I’m tempted to rename this blog ‘Here Comes the Sun’ as, shock horror, the lesser
spotted yellow orb popped out from behind the clouds as myself and Alison made
our way to the venue. Now I don’t want to come across as someone who moans
about the weather constantly but really, could the sun not shine when we don’t
know where we are going rather than when the venue is a mere hop, skip and a
jump from the train station? The forecast for Livingston, our next stop on the
Them Beatles magical mystery tour, on Saturday is typically for heavy rain.
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| Rutherglen Train Station |
Rutherglen Town Hall is a venue that we should
really visit more often. It was built in the mid 19th century and
after an extensive £12.5million refurbishment it reopened in 2005. The front of
the building retains the original Baronial style façade but a glass extension has been
added to the back of the building which provides a bright attractive area for a
café and bar. Obviously not too bright, however, as after we sat down I was
asked if I had ever seen the actual Beatles perform. Now I know that through my
hair the odd fleck of grey can be seen but The Beatles last live performance
was in August 1966. I was born in November 1968! How old did they think I was?
Clearly a case of deceptive lighting.
Arriving a little earlier than anticipated
allowed us the chance to chat to a few people and await the arrival of The
Milliner, my companion at Giffnock a few days earlier. This time he came mobbed
handed. Joining our friend with the hat was his wife Trish, sister-in-law
Rosemary and son Dylan. We’ll return to Dylan a little later.
But first the show itself.
The easiest way to describe a Them Beatles
theatre show is that the music allows you travel back through time and
experience the remarkable journey that The Beatles undertook. Helping us along
the way were some fantastic visuals displayed on the screen behind the band. These
images really enhanced the whole experience and it’s a pity that my vantage
point relatively near the back doesn’t allow me to display any to any great
effect here; perhaps from a future show. In the meantime enjoy, shamelessly pinched
from the band’s,Facebook
page, a Them Beatles take on the 'Let it Be' album cover.
With the show running at over two hours and the
two halves split between six separate acts, and yes; that means six costume changes,
there is little doubt that it represents value for money.
The first half of the show took us from The
Cavern at lunchtime to Shea Stadium in New York with a stop off in-between at
the studios of ‘Ready Steady Go’, an ITV programme that The Beatles appeared on
three times between October 1963 and November 1964.
There are some songs that you know will go down a
storm with any audience. You can tell too when there are some real Beatles aficionados
in attendance when some of the lesser known songs, if indeed such a thing
exists in The Beatles back catalogue, are played. There was an audible “awwww”
from the audience at Rutherglen when ‘This Boy, which was the B Side to ‘I Want
to Hold Your Hand’, was announced. The fantastic reaction at the end of the
song proved that it had well and truly hit the spot.
It’s difficult to single out just a few
highlights from the first half but special mention must be made to George who
proved almost as adept at catching jelly beans in his mouth as he was at performing
‘if I Needed Someone’ and John, who true to the famous first Shea Stadium
concert, played the keyboard with his elbow during a storming version of ‘I’m
Down’.
The first half finished with the stage in near
darkness and a brilliant, haunting, performance of ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’. I
can only begin to guess at just how hard that particular song is to perform
live.
Doing justice live to some of the songs from the psychedelic
period in The Beatles life I would have thought would have been near impossible
but that’s exactly what Them Beatles managed to do at the start of the second
half. In full Sgt. Pepper outfits we were treated to, among others, truly
stunning performances of ‘Strawberry Fields’, Paul utilising a drumstick on his
guitar strings, ‘Fixing a Hole’ and, alarm clock included, ‘A Day in the Life’.
Just as an aside, in my humble opinion ‘A Day in the Life’ is a work of genius
beyond compare.
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| Strawberry Fields |
There was still plenty more to come and again it
seems wrong somehow to single out just a few songs. ‘Back in the USSR’ finally
got some people dancing in the aisles. ‘Here Comes the Sun’ was as beautiful as
always and the message on the screen of “Happy Crimbo, Jock and Yono” raised a
smile on my normally stoic visage while they performed ‘The Ballad of John and
Yoko’.
‘Let it Be’ brought the set to an end but the
encores took us to the Apple rooftop and three more songs before, all too soon,
the performance was at an end.
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| Apple Rooftop |
There were some memorable moments still to come.
Remember Dylan from about 600 poorly constructed
words ago?
At the interval he was spotted with straws in
hand acting as makeshift drumsticks declaring that he was, in fact, Ringo
Starr. Word got back to the band and Ringo’s performance of ‘Octopus Garden’
was dedicated to Dylan much to his obvious delight.
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| The Two Ringos |
There was better to come. After the show Dylan
got to meet the band and have his photograph taken with them as a group, with
the ‘other’ Ringo and behind the drum kit. Am I jealous? You bet.
 |
| Dylan on Drums |
Dylan went home too clutching some real
drumsticks and copies of the set list; both courtesy of Ringo. And so the seed
for yet more generations of Beatles fans was sown.
There is a real sense of family and community
with Them Beatles. It can’t after all just be the music that keeps us going.
This was, cough, the 22nd time (go on
admit it; you just knew I was the kind of person to keep a list) that I’ve seen
Them Beatles and I can’t in all honestly remember them performing better;
second half especially. Which made the remark from one individual that the band
were miming all the more surreal. It’s easy enough for us to simply laugh off
such a ludicrous suggestion but it is, back handed compliment that it may be, a
slap in the face for the band and the hard work they put in. Not to mention
that it impinges upon their professional integrity. I’m going to sign off then
with just a few observations. Them Beatles have embarked, in addition to
travelling round the UK, on tours of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South
Africa. They were prominent performers at last year’s International Beatle Week
and will be returning there this coming August. They are one of the most sought
after Beatles tribute acts anywhere. As one individual posted on their Facebook
page; “Miming? My Arse!”
Tom Evans
First Half
Act One – Lunchtime @ The Cavern
I Saw Her Standing There
Some Other Guy
Ain’t She Sweet
Money
Love Me Do
Act Two – Ready Steady Go
Please Please Me
All My Loving
Do You Want to Know a Secret
I Want to Hold Your Hand
This Boy
Honey Don’t
Till There Was You
She Loves You
Act Three – Shea Stadium
Twist and Shout
She’s a Woman
Help!
A Hard Days Night
Ticket to Ride
If I Needed Someone
The Word
I’m Down
Bonus
Tomorrow Never Knows
Second Half
Act Four – Psychedelic
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
I Get by with a Little Help From My Friends
Strawberry Fields
Fixing a Hole
Hello, Goodbye
A Day in a Life
Act Five – Apple
Helter Skelter
Revolution
Something
Back in the USSR
Octopus Garden
Here Comes the Sun
Ballad of John and Yoko
Let it Be
Encore – Apple Rooftop
Don’t Let me Down
I’ve Got a Feeling
Get Back
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