessa and Claudia Moreno – Acústika!
BBCEATLES
 Can
you guess which Beatles album this band is inspired
by…? Yes, the BBCtles aren’t obsessed about Eastenders,
they’re fans of the Beatles at the BBC album! The
BBCtles, who were founded in 1998 and play mostly
in the clubs around Vienna, feature Arthur Fandl on
vocals & bass, a music teacher who has composed
two musicals and along with vocalist & guitarist
Peter Pleyl played at Liverpool Beatle Week way back
in 1995 & 1996. Peter owns his own music studio
and has produced and recorded a lot of albums and
music for television (not the BBC?!). Hans Mayrhofer
(vocals & guitar) is also a music teacher and
plays in various other groups all over Austria including
Sinus & Co., and last but no means least, drummer
Ali Rammel who took part in a musical called "Into
the Woods" and spends his time away from the
BBCtles playing with other bands in Vienna. There
were 275 Beatles recordings for the BBC, 36 of which
were the groups only studio performance of those songs.
Shows broadcast between 1962- 1965 included Brian
Matthew’s ‘Saturday Club’, ‘Parade of the Pops’ and
The Beatles own shows ‘From Us To You’ and ‘Pop Go
The Beatles’. The BBCtles perform many of the songs
recorded for these shows so you can guarantee that
whether you’re whistling along to ‘Clarabella’, or
jiggling to ‘I Got A Woman’, you’ll be doing the ‘Hippy
Hippy Shake’ at he BBCtles shows!
BEATELS
 We’re
very excited to welcome a new band to Beatle Week
from Australia, The Beatels. This is an historic year
for fans of The Beatles in Australia and it has also
been a big year for The Beatels. In 1964, The Beatles
toured Australia, beginning in Centennial Hall, Adelaide
on June 12th. Ringo had been taken ill the previous
week and was replaced by Jimmy Nicol on this date
(and the preceding ones in Denmark, The Netherlands
and Hong Kong). Ringo rejoined the group in Melbourne
for the remainder of the tour in Sydney, New Zealand
and Brisbane. On 12 June 2004, forty years on, the
Sydney-based act The Beatels travelled to Adelaide
for its inaugural Australian Beatles Festival, where
they played on the same stage as the Fabs at Centennial
Hall. The Beatels also performed their own 40th Anniversary
tour (which included a once-only screening of the
Fabs in Melbourne in 1964 on the big-screen) playing
sell-out shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Sydney, His
Majesty’s Theatre in Perth, The Tivoli Theatre in
Brisbane and Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, in
a line-up that included Pete Best, Richard Lush and
the man who ran on-stage 40 years ago in Melbourne
to shake John’s hand. And that was just after they’d
performed with Olivia Newton John! Many Scousers who
have frequented Bondi Beach in Australia would remember
these lads as the ones from the Cock and Bull in years
past. Those with a longer memory would also remember
John & Paul from The Beatels in the Beatle-version
of ‘A Stairway To Heaven’ that raised a chuckle in
the early 1990’s. Bruce Coble (John), Steve Shipley
(Paul), Marcus Phelan (George) and Neil Rankin (Ringo)
are celebrating their eighth year as The Beatels (although
most had already been doing this for many years previously
with another Beatles show, The Beatnix) and are they
are admired for their attention to detail and their
ability to do justice to a broad range of the music
of The Beatles. They perform regularly in theatres,
clubs & at all kinds of special events: They played
at the launch of the new Volkswagen Beetle in Sydney
in 2000 and the new Mazda in Queensland in 2002; they
were selected by EMI in Australia to launch the re-mastered
‘Yellow Submarine’; they regularly perform at major
events throughout Asia, such as last years Cold Storage
festival in Singapore (which was attended by 80,000
people over 2 days, sharing the stage with Hong Kong
pop-stars!), and earlier this year they featured
in the NTV nightly news in Malaysia.
BEAT
BROTHERS
 The
Beatbrothers are Phil Gillespie, 15, on lead guitar
and lead vocals, Eddy Gillespie, 13, on drums and
Shaun Gillespie (their Dad, struggling to keep them
in check!) on bass. The band’s first big break was
playing at the Beatles Convention in 2001, and they
haven’t looked back since. Eddy is the youngest drummer
ever to have played at The Cavern Club; he was just
10 years old in 2001! Their highlight so far in 2004,
was a 30-minute spot on Spencer Leigh’s Saturday night
BBC Radio Merseyside programme "On The Beat",
where two of the lads original songs were played,
as well as a live studio performance of severa
songs by George Harrison, The Who, and The Beatles.
Look closely at Dad Shaun’s bass guitar; the Fender
Precision he plays was once owned by John Entwhistle
of The Who, and was bought from the much missed bass
guitarists estate in 2003. It only comes out for special
occasions, and there’s no better one that CCT’s Beatle
Weekend! The Beatbrothers play 60’s music, mainly
Beatles, but also their own energetic versions of
classic songs by The Who, The Rolling Stones, The
Kinks and Spencer Davies Group. If you enjoy music
played with passion and loads of energy then this
is the band for you!
BEAT
GENERATION
BEATALLS
The Beatalls are thrilled to be returning to Beatle
Week for the fifth time. The last year has seen Andy
(John), Ian (Paul), Mel (George) and Steve (Ringo)
busy with lots of functions around the UK, but as
well as that there have been many stand out occasions.
Firstly, they were invited to perform at Beatle Conventions
in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at their hometown’s Nottingham
Beatles Day and at the first Liverpool Easter Eggman
Convention; all of which were excellent and enjoyable
events. They performed at a huge event in Paris to
a large, multinational audience and undertook two
great Christmas gigs at Liverpool’s one and only Cavern
Club; all very good fun! There’s been the release
of The Beatalls first CD; a 2004 remake of ‘A Hard
Day’s Night’ as well as a CD by Ian called ‘Some Macca
Songs’ which as well as including many McCartney solo
songs also features the bands good friend Johnny Silver.
Both CD’s will be available throughout the festival
from the band. The Beatalls also recorded a promo
video for an up and coming BBC director. The Beatalls
have continued to build upon the largest and most
accurate Beatle Instrument collection in the UK with
recent additions including a Gretsch DuoJet, a left
handed Hofner ‘Cavern’ Bass, a rare Epiphone Texan
McCartney acoustic and a perfectly Lennonised’ 325
Rickenbacker. At last years Liverpool Beatle Week
they performed a memorable set of ‘Beatles at the
BBC’ songs and at the Eggman Convention The Beatalls
gave us the entire ‘Please Please Me’ album. For this
year’s event they are taking on ‘With The Beatles’
as the album of choice along with more sets of BBC
and Please Please Me songs, both will be performed
in the usual Beatalls ‘full-on upbeat energy style’!
So, whether its your first time with The Beatalls
or not, be sure to go along and say "Hi",
and as Ian says; "shake yer bums, wiggle yer
hips", and have a good dance in the true spirit
of Beatle Week!
BEATBOYS
It’s always
nice to say ‘you’re welcome’ to a new band. As Shalil
Shankar said from the Chavasse Park stage last year,
Liverpool really is the equivalent of Mecca for musicians.
For many Beatles tribute bands, it must seem like
they have been waiting for the day until they come
to Liverpool for what seems like forever. Well, for
one lucky group of competition winners from
Mexico (that’s just to the south of California, girls),
this is the year their dreams come true. TheBeatboys
won the Battle of the Bands at the 9th annual Beatles
Festival organised by Ricardo Calderon. The Beatboys
were founded by Christian Miranda, 25 years old (bass),
Eber Lopez, 26 years old (keyboards and vocals) and
Jonathan Miranda, 28 years old (drums). Staging their
first performance on December 8th, 1998, In Pebruary
2001 Mauricio Rosas, 20 years old, joined the group,
as percussionist, later providing backing vocals on
some songs, and then playing the guitar. In 2002 the
group is completed with the arrival of Daniel Rosas,
on lead guitar. Daniel at the tender age of 17 amazed
everyone with his mastery and command of his instrument.
BEATLEMANIACS
Since last years festival, The Beatlemaniacs have
achieved a great deal in terms of boosting the band’s
profile. The UK’s youngest Beatles Tribute Band, with
all members being the age the real Beatles were in
the 1960’s, they are the ultimate interms of capturing
the energy of a live Beatles show. The group have
a sense of humour and energy which comes across in
their electric performances. Formed only 2 1/2 years
ago this will be their third appearance at Beatle
Week, and in such a short time they have become a
crowd favourite. They are looking forward to performing
another selection of great shows, to once more rave
reviews. The Beatlemaniacs are also looking forward
to a weekend of running through the streets of Liverpool,
escaping the clawing hands of young girls on their
suits as they go!! They performed at the Cavern during
our Easter Eggman Weekend and enjoyed a two-night
stint there again in June; performed live on BBC Television’s
prime time kids show Blue Peter, and have recently
performed a string of UK theatre performances. All
four members are based in the North- East of England;
Rich Jordan who plays John in the band also performs
as a solo ‘John’ tribute artist. His brother, James,
keeps the beat at the back as Ringo, while Chris Johnson
performs as bass guitarist Paul, and lead guitarist
Greg Alderson completes the four as George. Cavern
shows are always extra special to The Beatlemaniacs,
so the crowds will be in for a treat; there may even
be some surprises thrown in!! They will be playing
in and around the Mathew Street area all weekend,
so catch them if you can!
BEATVOX
 The
Beatvox are looking forward to playing at this year’s
convention
in Liverpool for the first time since their dream
came true in November 2002 when they played at The
Cavern Club. The overwhelming reception at The Cavern
Club has made the quartet eager to play at the famous
week dedicated to their idols, The Beatles. The Beatvox
formed in October 2000, consisting of Naoki Sakamoto
(John), Ryoichi Takeda (Paul), Kazuhiro Itoh (George)
& Akira Ozawa (Ringo); all of whom had previously
been in various other bands. The group enjoy playing
a variety of Beatles music, especially the early rock
and roll songs. Most of The Beatvox’s performances
take place in Tokyo and Yokohama where they have many
loyal followers. They have played at the Beatles Official
Fan Club events in Japan, and at charity concerts.
The Beatvox also perform in other major cities including
Osaka and Nagoya. Some of these memorable performances
include, sharing the same stage with Pete Best’s Band
in Japan 1995 and when playing ‘Dig a Pony’ in front
of George Martin in 1996. But of course the most memorable
event of all is playing here in Liverpool at The Cavern
Club in 2002.
BOB
BARTEY & BANNED ON THE RUN
 Banned
On The Run are the Brigadoon of Beatle Week… they
only exist for the duration of the festival and then
they disappear into the mists of Halifax and Hertfordshire,
never to be seen for 51 weeks! Bob Bartey and his
comrades Marcus Lazarus, Sean Fitzpatrick and his
brother Kevin Fitzpatrick gave-up the ‘Silly Love
Songs’ when Marcus moved down south a couple of years
ago. However, they do reform just to play at Beatle
Week every year, which we are very grateful for because
they’re our very favourite Macca band! Last year they
were joined onstage by former Wings/McCartney band
members Henry McCullough, Steve Holley, Denny Seiwell,
Chris Hall & Howie Casey at the Royal Court. It
was a fantastic concert with just one of the many
memorable moments being Henry McCullough playing that
oh-so famous guitar solo during ‘My Love’. One of
McCartney’s other love songs was the Bridal March
for our Beatle Week wedding in 2003. Gill walked down
the aisle to Calico Skies on her 25th August wedding
to Paul Shedden. Our happy couple will be celebrating
their 1st anniversary this week so be sure to wish
them many happies when you see them! On the subject
of nuptials, guitarist extraordinaire Marcus married
the lovely Lucie this summer. Many congratulations
from us to Mr and Mrs Lazarus! So BOTR are back again,
sans famous friends and doing their own great show;
you’ll be able to ‘Listen To What The Man Said’ and
Banned on the Run may even play your ‘Baby’s Request’
at their ‘Rock Show’!
BRAZILIAN BLACKBIRD
 Paul
McCartney played his 3000th gig this year in St Petersburg,
as part of another highly successful tour, but back
in 1990 the Brazilian fans really showed their appreciation
for Macca setting a new world record for the largest
stadium audience when 184,000 people filled the Maracana
Stadium in Rio De Janeiro. The Black Bird Band are
from Rio, where, since their formation in 1997 they
have been voted Best Beatles cover band in Brazil
by Radio Emperor FM, at the Liverpool Night’s contest
in São Paolo and by the British community at the Queen’s
birthday celebrations in 2000. Alan Marques,
Thiago Henrique and Kico Ferreira are the groups lead
singers and guitarists, Ivan Barros plays the bass,
Flávio Armony plays the keyboard and Xande Maio
plays the drums and also sings. Black Bird Band’s
repertoire consists of both Beatles and solo compositions
including It Don’t Come Easy, My Love, Imagine
and My Sweet Lord. Black Bird Band has played over
600 shows and has a hugely popular fan club with over
5500 members. They are now preparing to record their
first album to be entitled "Beatles Brazil Black
Bird Number One".
BRITISH EXPORT
 Not
yet quite celebrating their 10th Anniversary of Beatle
Week appearances, but check back in 6 years time as
this Illinois band are becoming a bit of a fixture
here. At least, some of the members are… Davey Justice,
the founding member of British Import (as they were
originally known) has rejoined in the role of Paul.
Davey has just completed a 5-month stint in Las Vegas
as the Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino with the
Legends of Yesterday Show. Of course, with Davey playing
Paul, you may be wondering what’s happened to Paul
Lynch... well he’s swapping names and roles, reverting
to his given first name James (he really is James
Paul!) and he’s trading his Hofner bass for a Rickenbacker
guitar and taking on the role of John! He’s been told
for many years that he’d make a great ‘Lennon’ and
now he’s finally succumbed to the pressure to move
from stage right to stage left! Completing the line-up
are fellow founding member Jim ‘Ringo’ Martin, with
the most famous face furniture in Beatledom, and Gavin
Pring – who can, of course, also be seen at Beatle
Week with George Harry’s Son. The Chicago four played
at Ohio’s Abbey Road on the River a couple of weeks
ago, and now are back in Liverpool for to unveil their
new line-up. Welcome to James, Davey, Gav and Jim
- the all-new British Export!
CLUBE BIG BEATLES
 If
you haven’t experienced this remarkable band before,
your week won’t be complete unless you’ve seen them
at least once. Their outstanding sets run the gamut
from the Hamburg days to the solo years and are always
of the highest quality. No show is ever the same and
in true 60’s spirit the performance often turns into
a ‘Happening’ full of visual and aural surprises!
This year we’re promised more surprises (What? Edu’s
learnt English at last?). We’ve had one already. Lead
singer and guitarist Saulo Simonassi has left to concentrate
on his solo career and is replaced by Leo Vaccari;
bass player Otavio Ribeiro is replaced by original
member Leo Teixeira. The other guys in the band -
drums Babi Vaccari; keys/guitar Mark Fernandez; and
founder member Edu Henning (percussion) who, when
not presenting the long-running Clube Big Beatles
radio show, is news/sports anchorman on Brazil’s biggest
TV network. Clube Big Beatles are from Vitória, near
Rio de Janeiro. Just a group of friends who got together
to play Beatles’ songs. When they were offered their
first gig they locked themselves away for 3 months
producing a well honed set – and this attention to
detail is still evident 15 years later. Throughout
the years Clube Big Beatles’ popularity in their hometown
and around Brazil has been built not only on their
music, but also their charity work using the messages
in John, George, Paul and Ringo’s songs. They attract
big names from the Brazilian music scene to play Beatles
classics at the same time helping the less fortunate,
drawing crowds of up to 40,000 people. Entrance to
these fund raising shows is with the donation of goods.
In 1992, celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Love
Me Do, admission to the show was a book, resulting
in 5,000 books being collected for the city’s public
library. Then there were the charity premiere of the
film Backbeat and the John Lennon Tribute shows where
admission was a minimum of 2 lbs of food. Over 9 tons
of food was distributed to the city’s poor. Liverpool
highlights from Clube Big Beatles include; opening
the Yellow Submarine Mathew Street Festival celebrations
in 1999; filling the Adelphi stage with audience members
for a David Frost Show authentic rendition of
‘Hey Jude’; distributing little bags of Brazilian
sand to be scattered around the world in memory of
20th anniversary of John’s death; the appearance of
the Liverpool Samba School; guest videos from Pelé,
the king of football and long-time George Harrison
pal racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi; and who could
forget those giant hands of Edu’s? Yep! Those who
have been lucky enough to see a Clube Big Beatles’
performance in Liverpool know that they have been
a part of something special.
DET BETALES
 Det
Betales like Clube Big Beatles and Liverpool are celebrating
their tenth year at the Festival. With the huge demand
to play Beatle Week, this is a testimony to the profssionalism
and ability of all three bands. Furthermoreit says
a lot about them as people, as one of our major aims
is to give Beatle fans the best music played by the
best people. As Bill Shankly, legendary manager of
Liverpool FC said to an opposing chairman: "Yes,
obviously we know what your player is like, we’ve
watched him ten times. We wouldn’t be putting
in a bid to buy him if we didn’t rate him as a player!
But what’s he like as a person? That is just as important!"
Headlines acts come and go at Beatle Week but the
real glue that holds the show together (apart from
us fans of course), are guys like Rolf Øyvind Hæg
(drums), Magne Frydenlund (bass), Dag Svartskuren
(lead guitar) and Tor Olsen (rhythm guitar) who make
up Det Betales and have been entertaining the Beatle
Week crowd forever, it seems. The world wouldn’t
be quite right if they weren’t in Liddypool with us
every August would it? There’s a certain quirkiness
to their performances which makes their
shows fun –any band that comes up with stage names
like Bingo Stærk, Paul McEplecarth, George
Harryseth and John Ramon is unlikely to be run-of-the-mill
– and if they’ve bought it with them, we recommend
that you get hold of a copy of their promo CD
‘Norwegian’s Would’ (ho ho ho!), which as well
as displaying their Beatles repertoire includes
a touching tribute to John called, of course,
‘Dear John’.
FAB FAUX
Did you see it? Were you there? The show everyone
was talking about last August was the Fab Faux' Monday
night Royal Court Theatre performance of the White
Album. In its entirety. Yes, even Revolution #9. It
was more of a happening than a concert, and
it left a theatre-full of Beatle Weekers gobsmacked!
This year the guys are back, and as usual they've
got some exhilarating sets planned for us. The last
year has seen the Fab Faux add a further 21 Beatles
songs to their ever-increasing repertoire; they can
now perform 159 of the 211 officially released songs.
They have continued to perform sell-out shows in New
York and the surrounding area; as well playing for
the National Basketball Association All-Star Weekend
in Hollywood, California. Their day jobs keep them
pretty busy: Jimmy Vivino plays guitar for the Max
Weinberg 7 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Will
Lee is bassist in the Late Show with the David Letterman
Band, Rich Pagano runs a busy recording studio and
has toured recently with Rosanne Cash, Jack Petruzzelli
has been on tour with this year with Rufus Wainwright,
and Frank Agnello works for the major music
performance rights society ASCAP. Jimmy and Rich have
recently started a side-project; the late 60's/early
70's power trio Steaks and Chops. Rich recently spent
time playing with one of his idols, Bob Dylan, including
a rehearsal vocal session singing 'I Shall Be Released'.
To top it all off, Will has been awarded a Lifetime
Achievement Award by Bass Player Magazine - a true
honour which he will receive this coming October.
Of course, the Fab Faux' link to the Beatles' 40th
Anniversary U.S. TV debut can't be overlooked either
- the Letterman show is recorded in the Ed Sullivan
Theater where that historic appearance originally
took place, so the famous venue is Will's place of
work. Will was honoured to be allowed to sing "Hey
Jude" on the Letterman Show on February 9th this
year - he was in fact, the only non-Beatle to perform
that evening as CBS also showed a clip of the Beatles
performing in the same studio 40 years earlier. The
Fab Faux return to Beatle Week with three thrilling
shows; Monday at the Royal Court and two shows at
the Cavern on Tuesday. They will be contrasting our
'64 theme with an all-out psychadelic show at the
Royal Court . . . and knowing the Faux as we do, it
will be yet another happening! Turn on, tune in, Faux
out!
FAB
5
 In
July 1964 The Beatles returned to their hometown for
the northern premiere of A Hard Day’s Night. Had they
held a US premiere of the film they may have chosen
to hold it in The Fab Five’s hometown; Liverpool New
York State! Looking forward to almost a week of Hard
Days and Nights, The Fab Five are thrilled
to be chosen to represent our sister city this year.
The band was formed on February 9th 2001, which was
of course the 37th anniversary of the Beatles US TV
debut. Gary Frenay (rhythm guitar/bass) and Arty Lenin
(lead guitar) have been friends for over 30 years,
playing in various bands including The Flashcubes
and working with the likes of U2, The Police and The
Ramones. In fact in the 70’s they were friends with
a local drummer called Joe English. Joe later joined
Wings – apparently Macca thought he had a hip last
name! Guitarist Dave Novak was a teenager when he
attended the historic Shea Stadium concert and caught
the Beatle bug. Dave’s been playing ever since, and
with Paul Davie (bass/piano) and Dave Miller (drums)
completing the line-up, The Fab Five have recently
played with Joey Molland of Badfinger and Terry Sylvester
of The Hollies & The Swinging Blue Jeans.We welcome
The Fab Five from Liverpool NYto Liverpool, England!
FAB FOUR
 Every
year Charles F. Rosenay!!! brings a large group of
Beatlefans across to Liverpool from America, accompanied
by a band which hasn’t played at Beatleweek before.
This week the lucky Magical History Tour crew have
spent time in Hamburg & London prior to arriving
in Liverpool and they’ve been entertained every step
of the way by The Fab Four. The Fab Four have performed
to audiences all over the world including Japan, Malaysia,
Hong Kong, Mexico and Brazil and have spent much of
this year playing regular engagements at the Hilton
Las Vegas. The band’s founding members are Ardy Sarraf,
who is one of the most critically acclaimed Paul McCartney
impersonators in the world, and Ron McNeil, who, as
a youngster, was first inspired to follow in the footsteps
of his hero John Lennon after seeing the Broadway
show Beatlemania in 1979. Ardy and Ron joined forces
in 1998 and were soon joined by talented lead guitarist
Michael Amador as George Harrison and Beatles tribute
band veteran Rolo Sandoval as Ringo Starr. They played
to 60,000 fans at a football stadium in Buenos Aires
and have been honoured to play twice at the famed
Hollywood Bowl, where the Beatles first played 40
years ago this month. In fact, The Fab Four recreated
both that 1964 and the 1965 Beatles concert on the
very same stage in May 2001, having previously appeared
on the same bill as Sir George Martin at the
venue in 1999. They’re thrilled to be playing in the
birthplace of the Beatles, and we’re certain that
you’ll be just as thrilled when you see them play!!
GEORGE
HARRYS SON
 Last
year at Beatle Week Gav notched up a massive total
of fourteen gigs in three different guises and won
audiences over with his natural wit and charm (Well
he is from Liverpool so what did you expect?). Gav
celebrated George Harrison’s solo career by recreating
‘The Rock Legends Tour’ of 1991 in Chavasse Park on
the Saturday with his own band ‘George Harry’s Son’.
They performed a memorable set, one of the highlights
being their blistering rendition of ‘Isn’t It A Pity’.
They reprised the set in front of a capacity crowd
in the Cavern on Monday. ‘George Harry’s Son’ make
a welcome return to Beatle Week albeit with a slightly
different line-up. Gav is again joined by Richard
Smith, with his unique style and superb slide guitar
playing; Richie ‘the Sticks’, as he is known, still
providing the steady beat, and Kate Cave providing
backing vocals alongside new addition to the band;
Paula McCool. On keyboards this year is John, and
on bass a new, but familiar face in the line-up is
Gav’s fellow British Export member Paul Lynch. In
2003, hot on the heels of his success in the park
Gav provided the George content at Saturday evenings
‘Unplugged’. Forget ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, The American
Bar was the hottest place in town that night. Gav
notched up two notable firsts during the gig; he gave
us the first ever Beatle Week performance of George
Harrison’s ‘Pirate Song’, and he became the first
Beatle Week artist to cover a track from George’s
latest album ‘Brainwashed’ with ‘Devil and The Deep
Blue Sea’. Since last year’s Beatle Week Gav has been
busy working with British Export, not only fitting
in another tour of South Korea but also appearing
on several American television programmes when the
40th Anniversary of the Beatles first US visit was
celebrated earlier this year. He has enjoyed
another busy summer, culminating in Abbey Road on
the River in Cleveland where he performed with Tim
Piper in the Fantasy Reunion concert. You’d think
that was enough for most people but Gav is a talented
musician in his own right playing a range of instruments
and writing his own songs. Recently he has been
busy recording his original material and his
debut CD will be available soon.
Dios
Salve A La Reina
 Dios
Salve A La Reina or God Save the Queen is Argentina’s
most popular Queen tribute band. This four-piece group
formed in 1998 in Rosario, Argentina, and their reputation
has continued to grow since then with ever increasing
popularity in South America, and a highly successful
recent visit to the UK and Europe. In fact, following
their amazing concerts as part of our Easter Eggman
Weekend, we just knew we had to get Dios Salve a
la Reina back for Beatle Week! Queen are certainly
one of the greatest bands of all time, and with such
a rich catalogue of songs to chose from, Dios Salve
A La Reina’s concerts are packed full of classics.
Pablo Padín is Freddie Mercury… and we don’t just
mean he plays the role of the Queen front man – he
really becomes Freddie on-stage! With guitarist extraordinaire
Francisco Calgaro as Brian May, Matías Albornoz in
Roger Taylor’s seat behind the drum kit and Ezequiel
Tibaldo as the ever cool bassist John Deacon, the
band are able to play songs that Queen never really
played live. One of the sets highlights, unsurprisingly,
is the 1975 number one Bohemian Rhapsody… their performance
is just astonishing. Whatever you do, however many
of the other bands you see this year, make sure you
make time to see one of Dios Salve A La Reina’s shows.
As the band say, "Our aim is to rock the audience
and make them feel they’re seeing Freddie Mercury
and Queen live", and you’d be Stone Cold Crazy
to miss them! Why are they playing Beatle Week? Bill
Heckle has two answers, one, Queen played The Cavern
so it is relevant, but maybe the real answer could
be that Bill thinks they are one of the greatest tribute
bands of all time.
GREEN VILLAGE
On 6th July
1957 John met Paul and soon after invited him to join
his band The Quarry Men. Just a few months older than
Lennon and McCartney were on that historic day, the
three members of Green Village are only 18 and
already two of them have followed in Lennon’s footsteps
having played at Quarry Bank School back in 2000 when
Beatle Week regulars will remember them
as Two Of Us. Mind you, Joel and Rasmus Ek did
start playing and singing together at the age
of 5 so they’ve already been together longer
than The Beatles! The cousin’s return to Liverpool
with their Stockholm High School friend Andreas
Westerlund, and with a new name; Green Village.
The trio cover every aspect of the Fabs career
from early Beatles to the latest Paul
McCartney songs, as well as writing their own
material, which they will be releasing on CD
very soon. All three are very excited to be
invited to this years Beatles festival. Rasmus and
Joel know from experience how much fun it is, and
Andreas has heard all about it from them! Catch
Green Village throughout the weekend at the Cavern
Club and Pub.
HAL BRUCE
 Celebrating
his fifth consecutive appearance at Beatle Week, Canadian
Hal Bruce arrives in Liverpool following a successful
year that has seen him attending Beatles festivals
all over the world! He attended the first Australian
Festival, along with The Mersey Beatles and The Beatels,
in Adelaide in June, and earlier this month played
at Cleveland’s Abbey Road On The River, where one
of his four concerts was a one hour non-stop 209 song
Beatles medley . . . in order of release, in the original
keys etc, and all alternating between an acoustic
guitar and a piano! He is due to perform this amazing
medley on the Yellow Submarine Podium in Church Street
on Monday. It’s certainly a first, as far as we know!
But how did this guy from Nova Scotia become one of
the world’s greatest solo Beatles performers? Well,
Hal saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan and formed his
first band shortly after at the age of 14, having
purchased a $10 pawnshop guitar! He fronted a full-time
band for many years before beginning a solo career
in 2000. He has since released two Beatles tribute
CD’s: "In My Life …" in 2002, was followed
this year by "I Will …" with Hal performing
all vocals (lead and background), guitars and bass
on all the tracks. Hal Bruce’s outstanding talent
has won him many Canadian music awards, and
we’re always thrilled to welcome this fantastic musician
back to Beatle Week.
INSTANT
KARMA
 Any
body at Chavasse Park last year on the Saturday would
probably agree with me if I said "It was the
highlight of the week!" It was more like
a comedy sketch with Yoko (Victoria Sharpe) confirming
her love of John at every opportunity! We can all
feel free to express our love and thanks to Jon (as
in Keats) for his (almost) unrivalled input into our
annual shenanigans. He has of course been a
stalwart (look it up Jon, it means you are no spring
chicken!) of Beatle Week for many, many, many years.
He brings a spark and a twinkle to the proceedings
and I suppose he will have etched upon his memorial
the simple epitaph ‘Serve yourself’, cos that’s what
he is going to be remembered for. Jon is now a successful
entrepeneur (he can go into the preneur whenever
he likes!) with his Blundell Street Empire of restaurants
and bars. His enthusiasm and drive have helped make
Blundell Street a huge local success story.
But it is in the guise of ‘Our John’ that Jon really
excels and he brings to the party those vital, genuine
Liverpool ingredients that cannot be mimicked. You’ve
either got it or you haven’t and Jon definitely has
it! This year after eleven and a half months without
practice, he brings to us the first Beatle Week Bed-Inn
at the Adelphi.God knows what it’s gonna be about,
he won’t say cos I don’t think he’s sure himself yet.
One thing is for sure, it will be irreverent, dead
funny and it will capture the essence of the great
man. It is also a welcome return for Yoko and i am
sure this will be a highlight of the whole weekend.
So, join John and Yoko in the main lounge at 2.00am
(Friday into Saturday) for a real treat. If you can’t
stay up for that catch Jon with his band, Instant
Karma at the Mathew Street festival. Bring your pj’s.
JAN OWEN
 Like
many musicians and Beatle fans in the United States,
Jan Owen’s life was changed 40 years ago when The
Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Say’s Jan;
"I knew I wanted to become a musician when I
saw that," and he spent his teenage years developing
his guitar skills in his first band performing regularly
in an exotic dance lounge – the gig with the topless
dancers ended when a TV repairman recognised Jan in
front of his Dad! Jan is now a solo performer and
brings his highly acclaimed one-man ‘Fab Fouray’ show
to Liverpool for the first time. He comes very highly
recommended – having won two successive Beatlefest
sound-alike contests. His energetic sets include songs
that would be challenge enough for a four-piece band,
let alone a solo guitarist. At his shows throughout
Beatle Week you can look forward to I’m Only Sleeping,
where he ‘sings’ the backwards guitar lick; the entire
Abbey Road Medley and most amazingly A Day In The
Life, with Jan simulating the 42-piece orchestral
crescendo on his acoustic guitar a truly impressive
performance which has to be seen to be believed. Jan
is also a songwriter and has penned over 40 songs.
His CD, available at his shows throughout the festival,
features his most requested Beatles covers, some great
classic songs by the likes of Eric Clapton, Elvis
Costello, Donovan and Elton John as well as several
of his own excellent compositions. Make sure you check
Jan Owen out!
JOHNNY
SILVER
 In
October 1973 John Lennon left Yoko Ono and went on
his ‘lost weekend’. Hanging out in LA with Keith Moon
and Ringo Starr, John dated May Pang and they spent
15 months partying and making music. Lennon released
his Phil Spector produced ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ album in
1975. So what better name for a band who knows how
to party, and loves to rock and roll than ‘Lost Weekend’,
which is exactly what Johnny Silver’s calling his
band this year. Johnny, who also performs with The
Silver Beatles, first got together with the band in
1999 and they became the Lennon Revival. Featuring
Mike Doring (vocals, lead/rhythm guitar & keyboards),
Andy Sindt (bass), Rick Pohlman (drums) and Chris
Alexander (keyboards), the band have played at all
of the major Beatle Week events including Strawberry
Fields in 1998, the Casbah in 1999, Quarry Bank School
in 2000 and Live Peace in Chavasse Park last year.
Johnny Silver has had great success with the self-written
and produced musical shows "She Loves You"
and "Yesterday", both of which toured extensively
round Europe. This year he is unveiling a new show
called "A Day In The Life", which is a multimedia
crossover project, devised by Johnny, Mike Doring
and Ian Watts of The Beatalls. Over the last
few years Ian has made numerous trips to Germany to
play with Johnny and the band, and this Beatle Week
he will be joining them on-stage at some shows. Johnny
Silver and Lost Weekend will be at The Rawhide Comedy
Club on Friday, as well as various other venues throughout
the festival. And if you’re reading this programme
on the way home from Beatle Week and you missed their
shows, remember what John Lennon wrote in the sleeve
notes of that ‘Lost Weekend’ album … "You Should
Have Been There." Dr Winston O’ Boogie.
KAPPA
Are you
ready to rock? Kappa certainly are and you’d better
hold on tight if you want to join them for a ride
through some of the best rock and roll to come out
of Liverpool in many years. Known as ‘The Amazing
Kappa’, there is no doubting the validity of this
moniker afteryou’ve witnessed their show. Fronted
by guitar supremo Paul Kappa, the band performs his
original songs and currently has a residency at the
Cavern Club. Bass player Martin Byrne and drummer
Tony O’Keeffe have both worked with other local bands,
and together they provide fantastic backing for Paul’s
songs, showcased perfectlyon the bands debut
album ‘Living @ The End Of The World’, which range
from country style folk-ballads to mid-seventies all-out
rock, suggesting influences including Free, Led Zeppelin,
the Stones, The Byrds and even The White Stripes.
There is absolutely no doubt that Paul Kappa is an
amazing guitarist and his fingers areliked greased
lighting on the fretboard of his beautiful Gretsch
White Falcon. With rave reviews of their first album,
success is surely just around the corner. Catch them
at The Cavern, while you can! If you love him as much
as we do then come back on November 26th at the Royal
Court Theatre for his ‘Guitar hero Show’ – unmissable!
LAWRENCE GILMOUR
 There
is no disputing Lawrence Gilmour’s right to be billed
as the World’s Number One Paul McCartney impersonator.
Even the great man himself looked no further than
Lawrence when he required a lookalike for his video
shoot of ‘No Other Baby’. They hung out together for
several days, shared the same dressing room - sung
together - even had lunch together. As Lawrence said
at the time "I was very impressed with him. I
admired him before but now I admire and respect him
even more. He even took the time to show me a few
things on my own Hofner violin bass. We may never
meet again, but I think I had more than my fair share
with my idol and mentor." Lawrence was a Beatle
Week regular until he moved to the United States 3
years ago and so it’s with great pleasure that we
welcome him back again to this year’s Convention.
He appeared as Macca in ‘Stars in their Eyes’ ten
years ago and has appeared in numerous TV shows since
including TFI Friday and a Channel 4documentary about
the Beatles. He also sang live on LWT’s ‘Best of the
Week’ and Channel 5’s ‘Night Fever’. He is an experienced
and versatile performer, working both as a solo artist
and accompanied by bands including Beatle Week friends
Itchycoo Park, and has performed in large Conventions,
clubs, pubs, holiday camps, theatres, private and
corporate functions all over the world. And, like
Paul McCartney himself, Mr. Gilmour can also play
piano, bass and guitar. Lawrence was proud to see
himself up on the big screen when he appeared in a
full-length Italian film playing the part of Paul
and, more recently, he has appeared in fashion photo
shoots with top supermodel Linda Evangelista, as well
as appearing in the adverts which sprung up around
Liverpool on the sides of buses and on giant billboards.
So it’s great to have Lawrence Gilmour back at Beatle
Week again – the next best thing to Macca is here
to entertain you.
LES BEATS
Beatle Week
has received a fair bit of television coverage over
the years; many of you will remember the series ‘Hotel’
from a few years ago, which gave a behind-the-scenes
look at life in the Adelphi. Last year the Discovery
Channel aired a documentary called ‘Beatlemania Britain’
which visited some of the Beatle related landmarks
and included footage of Beatle Week. The episode was
transmitted all across North America and Europe, including
Croatiawhere Erik Malnar saw it and became transfixed
at the idea of bringing his band Les Beat to this
wonderful event in Liverpool. 10 years after their
formation in Rijeka, the northern Croatian port, lead
guitar/vocalist Erik, with founding member Tomislav
Raspor (bass), guitarist Goran Rubesa and Marko Juric
on drums have made it to that very festival. Their
show, which debuted on Lennon’s birthday back in1994
has since toured Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and other
cities throughout Croatia and Slovenia. Les Beat organised
two open-air concerts in their hometown and in Porec
that were broadcast on National TV. And they’ve even
recorded a hip-hop-rock version of Come Together and
a live music video. Les Beat’s repertoire covers
all aspects of the Beatles careerand occasionally
they include some solo songs too. They play both acoustically
and electrically and they enjoy performing some of
the lesser-heard songs including If I Needed Someone,
And Your Bird Can Sing and Wait, although of
ourse they also play songs that are more familiar
to their Croatian audiences.
LIVERPOOL
Liverpool
have been together now for 25 years, and are yet another
band celebrating their 10th appearance at Beatle Week.
Long having established themselves as Sweden’s best
known Beatles tribute band, their ‘Lennon’ singer/guitarist/keys
player Olle Nilsson won the Swedish equivalent of
"Stars in Their Eyes" in 1994, and the band
have subsequently appeared on many television programmes,
whilst also managing to tour almost constantly in
Scandinavia, across Europe, and even in the Philippines.
In December the band are off to the Caribbean Islands
for a series of concerts (we’re not jealous. Oh no.
Not us) As well as being one of the stars of the CCT
2002 released CD "Why Don’t We Do it in Abbey
Road" which I’m sure will be available in the
Adelphi foyer, the band have a 1995-recorded album
called "In Our Own Way" and in March 2003
they released a new CD album with original music,
featuring "Love is All", their contribution
to the Sweden’s Eurovision Song Contest selections
for that year. (And here’s a bit of interesting Beatles
trivia - In the 80s Liverpool’s drummer Kent was a
member of the famous Swedish group "The Streaplers",
who, in, a previous incarnation actually performed
together with The Beatles when they toured in Sweden
1963) Liverpool are: Olle Nilsson, sings Lennon, plays
guitar and keyboards; Sebastian Roos sings McCartney
and plays guitar; Ronnie Roos (Sebastian’s dad) plays
the bass and sings backing vocals; Kent Szwonder Plays
the drums and sings the Ringo and Harrison songs.
LOS BLACKBIRD
Los Blackbird
were formed by brothers Daniel and Diego Follonier
in 1998. Adopting the parts of Paul and John respectively,
they found a perfect George Harrison in Martín Carrillo.
Claudio Benedetti completed their Beatle set
as Ringo, and Edgardo Armoa was bought into provide
keyboards. The band come from Mendoza, Western Argentina
where, in the shadow of the Andes, they have become
very popular with the Beatle loving music fans. They
performed at Latin American BeatleWeek for the first
time in 2002 and again in 2003, when they were
selected as one of the two winning bands, to play
at Liverpool International Beatle Week 2004, the other
being fellow compatriots The Quarrymen, . Playing
in Liverpool is a dream come true for Los Blackbird
and they are eager to see the city’s Beatle Landmarks,
meet the other musicians and make lots
of new Beatle friends. When they started in 1998 it
was impossible for them to imagine that one day they’d
be playing in the Beatles’ hometown!
LOS ESCARABAJOS
 Los
Escarabajos (meaning beetles in Spanish), made their
Beatle Week debut last year following 10 successful
years participating in Beatles conventions in Seville,
the annual traditional celebration of Las Fallas in
Valencia, and numerous other performances across Spain.
Their debut at the Cavern Club last August, recorded
for posterity along with their other Beatle Week shows
is available on their album ‘Alive with Beetles’.
Los Escarabajos, who call themselves ‘Spaniards in
the works’, perform songs that the Beatles never played
live, demonstrate their vocal talents with some of
the lesser heard songs including Lovely Rita, with
José Luis mimicking McCartney’s complicated vocal
flawlessly, Fixing a Hole (with spoton lead guitar
from Enrique Sánchez), The Word and Your Mother Should
Know. One of the highlights of their shows, and something
e have never seen by any other band at Beatle Week
is the inclusion of both the 1963 and 1969 versions
of One After 909, or One Before and After 909, as
Los Escarabajos call it. It’s great to hear both variations
back to back! The CD will be available from the band
during Beatle Week, but why not go and see them perform
live while they’re here in Liverpool! Los Escarabajos,
celebrating their tenth anniversary, and tenth line-up,
are founding member Enrique Sánchez (guitar), Luis
Abad (guitar), José Luis Blanco (drums) and new bassist,
German musician Alex Kugel.
LUCY IN THE SKY
For the
last ten years Lucy In The Sky has been one of the
most popular and successful Beatles cover bands in
Germany. Performing the songs in their own, unmistakably
lively and vivid style, they don’t always try to recreate
the songs as they were originally recorded. In fact,
the four musicians don’t consider themselves a revival
band at all. And this approach is obviously working
for them, as one newspaper review put it; "If
the Beatles played today, they would sound like Lucy
In TheSky." So alongside authentic performance
of hits like "She Loves You", "Help!"
or "A Hard Day’s Night", the quartet also
offers a vast repertoire of freely interpreted classics;
"Eleanor Rigby" sounds almost "grungy",
"Norwegian Wood" is a cappella, and "Drive
My Car" becomes a soul number. Wearing sixties-style
suits onstage, as their heroes did, Lucy In The Sky
exemplify danceable beats taking the audience, both
young and old, back in time to the wild Rock ‘n’ Roll
of the "early" Beatles. As far as Lucy In
The Sky are concerned there is no room for backing
tracks or other gimmicks - two guitars, bass, drums,
three flawless voices and their charismatic stage
appearance put these four gifted musicians in the
highest league. The result is countless commended
concerts in Germany and abroad, in clubs, at city
celebrations, parties and other events. Some years
ago they conquered the famous "Star Club".
In 2002 they gave two triumphant concerts right here
at The Cavern Club, where they recorded their second
live album. When the Beatles Anthology Book was released
in Germany, they toured all over the country
promoting it. This year, however, their success seems
to have reached its highest peak. They have been voted
"best cover band" by a German radio station
and received great praise at the most important German
Beatles convention in Berlin. Furthermore, they headlined
a Beatles festival in France, where they were the
only German band to play. However, Lucy in the Sky
consider this invitation to Beatle Week in Liverpool
to be the biggest highlight of all! Lucy In The Sky
are Peter Seel (John), Bernd Gudernatsch (Paul), Dirk
Lamm (George) and Robin Achenbach (Ringo).
MAD DOGS
 Mixing
Blues, Rock, Pop, Jazz and a lot of good humour, the
Mad Dogs band bet on irreverence and creativity as
a nice way to interact with the audience. "Alguém
no bar, alguém pra me pagar uma cerveja . . . (Someone
in the bar, someone to buy me a beer . . . )".
This chorus, which opens their shows, encourages audience
participation – sometimes people actually follow the
songs instructions and buy them a beer!! Formed in
1997 they have developed a solid repertoire, recording
their first album in 2000. This album, which is entitled
‘Mad Dogs’, alternates between Portuguese and English
lyrics and the band are just completing their second
CD; ‘Bar doce Lar’, which contains 11 songs with some
really interesting lyrics, mostly in Portuguese. Their
main influences are Pop and Rock, fused with a touch
of Blues, Jazz and Latin music too. Attending Beatle
Week for the second time, after gaining many new fans
and friends last year, Mad Dogs are back to entertain
you with their energetic show. If you missed them
in 2003, make sure they’re on your list for 2004!
The band members are CBI (vocals), Paulo Sarkis (bass),
Marcos França (keyboards), Carlinhos Suassuna (guitar),
Fernando Suassuna (drums) and Neemias Lopes (saxophone).
MARK STACYER
 The
Beatles played the Olympia Stadium in Detroit almost
forty years ago, and on the 23rd August 1965 played
the concert at Shea Stadium. In the audience on both
occasions was a young man called Mark Staycer. Now,
in 2004, this life-long Beatles fan and memorabilia
collector is bringing his tribute to John Lennon to
the UK for the very first time. Mark Staycer spent
20 years as a Disc Jockey in his native Michigan,
but in 2002 he debuted his ‘Tribute to Lennon’
show at the Traverse City Area District Library;
a show which has since led him to two consecutive
appearances at Abbey Road on the River in Cleveland,
where he performed in front of four thousand people
and now to Beatle Week in Liverpool – an achievement
Mark is "dead chuffed" about! As a Lennon
tribute Mark concentrates on the post-1970 Lennon
songs, although there is always a chance that you
will hear classic Beatle John songs like Norwegian
Wood, If I Fell and In My Life, alongside solo Lennon
classics (Just Like) Starting Over, Number 9 Dream
and, of course, every Paul fans favourite song,
How Do You Sleep! As a collector of Beatles memorabilia,
Mark will be in his element at Sunday’s Convention,
but no doubt his shows will be just as enthusiastic
and exciting!
ME AND MY MONKEY
 Making
their first appearance at Beatle Week, this Texas
based group have already built up a solid following
in the States. Comprising of founding members George
Jara (George Harrison) and Rod Bollinger (John Lennon),
with Michael Daniel (RingoStarr) and Paul Sacco (Paul
McCartney) completing the line-up, the band have been
in existence since 1998.Me & My Monkey have made
numerous US television appearances and have headlined
many festivals performing with the likes of Denny
Laine of Wings and Gordon Waller, of Peter and Gordon
fame. The band are fastidious when it comes to recreating
both the sound and look of The Beatles and were voted
Fort Worth Weekly’s ‘best cover band’ in 2003. Their
name, of course, is taken from the side three, track
four song on The Beatles White Album, and although
the band’s repertoire covers all aspects of The Beatles
songbook, their Pier Head show on Saturday will feature
the last two years of the Fabs career. Coincidentally
their Cavern Club Back show on Thursday marks the
36th anniversary of the US release of Hey Jude… no
doubt Me & My Monkey will include this song in
their set! So make sure you catch Me & My Monkey
… Come on, it’s such a joy!
MERSEYBEAT LEGENDS
 In
1997 the Cavern Club celebrated its 40th Anniversary
with the unveiling of a Wall of Fame commemorating
the 1,801 bands that played at the original Cavern
Club between 1957 and 1973. One of the bricks in the
wall bears the name ‘The Seftons’, a group who played
at The Cavern in 1964. The MerseyBeat Legends are
former ‘Sefton’ Yanni Tsamplakos (guitars, lead vocals),
who found success in 1970 when he wrote and recorded
the theme tune to the long-running TV show Candid
Camera; Paul Cornwell (lead guitar) who has played
with many 60s revival bands and has appeared alongside
Denny Laine, Peter "Twiggy" Wood of Pink
Floyd and Snowy White; John Joce (bass) who also writes
jingles and theme tunes and has appeared on recordings
with, among others, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt
(Status Quo) Jools Holland, Sting, Phil Collins and
Spandau Ballet; and John Cotter (drums) who began
his career with 60’s bands "Fleur de Lys"
and "The Mojos", and although John moved
later into both rock and punk, and more recently
rhythm and blues, he still thinks of 60’s music as
his roots. Sue Lennox, the CCT accountant, introduced
us to her friends the MerseyBeat Legends, back in
2002 and we were so impressed we’ve invited them to
every Beatle Week since! We’d just like to take this
opportunity to send our best wishes to Sue for her
wedding on September 18th. She’s not marrying a John,
Paul or Ringo, but she is marrying a George! Congratulations
to Sue and George for their big day! The MerseyBeat
Legends will be performing hits by many legendary
groups including Gerry And The Pacemakers, The Swinging
Blue Jeans, The Searchers and, of course, The
Beatles.
MERSEYBEATLES
 The
Mersey Beatles are back; but those fresh-faced Liverpool
lads who made their Beatle Week debut in 2002 have
undergone a major change since we saw them last year,
welcoming new member and keyboard wizard Tony Cook.
Tony considers himself to be more Billy Preston than
George Martin – it’s the afro wig and extensive course
of sunbed treatments that gives it away, but the addition
of keyboards has allowed the new five-piece to cover
all eras of the Beatles back catalogue. The band has
been very busy over the last year – UK Beatle Weekers
may have caught their national TV debut this year
on BBC1’s Bargain Hunt, with the boy’s not only providing
the Beatles music used in the show, but also taking
part as contestants… and they were able to dazzle
us with their amazing knowledge of antiques… well,
not quite! Thankfully, theydecided not to give David
Dickinson a run for his money, and appeared on another
BBC1 programme: Ground Force, doing what they’re known
for – providing entertainment for Charlie Dimmock
and Tommy Walsh with a rocking version of Twist and
Shout. The Mersey Beatles have been the resident band
at the Cavern Club for the last year and are looking
forward to reaching their heroes total of 292 performances
at the club! A major highlight of the past year was
The Mersey Beatles trip ‘down under’ to officially
open the new Cavern Club in Adelaide, Australia. A
fantastic time was had and the band were overwhelmed
by the reaction of the Aussies. A lot of new friends
were made, and there was the chance to meet up with
old friends; a few tinnies were had with The Australian
Beatals, with Monty and the boys sending their best
wishes for this year’s festival. The boys have just
returned from a tour of Austria, returning just in
time for Beatle Week where they promise plenty of
surprises and are looking forward to meeting up with
old friends. So let Jay, Ste, Dave, Brian and
Tony take you on a Magical Musical History Tour… and
that's an invitation!
MIKE PENDER'S SEARCHERS
Throughout
the history of popular music – and in particular during
‘The Swinging 60s’, the charts have been dominated
by groups. These inevitably produced a front
man – usually with a distinctive vocal style that
became the group’s signature. The Searchers were one
such 60s group, sweeping to fame in 1963 with their
first recording ‘Sweets For My Sweet’ (one of three
No. 1 hits –followed by no less than 14 more chart
hits). Voted second only to The Beatles in 1964,
The Searchers became a household name on both sides
of the Atlantic. After their first two hits, one man
emerged as the creator of ‘The Searcher’s’ sound that
was to become a legend in ‘Pop’ music, The man responsible
for the highly distinctive vocals and that ‘jangly’
twelve string guitar is Mike Pender. Today the sounds
of the 60s are as popular as ever. Constantly creating
new audiences as well as pleasing older fans ‘Mike
Pender’s Searchers’ still travel the UK and the world,
singing, playing and creating that distinctive sound
that has become a legend in popular music. Mike Pender
featured heavily in the BBC TV’s highly acclaimed
"Rock Family Tree" programme which plotted
the history of the major groups who created the unique
Liverpool Explosion. Mike Pender’s Searcher’s provide
the link between pure 60s nostalgia and what is equally
relevant today. The hits include: Needles N’ Pins/Goodbye
My Love/Sugar N’ Spice/ Love Potion No. 9/ Sweets
For My Sweet/ When You Walk In The Room/ Don’t Throw
Your Love Away/ Take Me For What I’m Worth/ What Have
They Done To The Rain . . and Many More
MOONDOGS
 The
Moon Dogs are from Ontario and were formed towards
the end of 2002. Dave Cook first decided that he wanted
to be a guitarist after seeing the Beatles play live
in Toronto, back in 1966; he hasn’t looked back since,
playing in many bands across Canada including
"El-Dorado" and "Whiskey River".
Drummer Glenn MacKinnon started performing at the
age of five and has been a professional singer/musician
his entire adult life. He is also the front man for
one of Southern Ontario’s best classic rock bands
"3rd Wave". Wally Coleman has been playing
guitar for nearly 20 years, and has played in many
bands as well as co-writing songs for movie soundtracks.
The band’s bass player Nick Thiel is no stranger to
Liverpool, having attended Beatle Week the last few
years. Aside from playing bass/guitar since
he was teenager, he has worked as an advisor to the
top Beatles equipment manufacturers Rickenbacker,
Hofner and Vox, and is considered by many to be one
of the world’s leading authorities on the subject,
owning and operating www.beatlesgear.com
and www.voxtalks.com. He’s advised many other Beatle
Week bands, including 1964...The Tribute, whom he
assisted with their Cavern recreation show during
Beatle Week 2001. The Moon Dogs’ setlists draw
on a variety of sixties related music, but mainly
British Invasion bands. They cover songs by The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Who,
The Yardbirds, Dave Clark 5, The Zombies, The Small
Faces, etc. along with some American groups
like The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, Paul Revere and
The Raiders, The Association, Johnny Rivers and many
more. And of course, with Nick’s knowledge and extensive
contacts, the band’s gear is a mouthwatering display
of Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Hofner, Vox; everything
they need to help recreate those sounds of the sixties
faithfully.
NORWEIGIAN BEATLES
We are delighted
to welcome to Liverpool for the second consecutive
year, the worlds most northernmost Beatles Tribute
band, from Alta, Norway – The Norwegian Beatless!
Beatlefans since childhood, the four members of The
Norwegian Beatless have only been playing together
since October 2002 but in that time have played at
the Norwegian Beatles Festival in Trondheim, the Bourges
Festival in France, last years Liverpool Beatle Week
and a variety of other musical events in Norway.
Featuring Bjørn Conrad Berg as John, Kjetil Linnes
as Paul, Håvard Pedersen as George and Kai Henning
Skimelid as Ringo, The Norwegian Beatless show
spans the Beatles entire recording career with songs
ranging from She Loves You to Helter Skelter, I Feel
Fine to Something. On stage they wear replica Shea
Stadium jackets, play instruments by Rickenbacker,
Gibson, Hofner, Gretsch and Ludwig and Kjetil has
even learnt to play his violin bass left-handed
to ensure that The Norwegian Beatless are as
authentic as they can possibly be.
OVERTURES
 Regular
attendees will be pleased to see The Overtures return
this ear for their 7th Beatle Week appearance, and
while Den Pugsley, Steve Phypers and Chris Skornia
have become familiar faces, this year the band have
a 5-piece line up and are thrilled to introduce new
guitarists Jamie Cook and Phil Evans. The Overtures
repertoire is astounding. They play over 300 great
60’s songs from US records like Sweet Soul Music and
California Dreamin’ to UK hits Just One Look and You
Really Got Me. The Overtures are certainly one of
the greatest party bands in the country, and if you
don’t believe us; just ask Elvis Costello . . . they
played at Elvis and Diana Krall’s wedding last December,
at the Windsor home of Elton John and with a certain
Sir Paul and Heather Mills McCartney in attendance!
Elton described the band as "F*****g awesome",
boogying on the dance floor for their entire performance
and Macca also gave them his personal approval. They’ve
been hanging out with more rock royalty recently supporting
Blondie (along with Will Young) at Oxfordshire’s Cornbury
Festival in July, and good news for their Sweden
fan base; The Overtures will be in Trollhättan in
October to perform with Rocks Off and Lenny Pane.
Their Beatle Week performances are always electric
and with this exciting new line-up, The Overtures
are guaranteed to make 2004 yet another rocking and
rolling year!
PARROTS
 For
the Beatles fan, there are many spine tingling moments
to be had at Liverpool Beatle Week. Smelling the Cavern
for the first time, hearing the first properly played
descending G7 of the week and being part of the Beatle
T-Shirted hive-consciousness that engulfs the city
at the end of August every year. But believe me when
I say that one of your most abiding memories of the
event is going to be hearing Mamoru Yoshii (John)
delivering the opening yell of the Parrots ‘signature’
song - Mister Moonlight. The rest of the band are
Takeshi Noguchi (Paul), Akiahiro Matsuyama (George),
Teruyuki Matsuzaki (Ringo) with Fumiya Matsuyama
providing Billy Preston support. They are stalwarts
of the thriving Tokyo Beatles scene and are currently
resident band at the Abbey Road Club in the Koppingi
district of the city. Last time they were in Liverpool
there were plans afoot to record a CD of their Beatles
tunes and this may well have happened but as their
website is in Japanese and that’s not one of the Editors
better languages, we can’t tell you if this has indeed
come to pass. It’s always a pleasure to welcome the
Japanese bands, (and their impeccably behaved and
beautifully dressed fans) to Liverpool as their energy
and enthusiasm for all things Fab is invigorating
to share.
PETE BEST BAND
 A
man who needs very little introduction to Beatles
fans, Pete Best is the man who put the beat into Beatles.
He became a Silver Beatle in August 1960, joining
at the request of Paul, just as the band began the
first of their grueling residencies in Hamburg. The
band went to Hamburg as naïve young Liverpool lads,
but on the mean streets of St Pauli they quickly matured
and returned home to play their first gig as the Beatles
at The Casbah, the club run by Pete’s mother Mona
Best in the basement of their West Derby home. When
The Beatles returned to Germany in 1961 they
had been promoted to the Top Ten club, where
they were contracted to record a single backing Tony
Sheridan. Pete, John, Paul and George all played and
sang backing vocals on this record, which speedily
made it’s way across the English Channel and was
to bring the group to the attention of Brian Epstein.
When Brian offered to manage the group, with a promise
that he would do his best to get them a recording
contract, Pete and the other Beatles eagerly agreed
to this ticket to stardom. Attending auditions
for Decca, where they were famously turned down, and
other record labels, they eventually met and auditioned
for George Martin on the Parlophone label. Within
weeks they were recording their first single,
Love Me Do… but bad news was to come for Pete Best.
There was uproar from fans back at the Cavern, where
Pete was known as ‘Mean, Moody and Magnificent’ when
he was sacked by The Beatles, and replaced by Ringo
in August 1962.His contribution to the greatest band
of the 20thCentury has not gone unrecognised
though, and he featured heavily in The Beatles Anthology
series and albums. In 2003 Pete, and his brothers
Roag and Rory Best released a book about the early
history of the Beatles from the days in the Casbah
Club entitled ‘True Beginnings’. Pete is now touring
again, in a show that invites the audience to join
him on a trip down the long and winding road
to The Beatles humble beginning and their ascent to
the top of the show business ladder. Along with
his band Roag Best (drums), Mark Hay (lead guitar),
Phil Melia (rhythm guitar), Chris Cavanagh (vocals)
& Dave Deevey (bass), Pete Best is pleased
to bring the music of the decade he was such an important
part of to audiences all over the world, but especially
back home to Liverpool.
PHIL
MELIA
 I
was quite amused late in July to see a sign outside
of a Merseyside pub proclaiming the arrival of a new
young band, "Mojo Filter Every Friday!"
It was as if somebody had transported me back over
20 years to the early 80's when four young bucks from
Liverpool roared onto the Beatles Stage. Mojo Filter
were awesome and had a huge (albeit mainly female)
following. The name is of course derived from the
lyrics of 'Come Together'. Mojo Filter, or just Mojo
to the locals , were avid Beatles fans who performed
a mix of covers and their own excellent numbers. They
toured Japan and America and the only real surprise
is that they did not go on to become national and
international superstars! Phil Melia was the guitarist
and singer in the band and was joined by Andy on drums
and two other stalwarts of the Beatlescene, Paul Cooper
who went on to play Paul in the Bootleg Beatles and
Rick Alan who we all know and love as our own Hare
Georgeson and guru of the Mathew Street Festival.
Phil is now a very happily married man whose only
vice is touring the world as a member of The Pete
Best Band (can't get away from those Beatles can you?).
Phil made a solo debut at The Egg Man Festival last
Easter and he went down an absolute storm with the
fans, which is hardly surprising given his undoubted
pedigree and love of all things "Fab". So
it was an absolute cert that we had to welcome him
back for Beatle Week. You can also catch him play
with Pete (Best) at The Cavern on Thursday and at
the Mathew Street Festival on Monday.
PRELLIES
 In
1962 The Beatles were one of England’s top live rock
bands and stars of the Hamburg St Pauli scene. A thousand
performances in Liverpool and Hamburg had transformed
a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs into a mean, lean
combo with over three hundred songs in their repertoire.
What did they sound like then, before Brian Epstein
and George Martin got hold of them? What did they
sound like live, in the dance hall? What did they
sound like before they reduced their live set to ten
songs?. . . . . . they sounded like The Prellies.
Taking their cue from the legendary Beatles Star Club
recordings made in Hamburg in December 1962, The Prellies
are jump-starting the twitching corpse of the raw
garage rock n’ roll sound that evolved into the more
polished Mersey Beat. From their early beginnings
in 2002 The Prellies were very much a part of the
Liverpool retro scene – their debut gig, no less,
was at the 40th anniversary party of the Casbah Club,
and in 2003, following floor-shaking shows at venues
including the Jacaranda and The Cavern, they came
and blew our cobwebs away at Beatle Week. Their return
to the Casbah this Easter was one of the highlights
of the Eggman Weekend, with Jules Prellie’s memorable
20 minute long rendition of ‘Shout’ and a three-second
version of ‘Hippy Hippy Shake’, "’cos",
says Trev Prellie, "we forgot how to play it!"
The Prellies embarked on various overseas bookings
in the last year including the Belgium Beatles Convention
where they backed Hamburg legend Tony Sheridan. In
May Trev, Jules, Gaz Prellie and Chris Prellie joined
the Original Quarrymen at John Lennon’s Dovedale School,
and the following month they enjoyed a 10-day residency
at the main music venue for the Isle of Man TT Races.
Most recently they were invited by Fulcrum TV to appear
in a documentary about The Beatles. The Prellies recorded
the live soundtrack for the programme and were filmed
performing in the Cavern Club, supported by an audience
of enthusiastic, screaming fans! The programme is
due to be transmitted on Channel 5 this autumn.
As for Beatle Week, expect forgotten and unrecorded
classics from the Beatles massive 1962 set list like
‘Red Sails in the Sunset’ and ‘Shimmy Shake’. Just
don’t expect any Beatles songs.
PURPLE
GANG
ORIGINAL QUARRYMEN
Any Beatle
fan, worthy of the name, knows of The Quarrymen’s
importance in the history of the group that was to
become the most famous in the world. For it was in
1957 at the Quarry Bank High School that John Lennon,
together with likeminded musical friends, formed a
"skiffle group’. Skiffle was an inexpensive and
simple way to create music – all that was required
was a Spanish guitar, a tea chest bass, a washboard
and maybe a snare drum as well. Joined by friends
Pete Shotton on washboard and tea chest bass; Colin
Hanton on drums; Len Garry on guitar and vocals
and Eric Griffiths and Rod Davis on guitars, the Quarrymen
performed at private parties, local venues and skiffle
competitions. Forty years later, a party was held
at The Cavern to which they invited hundreds of musicians
who had played there over the years. This, of course,
included The Quarrymen and, as the day wore on they
were eventually asked to get up and play. As a result
of this meeting, the group were invited, in July 1997,
to help recreate "The Day John met Paul"
in Woolton. In response to public demand, The Quarrymen
recorded a CD in the authentic skiffle style from
their 1957 repertoire. Since then, they have performed
to enthusiastic audiences in the USA, Holland, Cuba,
Canada, Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and
Japan, giving Beatle fans a taste of the music which
inspired John, Paul and George at the start of their
careers. The Quarrymen are composed of four of the
five musicians who were onstage with John the day
he met Paul – Len Garry, Eric Griffiths, Colin Hanton
and Rod Davis. The fifth Quarryman, Pete Shotton,
retired some years ago. So don’t miss the Quarrymen
at this year’s convention, as they will also be promoting
a brand new ‘skiffle and rock ’n’ roll CD which features
many significant songs from The Quarrymen’s history.
QUARRYMEN
 Quarrymen,
a great six-piece band, formed in October 1998, were
originally a quartet which went under the name ‘Rubber’,
then changed to ‘Moondogs’ in December 1999 and finally
to ‘Quarrymen’ in March 2000, when they performed
their first concert under the new name in the Open
Pringles Café in Rosario, Argentina. In 2000, with
a line-up consisting of Franco Maccagno (vocals),
Federico Martin (guitar/vocals), Leonardo Monaco (bass/vocals)
and Agustin Vit (drums/vocals), Quarrymen played a
six-month residency at the Sailor’s Mission pub, as
well as many other engagements and TV appearances.
In July of that year they recorded their first CD
of Beatles covers and then in November 2000 they celebrated
their 100th show in La Fluvial. Quarrymen continued
to expand in 2002 and 2003 taking on two new members:
Sebastian Boeris on keyboards and Ronniffer
Ronston on lead guitar. Their ever-increasing popularity
led them to be invited to take part in Latin American
Beatle Week 2003 where they played alongside 40 of
the best bands in South America. They were chosen
along with Los Blackbird as the winners of the Battle
of the Bands competition, the prize being inclusion
in Liverpool Beatle Week! Quarrymen consider this
their greatest achievement and are honoured to be
a part of the most important Beatle party in the world!
REPEATLES
 Continuing
our 40 years ago theme, in the summer of 1964, the
Beatles played several gigs which link rather nicely
with this band from Sweden! Firstly, in July, there
were two dates at the Johanneshovs Isstadion in Stockholm;
The Repeatles home city, and the following month they
played thefar less exotic sounding Blackpool Opera
House alongside an upcoming London band called the
High Numbers. Those of you with a good knowledge of
British rock will know that the High Numbers later
changed their name to The Who… and you’ll hear many
of their greatest songs at a Repeatles show! The four
members ofRepeatles have a long and varied musical
history playing in many successful Swedish pop/rock
bands including The Moderns, Strindbergs & Japop.
Jan Leonard (guitar, piano, vocals) and ArnieBrox
(bass, vocals) met at a friends wedding in 1997 and
is covered a shared interest in Beatles and sixties
music, forming The Repeatles shortly after with Pete
Beck on guitar & vocals, and Jan’s friend from
the punk days Steve Kling on drums. The Repeatles
mission statement is simple – to travel the world
as the best sixties revival band, spreading peace,
love, understanding and good karma everywhere. They
are currently working on an album of original material
under the name Love Junkies, which is inspired by
the music of the 60’s and 70’s which they love so
much. The Repeatles are one of the finest 60’s tribute
bands at Beatle Week, including in their enthusiastic
and exciting set material by The Who, The Byrds, The
Hollies, The Kinks, The Beatles of course, and a new
recent addition to their repertoire, a song by the
ever popular Beach Boys! Jan, Arnie, Pete and Steve
will be rocking and rolling at the Cavern Pub, Club
and Adelphi Hotel throughout the week!
RINGER
 I
said to Ian ‘Why not BRING’ER?’ He replied
‘Nae way, not when there’s Swedish INGA. Ian
will be at the Bar where he will definitely LINGER
with Steve McDonald his EX-SINGER. Come
Wednesday he’ll be so green around the gills
he will look like a NINJA (turtle). Did you
know that before he was grey, Gregor was actually
GINGER and that Chris was a SWINGER
who appeared on Jerry SPRINGER. Willie
is always the one who gets the MINGER. After
this I’ll probably be the one who gets the FINGER
and they will call me a WHINGER, which
is fine by me because maybe, just maybe, after reading
this absolute crap, Ian, Willie Gregor and Chris
will actually send in an update of the biography next
year!!! How on earth do you find something new
to say about a band who have played at Beatle Week
for over 20 years? Especially when they don’t
give you new information! I think I can summarise
this . . . like this biog . . . there’s a lot that
might sound a bit like Ringer, but there is
nothing quite like the real thing (er)! (I
didn’t even mention Willie’s Vinegar Strokes!)
ROCKS OFF
For the
third successive year at Beatle Week comes the amazing
Swedish Rolling Stones Tribute, Rocks Off. Since their
formation in 1995, the band has appeared on many TV
shows including Sweden’s Stars In Their Eyes and last
summer when The Rolling Stones played 3 sold-out shows
in Stockholm, Rocks Off performed live on one of the
biggest morning news shows on Swedish National TV.
They have also played several hugely successful Beatles
vs. Stones shows, working alongside fellow Beatle
Week friends Liverpool. Last year the band gave some
amazing performances at the Adelphi and the Cavern
as wellas the Mathew Street Festival where they
rocked a huge crowd on the Chavasse Park Stage! Front
man Tony Johnson’s got the sound, looks and moves
and is probably the closest you’ll come to see a 25-year
younger Mick Jagger, while Tony’s Glimmer Twin and
rock ‘n’ roll partner in crime, albeit a blond version,
Roger Mikander is the band’s natural riff meister
as Keith Richards. Together with curly-haired, gentle
boy, Lars Elf handling the second guitar, Stone-faced
Toggan Ehrieder on bass has made an art of standing
still, and Pär Lilja who is the heaviest, fake left-handed
Charlie Watts on this side of the world; Rocks Off
delivers a sound so authentic that you won’t be able
to tell whether you’ll hearing the real thing or not!
ROLANDO
Rolando
Giambelli is an old friend of cavern City Tours, he
is president of the Beatle People Association of Italy
(Beatlesianid’Italia Associati), whose most recent
event at Rome’s Teatro Adriano in June, celebrated
the 39th anniversary of the Beatles appearance at
the same venue. As well as running the Fan Club, Rolando
is a musician and has played at Liverpool Beatle Week
on many occasions in various different guises and
with an array of friends and family members. This
year though, he’s going solo; performing Beatles
songs, interspersed with other classic songs from
the last 50years. He accompanies himself on the guitar,
also playing percussion, a mouth organ or a kazoo
(but not all at the same time!). Rolando is a warm
and kind-hearted guy who has the amazing ability to
get any audience on their feet, clapping their hands
and singing along, which can be quite a challenge
by Tuesday night, when the partying begins to take
it’s toll! He’s a great promoter of Beatle Week in
Italy, and we’rehonoured to have his support and be
able to enjoy his fabulous musicianship once again.
Beatlesiani d’Italia Associati:
SCOTT
WHEELER
SKEGGSY & THE HOTDOGS
 Tony
Skeggs has one major disadvantage in his solo bid
for the top. He is a Spurs fan! Whilst it doesn’t
affect his playing it could have in the past messed
up his songwriting, making him sound like Leonard
Cohen on Prozac! Some would say, just like Spurs,
that Skeggsy hasn’t had a hit since the Sixties. Unlike
Spurs (who look as dire as ever) Tony is just about
to throw off the shackles of the past Bill Nicholson
era, and launch his new album of great upbeat pop
music at its very best. Tony as regulars know, was
part of the dynamic duo, along with Den, as lead singers
in the Overtures and as such they captured the hearts
and minds of conventioneers. All things must pass
as they say and Tony left the band 18 months ago to
pursue a solo career. It seems the move has worked
for both the Overtures and indeed for Tony, who as
at last taken the time to write new songs, and finally
finish a lot of old uns! He moved to New York City
and teamed up with Faux Rich Pagano and recorded the
whole album in Rich's studio. Rich also plays on the
album. The album is an absolute cracker and in football
terms I have to admit it is more ‘Gunner’
than ‘Lillywhite’! A must-buy for all conventioneers,
you can purchase a copy at the Cavern City Tours desk
all weekend. Tony is playing with the Fab Faux on
some numbers are the weekend and on Sunday and Monday
he will be appearing at the Mathew Street Festival
with the Hot Dogs (I prefer chicken myself
– in joke Editor) The Hot Dogs are old friends
Chris Grindrod (bass), Justin Crowe (keyboards), and
Rick Hughes (drums) all of Gary Gibson Band
fame. They will treat you to a Mod Odyssey
at the Mathew Street Festival, with a trip down
memory lane; The Small Faces, The Kinks, The Who etc.,
the good old days when Spurs were Top of The Pops!
THE BEATLES REVIVAL
 The
Beatles Revival, who have played over 650 gigs all
over Europe since their inception in 1996, made their
British debut at last years Beatle Week. They
take pride in their fastidious approach to detail
– Zbynek is a left-handed bassist, their instruments
are all authentic replica’s of The Beatles and of
course, they have custom-made ‘boots and suits’.
Their professionalism has resulted in them being hired
as the opening act for many famous names including
Joe Cocker, The Rubettes, The Animals and The Smokie,
as well as many appearances on European Television.
At the annual Estrel Beatles Festival in Berlin, Germany
in 2002 they were runners up of the Battle of the
Bands contest. Last year, in Liverpool, The Beatles
Revival realised their ambition of meeting Brian
Epstein’s personal assistant, and former Apple General
Manager Alistair Taylor. They considered Alistair
to be one of the key figures in the Beatles history,
which of course he was, and he will be very sadly
missed by The Beatles Revival, and by all of us here
at Beatle Week. As with several other bands we have
had here over the years, brothers play the parts of
John and Paul – it must be some kind of natural musical
rivalry! The Beatles Revival brothers are Ludek and
Zbynek Maulis, while Petr Lux is the bands Quiet One
and Jiri Tomisin holds them altogether with the steady
backbeat of his drums!
TIM PIPER
 We’re
eagerly anticipating Working Class Hero’s shows –
they’re a band we’re been trying to get to Beatle
Week for ages! Anyway, they’re finally here and we’re
sure it’s going to be worth the wait. Tim Piper is
one of the foremost Lennon impersonators in the world,
so much so that he has been chosen to portray his
hero in TV movies such as E! Network’s ‘Beatles Wives’
and CBS’s ‘The Linda McCartney Story’. Not only does
Tim physically resemble Lennon, he sounds uncannily
like him too, and he and his band Working Class Hero
have been invited to play at many celebrity parties
including lifelong Beatles fan Tom Hanks 10th Anniversary
and celebrations at the homes of Tom Cruise and Steve
Spielberg. Tim also portrays John in a Beatles tribute
band called Revolution, along with bass-playing brother
Greg Piper. They created Working Class Hero in 1999,
joining up with Gretsch aficionado Don Butler
on guitar. Don, who is well respected in the guitar
community, is actively involved in both the Rickenbacker
and Gretsch online forums, as well as owning ‘Toneman’,
a vintage valve/tube amp and guitar service. The line-up
is completed by ace sticksman Les Perez on drums.
Working Class Hero are the only tribute band to have
performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland,
where they celebrated John Lennon’s birthday in 2001.
Cheered and acclaimed everywhere they play, there
is no doubt that the Beatle Week audience will give
Working Class Hero the rapturous reception they
deserve.
TRIPPER
After tremendous
success at last years Beatle Week and our first Easter
Eggman weekend, Tripper are back. And as festival
egulars will know, being part of the Ringer rock family
tree, it’s only natural that Tripper have augmented
into a five-piece lineup; welcoming Steve McDonald’s
former Ringer bandmate Grant Roberts into the fold.
The addition of Grant on bass/guitar makes Tripper
even more versatile than before, and with the fabulous
musicianship of Steve Northey (guitar), Kevin Skelly
(bass/guitar/keyboards) and John Reilly (drums), frontman
Steve McDonald (guitar/bass) believes "even after
thirty years of performing with McDonald’s Farm, Ringer
and now Tripper it just feels real good to be still
turned on and motivated by this magical world of The
Beatles". Tripper are currently writing and devising
a multi-media audiovisual stage show based on
the lives of John, Paul, George and Ringo, of which
Steve tells us, "it is something I feel very
passionate about, after a lifetime of pleasure
that The Beatles have given to me, I feel that I want
to give a little back". They’re hoping to have
the show on the road by the end of the year, so keep
checking their website for details. As for Beatle
Week, well Tripper will ensure the audience is rocking
and rolling at all their gigs, and with highlights
from Easter Eggman like ‘Isn’t It A Pity’, ‘Nobody
Told Me’ and ‘Here Comes The Sun’, it shouldn’t be
too difficult!
TWO OF US
 Two
Of Us, the opening track on the ‘Let It Be’ album,
provides the perfect name for this Dutch duo, Jos
Vervoort and Adrie van Osch. The two musicians met
up in the early Seventies, both sharing a mutual appreciation
of The Beatles music and, by 1975, were performing
the songs of The Fab Four onstage. They have played
together for nearly thirty years now and have a repertoire
of around 200 songs, not only Beatle number but also
memorable hits from other Sixties greats: The Kinks,
Mamas and Papas, The Small Faces The Stones etc. Jos
is the lead singer, and also plays flute and saxophone,
while Adrie accompanies him on the guitar as well
as providing backing vocals. To celebrate their 25th
anniversary as a duo, Two Of Us released a CD called
‘The First’, which contains select tracks from their
varied repertoire. Two Of Us have played in Holland,
Germany, France and Belgium, though Adrie and Jos
consider their concerts during Beatle Week’s 2001
and 2003 as the real highlights of their career. They
are delighted to be back in Liverpool again this year
and will be joined by a large following of enthusiastic
Dutch and British fans. And for Jos and Adrie . .
. it will certainly be a thrill . . .
WINNERYS
 Hailing
from the Spanish capital Madrid, The Winnerys formed
around a nucleus of Fausto "Sugar Winnery"
Martín (vocals, lead guitar), Javier "Magic Winnery"
Polo (vocals, bass) and Juanjo "Hammer Winnery"
Martin (drums) when their 60’s/Beatles covers band
The Bad Boys called it a day in 1999. Borja "Happy
Winnery" Bonafuente (vocals, rhythm guitar) soon
completed the line-up and they began writing their
own material, playing their live debut in June 2001.
Later that year they recorded a 9-song demo CD including
future Winnery classics "It’s Up To You",
"Messages Inside" and "Little Dark
Cloud" which led to them cutting their first
album, And The Winnerys, in December 2002. The album
was released by the prestigious Madrid label Rock
Indiana in June 2003 and subsequently licensed to
American label Rainbow Quartz in March this year.
Reviewers have been unanimous in their praise. In
the meantime, the band have built a fearsome reputation
as a stunning live act by virtue of their constant
touring all over Spain and in October 2003 made their
UK debut at The Cavern in Liverpool as part of International
Pop Overthrow. In May they played in New York and
Chicago in support of the American release of the
album and left jaws on floors at every turn. In October
2002, they headlined the 40th anniversary of "Love
Me Do" show in Madrid where they began road testing
several new cover versions which would appear in their
set over the coming months and will form the backbone
of their shows at Beatle Week this year. This is The
Winnerys’ first appearance at Beatle Week but we can
guarantee that once you’ve seen them you’ll wonder
how you lived without them for so long. If you love
their performances praise Bill, if you don’t, blame
Jean Catherall who pestered Bill to invite
them to Beatle Week 2004! (I think Bill is gonna get
more praise than he deserves.
YAR BAND
‘How Does
It Feel To Change The World?’ This was the tag line
for Beatles Anthology project,back in 1995 (nine years
ago already? Oh my . . . ). Some may have dismissed
it as pimply hyperbole – but the truth is, as
powerful and enduring as the music is, The Beatles
are about so much more than just that… and in welcoming
the Yar Band from Chelyabinsk in Russia to Liverpool
we are welcoming a group of people who know this for
certain. Back in 2000, band front man and chart topping
Russian folk musician-cum-rock star Valery Yarushin
successfully campaigned for Lenin Street in the town
to be renamed Lennon Street. Only a matter of 2 letters,
perhaps . . . but what a world changing spell-check
that is. The town square too has been renamed in honour
of John – though no sign yet of Harrison Boulevard
or Starkey Plaza. The Yar Band has its roots in a
school band from the mid 70s, and has reformed especially
with the intention of playing Liverpool Beatle Week
2004. Not that the band members are strangers to the
city. They and their families have visited the festival
many times and the effect of this must have run deep
with the younger generations. Alena Yarushina, Valery’s
daughter, is also a member of the band. Yuri Potapov,
Zahir Nasibullin, Victor Litvinovi and Anatoli Litvinovi
make up the rest of the band. Talk about a Russian
revolution… the Beatles certainly changed the world.
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