Ben McArthur
BEATLEMANIA, or rather its Australian knockoff band, will be coming to Sale after a worldwide tour
The ‘Beatle Boys’ band vocalist John Kater says it’s interesting to see how the Beatles are perceived around the world.
“I’ve learned that the Beatles are universal, as the reactions are similar to their music no matter where you go, even after 50 years,” he said.
Mr Kater, who has been part of different Beatles cover bands for nearly his entire musical career, said he first discovered their music at the age of five.
“I was born after they broke up, but my older sisters and cousins would play their music on the guitar and had their vinyls so I had no choice. I was stuck in Beatle world,” he said.
“I think the first guitar riff I ever heard was ‘I feel fine’, and I really liked it, and then I got to know their faces on the album covers as well.”
Mr Kater said he first joined a Beatles cover band in his mid-20s after failing to get an audience for his original songs.
“I was mainly playing originals in my early 20s, and that naturally goes nowhere if you’re not outstanding, but it was good to learn,” he said
“I think the first one (Beatles cover band) I joined because I saw an ad in the paper about someone wanting to start a Beatles (duo band), and I was already familiar with them, so I jumped in and joined.
“It wasn’t a glorious way to begin.”
After going through a few more cover bands, it wasn’t until 2010 that Mr Kater started to believe he found a winning formula in the Beatle Boys band.
“I decided alongside other musicians who were in other Beatles shows to form our own thing because we wanted to emphasise the live music aspect of the Beatles, and we knew we were onto something,” he said.
The Beatle Boys will be performing at The Wedge on Saturday, April 27.
See The Wedge website for tickets.
