The Upbeat Beatles

Huntingdon Hall

HOW do you live up to The Beatles - the most popular and influential band in history?

Those were my thoughts as I waited for the Upbeat Beatles to take the stage.

While you can't go wrong with the source material, you're performing some of the most-loved songs ever written - embedded in the national consciousness.

I needn't have worried.

From the opening salvo of She Loves You to, appropriately, The End, these fab four were a joy.

They've been performing Beatles songs for more than 17 years and it showed in their pitch-perfect harmonies, superb musicianship and knock-about banter with the audience.

Roger Channing had Lennon's voice and banter off to a tee, Simon Blight had all Macca's quirky moves, James Jordan kept beat with Ringo's tight rhythms while Colin Yates stole the show with his intricate lead guitar, including a virtuoso solo acoustic of Here Comes The Sun.

Other highlights were seamless performances of Eight Days a Week, Penny Lane and a show-stopping Twist and Shout.

The crowd took a while to warm up but the band soon had them dancing in the aisles and clapping along in the two-and-a-half hour show.

The performance went from mop-top to rooftop with a screen showing images of the era while the band underwent various quick costume changes from the Cavern days to the iconic Sergeant Pepper outfits.

Apart from that famous rooftop performance, the world never witnessed The Beatles perform their post '66 material live.

This was a fantastic second best.

Channing repeated Lennon's classic quip at the end of that rooftop gig in Abbey Road: "I hope we passed the audition".

They certainly did.