Bathgate Regal Theatre - Saturday June 22nd

Bathgate might not immediately spring to mind when it comes to music venues but there are few places that I have enjoyed watching Them Beatles perform at more than the Bathgate Regal Community Theatre. Having visited the venue for the first time to see Them Beatles in October of last year their return visit was a must for us from the second they announced the date. A sell-out crowd was proof that we weren’t the only people eagerly awaiting their return.

Before going any further I want to take just a little time out to mention the venue itself. It first opened in 1938 as The Regal Picture House and had seating for 1,100. Capacity is a little more modest now but it serves an important role in the very heart of the local community. Still true to its’ intended original purpose they will very shortly be marking their 75^th anniversary with a screening of the, appropriately enough, 1938 film ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’, starring Errol Flynn. We wish them well.

There are visual acknowledgements to the theatre’s cinema past throughout the venue but it was one piece of art (see below) that really caught our attention. Having managed to snap a picture of it when we arrived I’m at a loss as to why I didn’t do so again when the band added their signatures to it after the show.

I’m not sure what a Saturday night out in Bathgate is like normally but if this gig is anything to go by then any description will surely include the word ‘lively’. The concert actually provided us with a Them Beatles first; namely the presence of a stag party. They were a tad lively. Lively as a newt would be closer to the mark. Amusing if you aren’t sitting anywhere near them. Where were we? Right in the middle of them. There was nothing nasty about them and they were apologetic when Alison was jostled by them but we were relieved (our shouts of Help! came from the heart ) to find a couple of unclaimed seats at the interval and we duly moved. Typically the stag party didn’t manage to reach the second half.

In truth their presence was nothing more than an amusing interlude in what was a night of unexpected delights. The extent to which Them Beatles can dip into the Beatles back catalogue with apparent ease never fails at astound me.

Alison is sure that we have heard them perform ‘Anna’ before but I’m not so certain. Either way it was one of the many highlights from the opening set. Others would have to include a truly brilliant rendition of ‘Everybody’s Trying to be My Baby’ from the, in my opinion, much underrated ‘Beatles for Sale’ album and a storming first half ending ‘Long Tall Sally’.

The interval gave us the chance to not just change our seats but retire to the bar where it’s always nice to chat to people. A pleasant ten minutes or so was spent debating which of the Beatles films was the better; ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ or ‘Help!’. I’m not entirely sure that I emerged the winner of that particular debate. I was adamant, however, that Them Beatles were significantly better than the Bootleg Beatles. My protagonist was reserving judgement on that until after the second half. I didn’t get the chance to speak to him after the show to ask for a considered judgement but he was rarely sat down during the second half and reaction to ‘Helter Skelter’ alone suggested that he was having a pretty good time.

As we all were. The second set began with the Pepper era. Those that may have read my blog before will know that I believe that ‘A Day in the Life’ is a work of genius. Once again Them Beatles did justice to it but for once it wasn’t my own personal highlight of the night.

That came during a novel way to deal with a mid set costume change. Three left the stage leaving just John on his own. After a brief and impromptu ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ on the keyboard he treated us to a truly moving ‘In My Life’. John then left to be replaced centre sage by George whose delivery of ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ continues to improve which in itself is no easy task.

‘Revolution’ had just about everyone out their seats, Ringo had a few problems with an errant drumstick during a brilliant ‘Octopus Garden’ and the show ending ‘Hey Jude’, not my favourite Beatles song, had the whole audience singing along.

We had a couple of unexpected encores before ‘Get Back’ brought an outstanding night to a close.

Before rounding things off it would be remiss of me not to mention the fantastic sound quality. It was only after the show that I discovered that the person doing the sound was doing so for the very first time. He should be justifiably proud of the job that he did; it played a big part in the success of the night.

The band’s work isn’t done when they come off stage; there’s still photographs to be posed for in the foyer after the show and it was while they were doing that I got talking to someone who had seen The Beatles perform. I would imagine that there is no bigger compliment that Them Beatles can be paid than to be compared favourably to those that they so lovingly emulate. The gentleman I spoke to use the word ‘flawless’ when making that comparison.

We’re due to catch Them Beatles in action just once between now and the start of International Beatles Week in August so with that in mind this blog is going back into retirement for a couple of months. Thanks for reading. Meantime for more information on Them Beatles check out their website http://www.thembeatles.com/

Tom Evans   

Golden Pheasant, Lenzie and Ayr Town Hall - Friday June 14th and Saturday June 15th

It’s been a little while since I last provided an update on our Them Beatles travels but a chance meeting and a kind word (thanks Deborah) prompted me to blow the cyber dust off the blog and once again take you on our Magical Mystery Tour with us. The patter clearly hasn’t improved any during the blog’s sabbatical.  

The time has elapsed since the last entry means that we have two shows to look back on here.

We begin our Them Beatles double bill at the Golden Pheasant in Lenzie.

This was the second time that we had attended a gig at the Golden Pheasant having previously paid a visit back in April. It wasn’t a gig that we were initially intending to attend. Not because we hadn’t enjoyed the gig back in April; far from it. The band are scheduled to play there a number of times before the end of the year and we had a return visit pencilled in for nearer Christmas.

However, enter The Milliner once more; he of previous blog entries, or rather his wife Trish. She spotted a special offer that included a two course meal, a drink and, of course, tickets for the gig. Well the weather was set, un Them Beatle like, fair; we wouldn’t have the long walk to and from Lenzie Station to make so why not head along?

Sometimes it is the unexpected nights out that prove to be the best. The weather was so good that we could even enjoy a couple of drinks sitting outside. The food was decent, the company even better and the music was, naturally, first class.

The only downside of the evening, for me, was that for just the second time in the space of just a few weeks I was asked if I had seen the actual Beatles perform. Either Them Beatles are playing at venues with really poor lighting or I look older than my years. I’ll let others decide which.

With capacity restricted to around 100 or so it is uncommon the see Them Beatles perform in a pub environment like The Golden Pheasant and it is a little cramped. Any female, for example, wanting to make use of the ladies during the set almost has to duck under Paul’s Hofner bass guitar to do so. 

(Come Together at Golden Pheasant in April 2013)

The cramped conditions aren’t necessarily a bad thing though. Being so close to the band brings a real intimacy between performers and audience that you perhaps don’t always get at a larger venue. The dance floor was rarely, if ever, empty. Them Beatles are certainly very popular at a venue they are booked to appear at a further twice before the end of 2013. It wouldn’t surprise me if the owner, Lynne is memory serves me correctly, books them so often simply because she enjoys the show so much herself. I’d likely do the same were I in the position to do so.

One person that perhaps didn’t enjoy the show quite as much was George who was recovering from having a couple of wisdom teeth removed. His involvement in the show was curtailed a little; he took the lead vocals on just one song, but it wouldn’t have been obvious that he was in such pain had you not been made aware of it.

Just twenty-four hours later we found ourselves at another Them Beatles gig; this time at Ayr Town Hall. It proved to be an interesting, different, type of  night.

We arrived at Ayr train station a little before 6pm where we gained our first hint that this evening was going to be a little different from the norm.  Getting off the train we were greeted by the sight of about half a dozen policemen, three or four police vans, police dogs and, overhead, a helicopter was circulating.

It wasn’t all for us; nor was it is case of Them Beatlemania reaching Ayr.

The good weather brought a lot of people down to the seaside for the day, unfortunately not all them were content to sit and enjoy the sun. The day was marred by a number of violent clashes down by the beach, hence the heavy police presence at the station and throughout the town.

We were already grateful that, thanks to the generosity of Gordon and Louise, we were getting a lift back to Glasgow. That we would be spared the last train home made us just that little bit more thankful.

Ayr Town Hall is an impressive building. It was built in 1827 and with a 225 feet high steeple it dominates the Ayr skyline.

It’s as impressive inside as it outside. Capacity is given as 700 and there can’t have been too many short of that at this show. We were told that it was pay on the door simply because they ran out of tickets.

Ayr Town Hall before the gig. 

We had, however, to wait a good while for the main act to come on stage. Before Them Beatles came on we were treated, and I use that word advisedly, to a support band. Now I have no objection to a support band as a rule but usually their style of music is in keeping with the headline act. Not so with this band, whose name I quickly forgot. I don’t want to be unkind to those who do while I just watch so I’ll label them as ‘energetic’ and leave things at that.

That wasn’t all the pre-gig entertainment. We were also given a cabaret style singer who in addition to introducing the band crooned out a few numbers both before the show and during the interval. His flyers on display in the foyer claimed that he was adept at making balloon animals. That may well be the case but he struggled big time with the name of the band he was tasked with introducing. We had These Beatles, we had Those Beatles and just occasionally we had Them Beatles.

The gig itself was first class. There was a good mix of age groups and it was the younger element dancing away down at the front that helped create a real raucous atmosphere.

Just once it threatened to get out of hand. Early in the second set a fight broke out down near the front and something was thrown on stage. The lights came on and things calmed down; thanks in no small measure to a cheeky rendition from the stage of ‘Give Peace a Chance’. It was an awkward moment but it was handled brilliantly by the band.

The rest of the show continued without any further mishap with the band really feeding off the group of 50 or so dancers down at the front of the stage.

George, who even managed to ‘grow’ a beard during the interval, with the benefit of a further 24 hours recovery and plenty of painkillers was more heavily involved.

With a boisterous audience there was a real energy to the performance so. So much so that a request for ‘This Boy’ was met with the response that it wasn’t really the right kind of show for that song.

That led to what was, for me, the real highlight of the night. With the gig finished John, now just plain old Clark, came out and serenaded, there can be no other word for it, the group of women with their previously requested ‘This Boy’. It was a lovely way to end a different, but memorable night.

For more details, and tour dates, on Them Beatles check out their website http://www.thembeatles.com/

Tom Evans