The Mersey Beatles, Palace Theatre, Redditch
THERE’S always some trepidation in hearing a tribute band – 1) Will they be any good and 2) Will they destroy cherished memories of the originals?
Enter stage left The Mersey Beatles to a packed Palace Theatre, each and every one of the audience with an ear tuned precisely to the original Fab Four’s songs.
The first notes were struck, pitch perfect, and off we went, magically transported back over 50 years to the days when The Beatles first burst on the scene.
I’d promised myself not to sing along, after all, the whole idea was to listen to the music, but within minutes I was crooning away with everyone else and having a Fab time.
Part I was devoted to the early 60s with ‘Paul’ offering to do requests early in the show as the Mersey boys showed their command of the back catalogue.
Part II was dominated by Sgt Pepper, Abbey Road and Let It Be and with it came the realisation that no one, certainly not in 2015, comes anywhere near the genius of the songs on those albums.
The Mersey Beatles rose to the occasion too, their rendition of A Day In The Life was utterly brilliant and a real tribute to the original.
Criticisms? Maybe their All You Need Is Love was a tad tired (goodness knows how many times they’ve sung it) but that was it.
Indeed the lads, never taking themselves too seriously whilst respecting the music every step of the way, tackled everything with great good humour.
They say they’ll be back at the Palace in Redditch next year – I for one will be in the queue for a ticket.
