I m not at all interested in being a pop star, confesses Neil Harrison, the man who plays John Lennon in the world s most famous tribute band, namely The Bootleg Beatles.
I m far too old and cynical, he continues. I m very keen on theatre, though. That s why I was so pleased with the reaction to my play, Great Pretenders.
As it happens, Harrison s play is also centred around the sphere of The Fab Four. It explores the deeper ramifications for someone whose adoration of a star turns into serious obsession, eventually taking over completely. Apparently, there s no danger of that ever happening to Neil Harrison (no relation).
I m not married to a Japanese woman, and I don t have bed-ins, he deadpans. What I do is very clear-cut. It s a role I perform. For two hours, I get up on stage and I act out John Lennon. On the other hand, the fans who come along are incredible. When I meet them after the shows to sign autographs many of them are profoundly disappointed that I m myself and not still acting out as John.
The Bootleg Beatles have been around since the 80s. One of their boasts is that they ve lasted longer than the original group. They don t just trundle out all those Fab Fourulous melodies in the live setting, either. Costumes, including wigs, genuine original 60s instruments, and hours and hours of painstaking study and rehearsing the actual mannerisms of John, Paul, George and Ringo means that what you get when you go to see this lot is very much a theatrical experience.
The idea for The Bootleg Beatles originated out of a West End musical called Beatlemania. In between waiting around for other jobs to arrive, the cast got together to see if they could continue on the act. Since then the band has just grown and grown in popularity. Nowadays, their live set often features a full orchestra. They ve supported Oasis no less than four times in such high-profile venues as Loch Lomond, Knebworth, Cork and Earl s Court in London.
Ironically, the only member of the band who ever saw the original Beatles live is American drummer Rick Rock. Neil, however, met and played with Paul McCartney as a youngster when he and his mates went carol singing outside Macca s Dad s house in the late 60s.
Actually, for a kid it was unbelievable, he reflects, the awe in his voice indicating that the memory still moves him. We sat down together and he showed me how to play the chords to some tracks from the White Album. Although I play Lennon in the show now, Paul was my hero at that time because of his ability with melodies.
But what of the remaining three Beatles? Do they approve of their dopplegdngers?
Well, George Martin maintains that they all sat around and discussed the matter, proceeds Neil cautiously. The main thing they were worried about was that it was done with affection and there was nothing defamatory and insulting in the performance that would detract from people s memories of how they used to be. Martin himself, in fact, has been quite complimentary.
The band came face to face with a real Beatle last year when Harrison met his namesake, George, after The Bootlegs were invited to strut their stuff at David Gilmour s 50th birthday bash.
He joked that we probably knew the chords better than he did, recounts Neil. He considered us to be very good musicians and wondered why we didn t attempt to do our own material. The truth of the matter is it s a market. We all have bills and mortgages to pay. Besides, the money we make from The Bootleg Beatles allows us to get involved in other projects that we re interested in outside of rock n roll.
The Bootleg Beatles have achieved all that they have up to this point solely on their live reputation. They have yet to release a record. All the same, there s no fear that the greater burden on them to tour will mean that they ll become full-time rock stars twelve months of the year.
We take breaks so that The Bootleg Beatles remains a fun thing for us, concludes Neil Harrison. And, like I say, we all do other things. I think if we didn t then we probably would go mad! n
The Bootleg Beatles play Midnight At The Olympia on Friday 2nd and Saturday 3rd May.