Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-part series. Part III will appear next Sunday.



If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the British pop group known as the Beatles should have felt flattered beyond measure because of a host of Beatles tribute bands claiming to be “first rate” mimics.

The Liverpool Legends, a tribute band headquartered in a bastion of country music, claims to provide the “Ultimate Beatles Experience.”

“We could have gone to New York or Las Vegas, but Branson, Mo., is more family oriented,” said spokesman Marty Scott. “Besides, it’s a beautiful place to live, and there are more theatre seats in Branson than on Broadway,” he added.

A day in the life of Branson’s Fab Four look-alikes starts early and ends late.

“From the time we get up in the morning, we’re walking billboards because we kind of look funny,” Scott said. “We’re out all day long making public appearances and trying to get people to come to our show.”

The lads report to Branson’s 900-seat Starlite Theatre hours before curtain time to rehearse, loosen up and have some fun.

By the time they sign autographs and pose for photos after a show, the band could sing the Beatles’ “I’m so Tired” with serious conviction.

“It’s nice to be in a place where we can go home, rather than head for the airport or sleep in a strange bed,” Scott said.

The Liverpool Legends may work hard at their craft, but can they deliver the “Ultimate Beatles Experience”?

Baby Boomers can’t help but flash back to their youth as they cross a replica of Abbey Road and reminisce over walls hung with Beatles photos and posters.

Ushers dressed as Bobbies kindly guide ticket holders to their seats, while two, jumbo, stage-side video screens treat early birds to Beatles trivia questions.

Five minutes before show time, the video projectors run black-and-white 1960s newsreels of fans sobbing over lost opportunities to see the Fab Four up close and personal.

Louise Harrison, the elder sister of Beatles’ lead guitarist George Harrison and sponsor of the Liverpool Legends, narrates the last few scenes depicting the Beatles’ growing-up years in Liverpool, England.

Finally, Lou announces that the Liverpool Legends will perform original Beatles hits live, without prerecorded tapes.

“They’re the closest you’ll get to hearing the Beatles live,” she said, and that’s a tall order.

“Nobody can be what the Beatles were,” said Scott, who plays lead guitarist George Harrison, “But we try to get it as close as we can.”

Sometimes, the Liverpool Legends mimic the originals a bit too well.

One night, a disgruntled patron accosted Harrison at intermission.

“You’re a liar!” she shouted.

Startled, Harrison said, “I beg your pardon?”

“You said that this was all live,” the complainant said. “I listen to Beatle records every single day of my life, and you’re just playing Beatle records.”

“That may have been a backhanded compliment,” Harrison said, “but it didn’t feel like it at the time. Now, I tell the guys to throw in a mistake every now and then.”

During the first set, the band covers selections from the “early mop-top” era.

The lads move offstage and change into Shea Stadium garb, while the audience chuckles at a security guard briefing filmed before the Beatles’ 1965 Shea Stadium concert.

The Liverpool Legends return with “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Yellow Submarine,” the latter accompanied by a Lawrence Welk style bubble machine.

At various points, the show turns interactive.

Between songs, the lads pass good-natured barbs using a convincing Liverpudlian lip.

Meanwhile, Beatles fans, never content to sit quietly and watch, slip into the aisles and dance, while Kevin Mantegna as John Lennon belts out “Twist and Shout.”

Scott believes such enthusiasm keeps the band energized.

“We feed off the crowd,” Scott said. “Smiling faces keep us engaged, so we mix up our song selection sometimes based on crowd reaction.”

During intermission, Harrison fields questions from the audience.

Just before inviting the Liverpool Legends back on stage, she endears the crowd.

“I’m the Global Mum of the Beatles family,” she said. “Everyone who loves the Beatles is part of my extended family.”

The band emerges in pastel marching band uniforms and rocks to the anthem of the Beatles’ “psychedelic” era, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

While the musicians switch costumes for the last time, guffaws erupt at the video of on-the-street Britons taking karaoke-style shots at “A Hard Day’s Night,” “When I’m 64” and “Yellow Submarine.”

The band’s closing set revives touching favorites “Hey Jude” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” but the lads won’t let it be.

Rather than ticket a ride on a tear-jerker, the Liverpool Legends turn it up a notch.

Abbey Road era rockers “Get Back” and “Revolution #9” lead into the appropriate wrap-up song, “The End.”

The Liverpool Legends leave another audience energized and wanting more, but did they deliver the touted “Ultimate Beatles Experience”?

Take your next vacation in the Ozarks and find out.

For information, visit www.liverpoollegends.com or call 417-337-9333.



Bart Cannon is a Cleburne resident and can be reached at cannonb71@yahoo.com.