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BeatleMania LIVE
is so realistic in sight, sound, and characterizations of the Fab
Four, that spectators often ask the band members how they lip-sinc the
songs so well. It's called BeatleMania LIVE because it's LIVE!
I think this show is the closest thing one can get today to actually
recreating what a real Beatles concert was like back in those golden
years of the height of their popularity.
MEET THE BEATLES
An exclusive chat with the cast members of BeatleMania Live
by
MARC WEISBLOTT
JOHN
PRESTON ("Ringo Starr")
Hometown:
Hartford, Conn.
Best-loved Beatles song: "Strawberry Fields Forever"
Beatles song most befuddled by: "You Know My Name (Look Up
the Number)"
The senior member of
BeatleMania Live, Preston has been part of the act ever since it was
revived a decade ago from the ashes of the original Beatlemania
stage show. However, he's quick to point out the difference between
this group and the lawsuit-laden production that started in the
mid-'70s.
"At that time,
you've gotta remember there was still a chance of the four Beatles
getting back together. John Lennon even gave a court deposition saying
they were planning to get back together to make a documentary around
1985. Plus, those Beatlemania producers were pretty crooked. They put
out a soundtrack album and a movie and merchandise -- stuff that we're
obviously not gonna get involved in doing." Preston does
not wear rings on his fingers when performing as Ringo, claiming that
its impractical when playing the drums for two hours every single
night. "But," he deadpans in the inimitable Starkey style,
"I usually have ring around the collar."
"For a few years
Ringo had his hair tied back and was wearing these big sunglasses all
the time. I was hoping he wasn't sick or something,"
Preston says of his real-life counterpart. "He's been looking a
lot better lately, a lot more distinguished. Still, there are a lot of
fans out there who can't cope with the idea of the Beatles getting
old."
JIMMY
OWEN ("George Harrison")
Hometown: Los
Angeles
Best-loved Beatles song: "I Feel Fine"
Beatles song most befuddled by: "Wild Honey Pie"
"I am
pretty quiet," Owen assures us. "Yeah, I seem to get along
pretty well with the George character."
While classically
trained in piano, he picked up the guitar at age 8 for the express
purpose of learning Beatles songs. Owen does not know how to play the
sitar, but figures it'd be "fun" to learn how.
Owen has a highly
coveted videotape of the episode of Joanie Loves Chachi where
the gang is paid a visit by a git who's a dead ringer for Paul
McCartney -- played by Mitch Weissman, of Beatlemania's
original Broadway cast -- and, in true sitcom fashion, the possibility
that the guy is not really Paul doesn't dissuade Joanie and
Chachi from jamming with him on "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."
ROBERT
"MAC" RUFFING ("Paul McCartney")
Hometown:
Cleveland
Best-loved Beatles song: "All My Loving"
Beatles song most befuddled by: "Revolution #9"
He's called
"Mac" because of his middle name, MacKenzie -- the fact that
Ruffing boasts more than a passing resemblance to Paul McCartney is
pure coincidence. But, five years ago in Japan, Ruffing found a Hofner
bass identical to Macca's and learned how to play the thing
left-handed, just because it looks wrong pointing in any other
direction.
He admires the
"fantastic charisma" consistently displayed by his real-life
counterpart on his recent tours and admires Paul's "shrewd"
business sense. Yet Ruffing remains an unrepentant meat eater.
Last summer, these faux
Fabs had a booking in Providence, R.I., and each member arrived at
their hotel separately from their respective home bases. When Ruffing
reached the front desk, he identified himself as Mac from BeatleMania
Live. "Oh, Ringo's staying here too!" the perky desk clerk
remarked. Assuming she was referring to the pseudo Ringo, Mac asked
for his room number. "Absolutely not!" recoiled the clerk.
Turns out the real Ringo was staying there, on a stopover with his
All-Starr Band. (Later, when they saw the genuine article in the
lobby, Ringo didn't pay much attention to anyone, but that's because
he was probably scurrying off to Boston to visit his daughter in the
hospital. The BeatleMania guys did get to talk to Ringo's
bandmate, Let It Be co-star Billy Preston, though.)
RON
McNEIL ("John Lennon")
Hometown: Los
Angeles
Best-loved Beatles song: "Yesterday"
Beatles songs most befuddled by: Any George Harrison sitar
wig-out ("Love You To," "Within You, Without You,"
"The Inner Light")
The youngest member of
BeatleMania Live, McNeil is the latest to pass through what's been an
occasionally revolving door. Although all four are guarded about
revealing exactly how old they are, the act's age policy does seem
somewhat less stringent than Menudo's.
As the most tenacious
Beatle record collector of the bunch, McNeil has a couple of Yoko Ono
platters -- and while he doesn't share Lennon's dogged appreciation of
her musical warblings, he can do a dead-on impersonation of Yoko's
geese-like exhalations that's almost as precise as the Lennon
imitation he does on stage.
McNeil admits his
adolescence wasn't nearly as turbulent as John Lennon's. "My
parents forced me to learn how to play golf, but I really
didn't want to," he brays. "I guess that's as rough as the
story of my childhood gets."
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