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The Fab Four (tribute)
California-based Beatles tribute band From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Fab Four is a California tribute band paying homage to the Beatles. Founded in 1997 by Ron McNeil (born Ronald Mendonça[1]), a John Lennon impersonator, the group began performing Beatles music throughout southern California.[2] They have played in many places worldwide, including Japan, Malaysia, France, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Mexico and Brazil, covering nearly the entire Beatles songbook and material from Beatles members' solo projects.
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In 1997, then 14 year old McNeil and his friend Rolo Sandoval formed The Fab Four after seeing then 25 year old Ardavan "Ardy" Sarraf perform "Coming Up" as Paul McCartney during a music convention in LA as a tribute to the Beatles. "No one could believe how great (Sarraf) sounded as Paul," McNeil said. "So I went up to him afterwards and asked if he'd consider doing this professionally." McNeil had been told he had a resemblance to John Lennon, along with Sandoval to Ringo Starr, so he, Sandoval, and Sarraf recruited one more musician to recreate George Harrison and formed The Fab Four, which McNeil nicknamed "The Ultimate Beatles Tribute Band."[2] The band's beginnings included Tuesday night performances at a small venue called Music City in Fountain Valley, as well as regular performances at Disneyland's Tomorrowland Terrace in Anaheim, The Hop in Puente Hills and Scruffy O’Sheas in Marina del Rey.[3] The original group consisted of McNeil (John Lennon), along with Sarraf (Paul McCartney), David Brighton (George Harrison) and Sandoval (Ringo Starr). Sarraf, a natural right-hander, taught himself to play the bass guitar left-handed to emulate McCartney.[4] Erik Fidel, one of the members currently playing Ringo, does not have a big nose but takes 90 minutes to put on a prosthetic.[2] In 1998, Brighton left the band to become an David Bowie impersonator. Michael George Amador took his place before leaving to work backstage in 2009, leaving Liverpool-born Gavin Pring, then 31, to take his place.[5] In 2011, Sandoval retired from the band, but still works backstage, Fidel later took his place.
From 2005 to 2008, the Fab Four brought in a second cast of musicians to help perform a full stage show six nights a week in Las Vegas, with various members alternating between cast. Performing as Fab Four Mania, the Vegas cast performed regularly at locations such as the Las Vegas Hilton,[6] The Aladdin,[7] The Sahara[8][9] and The Riviera.[10]
In 2013, the PBS special "The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute," (starring McNeil, Sarraf, Pring, and Fidel) filmed at Pechanga Resort & Casino in 2012, received an Emmy Award.[11][12]
In 2018, McNeil said "After 25 years, I want to be home a little more. But I'm still president of the company, and everybody who started this with me are still my business partners, even though only Ardy's still on stage. So it'll be carrying on, which is great." He anointed Newcastle-born Adam Hastings (originally from the Bootleg Beatles) as his replacement.[13] As of 2019, the most common lineup consisted of Sarraf (McCartney), Hastings (Lennon), Pring (Harrison), and Joseph "Joe" Bologna (formerly part of Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles and part of 1964: The Tribute) (Starr).
From 2020 to 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fab Four live-streamed numerous concerts, with McNeil, Sandoval and Fidel coming back.
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The cast
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Since 2021, the Fab Four has had a rotating cast. Cast members currently part of the Fab Four's regular rotation are:
- Ron McNeil, Adam Hastings, Jon Fickes, and Gilbert Bonilla as John Lennon
- Ardy Sarraf, Neil Candelora, and Miles Frizzell as Paul McCartney
- Gavin Pring, Robbie Berg, John Auker, and Chris Colon as George Harrison
- Erik Fidel, Richard Lewis, and Joe Bologna as Ringo Starr
George Trullinger, Jeff DeHart and Fred Whitfield portray Ed Sullivan as the MC of Fab Four shows, in reference to the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. In May 2015, Jerry Hoban (the first actor to portray Ed Sullivan) died. The Fab Four dedicated the song "In My Life" to him until 2022. In September 2023, the Fab Four's first manager, Mike Dixon, died. "In My Life" was dedicated to him on some Rubber Soul tours.
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Side projects
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Wingsband
Formed by Ardavan Sarraf, Wingsband is a Paul McCartney and Wings tribute act that covers many of McCartney's biggest post-Beatles hits. The band features Ron McNeil as Denny Laine, Michael Amador as Henry McCullough and Rolo Sandoval as Joe English, plus a horn section led by Wendell Kelly (The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston) and singer/songwriter Christine Rosander as Linda McCartney. Both Laurence Juber, Wings guitarist from 1978 to 1981, and Denny Seiwell, the original Wings drummer from 1971 to 1973, have performed onstage with Wingsband at The Grove in Anaheim, CA.
George Harry's Son
George Harrison impersonator and Liverpool native, Gavin Pring, created a tribute act called George Harry's Son to celebrate Harrison's solo material, as well as his hits from the Beatle years. Pring has brought this act to the top Beatles music festivals, including the annual Beatleweek in Liverpool[14] at the Mathew Street Festival and Abbey Road on the River in the United States.
Rutlemania
In 2007, The Fab Four was approached by Eric Idle from the British comedy group Monty Python to perform a set of shows celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Rutles, a Beatles parody group formed in 1975 by Idle and Neil Innes. The show featured McNeil as Ron Nasty (originally played by Innes), Sarraf as Dirk McQuickly (Idle), Amador as Stig O’Hara (Ricky Fataar) and Sandoval as Barry Wom (John Halsey), and was performed multiple nights in both Los Angeles[15][16] and New York.[17][18]
Yellow Submarine movie remake
In 2010, The Fab Four (McNeil, Sarraf, Pring, and Sandoval) was cast to do the motion-capture performance footage for director Robert Zemeckis' 3-D remake of The Beatles animated film classic, Yellow Submarine. The movie was set to be released sometime in 2012, but Disney canceled the project when Zemeckis' film Mars Needs Moms performed poorly in the box office and critics' reviews of Zemeckis' animations were mostly negative.[19][20][21][22]
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Notable appearances
- Recorded Beatles tracks "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Please Please Me" and "Kansas City" that were featured in the biopic The Linda McCartney Story in 2000.[23]
- Performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 2003 for the 37th anniversary of the Beatles’ concerts there.[24]
- Performed at the official DVD release party for the Miramax edition of A Hard Day’s Night at the Los Angeles House of Blues in 2004.[25]
- Featured as a headlining act during Liverpool’s annual Beatleweek in 2004, 2008 and 2011.[26]
- Featured on many TV shows and channels, including Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America, Hallmark Channel and Ellen DeGeneres’ Really Big Show in 2007.[27][25]
- Had their version of "The Little Drummer Boy" played on the show House M.D. in the 2008 episode "It's A Wonderful Lie."[28]
- Performed the motion capture for the Harmonix video game The Beatles: Rock Band in 2009. (McNeil, Sarraf, Pring, and Sandoval)[29]
- Featured (McNeil, Sarraf, Pring, and Fidel) in their own PBS special, filmed at Pechanga Resort & Casino in January 2012.[30]
- Performed at an unveiling of Madame Tussaud's Beatles wax figures, when the figures were brought to Las Vegas from London for a short exhibit in 2012.[31]
- Performed (Kelly, Candelora, Couture, and Bologna) at the Dodgers Stadium in 2016.[32]
- Performed the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band album in its entirety on The World's Greatest Tribute Bands on AXS TV, recorded live at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood in May 2017.[33]
- Featured as guests and performers several times on the weekly radio show Breakfast with the Beatles, hosted by Chris Carter.
- Performed (McNeil, Candelora, Couture, and Bologna) alongside Micky Dolenz (The Monkees), Mark Lindsay (Paul Revere & the Raiders), Wayne Avers, and Coco Dolenz.[34][35]
- Named the official Beatles tribute band of radio station K-earth 101.
Discography
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- Ron McNeil – vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica
- Ardavan Sarraf – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, guitar
- Michael Amador – vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, sitar
- Rolo Sandoval – vocals, drums, percussion
All songs were arranged, performed, recorded and produced by The Fab Four.
A Fab Four Christmas
Release Date - October 16, 2002
Label - Delta Ent. (LaserLight)
Have Yourself a FAB-ulous Little Christmas
Release Date - October 16, 2002
Label - Delta Ent. (LaserLight)
HARK!
Release Date - 2008
Label - Robo Records
- In 2008, all songs from both albums were digitally remastered and released on a single album entitled HARK!,[36] available on Amazon, iTunes and The Fab Four's official website. The compilation includes the bonus tracks "Sleigh Ride" and "The First Noel", in the style of "Lady Madonna" and "Let It Be", respectively.[37]
The Ultimate Beatles Tribute in Concert, Vol. 1
Release Date - 2002/2011
Label - Self-released
TV Special Soundtrack
Release Date - 2013
Label - Self-released
- The soundtrack to the PBS special The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute, recorded live at Pechanga Resort & Casino in January 2012. Available exclusively on CD at the Fab Four's official website.[40]
Personnel
- Ron McNeil – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica
- Ardavan Sarraf – Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Guitar
- Gavin Pring – Vocals, Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Sitar
- Erik Fidel – Vocals, Drums, Percussion
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References
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