Gig Review: The Upbeat Beatles @ MacArts

Having been a Beatles fan since the mid-90s, I've managed to see what could be classed as the daddy of Beatles tribute acts, The Bootleg Beatles, once. Sometimes I forget there’s actually quite a lot of tribute bands of the Fab Four, but I was dutifully reminded last year when I saw a poster of The Upbeat Beatles who’d be playing locally in the Spring of 2025.

Having missed out on seeing The Bootleg Beatles due to covid in 2020, and not having a chance in hell of getting to a McCartney gig where I’d get a decent view, I decided to buy a ticket for this gig. I mean, I didn’t care if they sounded or looked like them, it’s all about the songs, innit?

So on a warm Friday evening, I went along to the MacArts venue and bought myself a can of Pepsi (which is now becoming tradition if doing something twice can be called that), as I waited for the concert to start. The capacity of the venue is 300, and I overheard someone mention they’d sold well over 200 tickets, so I knew I’d need to find a decent spot to be able to see anything other than the back of taller folks’ heads. When I found a spot, I could see a couple of people with large bits of paper to the right of the crowd, though I couldn’t see what was written on them.

The band came on and immediately there was screaming, courtesy of the little group of paper holders. The members of the band seemed taken aback that they had their own ‘mania happening but took it in good humour, even when the screaming occurred at the start of every song (though thankfully not for the duration).

This was a slightly upmarket tribute act in that they had a screen behind them showing a variety of clips and what may have been original videos to accompany the songs, which I appreciated.

Occasionally disappearing for costume changes, the band played for two hours, including a 20 minute interval, where by that time my feet were painfully sore, so I found a quiet corner at the back of the room and sat on the floor (until I was almost trodden on by someone in the dim lighting - there was some seating to the sides of the room but they were all occupied). Many, many Beatles songs were played, too many to remember, but there was a moment where the guys left the stage, leaving “John” to play Imagine, followed by “Paul” who reappeared after a costume change into his 1969 clobber to play an acoustic version of Let It Be, ably assisted by the crowd singing along. All four members of the band took centre stage over the course of the evening with Something, Here Comes The Sun, Yellow Submarine, and Goodnight all being performed by “George” and “Ringo”. The night ended with a great singalong of Hey Jude, and a suggestion that the band could perhaps return same time next year, which the audience cheered at.

The band themselves are accomplished musicians, with “Paul” and “John” both moving to the piano/keyboard for specific songs. Vocally, there was a similar sound to Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. The guy playing “Paul” was relishing his role in particular, and did the majority of addressing the audience. The four band members seemed to genuinely be having a good time (unless they’re damn fine actors), though I can imagine getting to dress up as your music heroes and play their songs - and get paid for doing so - is enough to put a smile on anyone's face.

Near the end of the gig. You can see part of the paper someone was holding, on the bottom right.

A splendid time was had by all, and if The Upbeat Beatles do return to MacArts to perform those familiar tunes, I'll be back* to the enjoy the show once more!

* Had to get a Beatles title in there somewhere!