INTERVIEW: BRINGS BEATLES STORY TO BILLINGS

BILLINGS –

“Beatlemania On Tour,” a Beatles impersonator band from Australia, played at the Alberta Bair Theater in Billings on Saturday night.

The band members talked about portraying the musical talents of the Beatles.

“We show the different eras of how the Beatles progressed,” said Zach Coombs, who plays the part of John Lennon.

“And the magic of their song writing is what really brought them across,” said Coombs.

“We start at Hamburg and we move back to Liverpool and we just kind of go from there,” said Cameron Charters, who plays the part of Paul McCartney.

Charters is right handed and had to learn to play the guitar left handed.

“Oh it’s a lot of fun playing Paul McCartney,” Charters said. “He was very energetic, lots of bouncing .”

Coombs said Lennon put a lot of heart into his music, as well as humor.

“It’s a lot of fun because he has a lot of savage wit behind,” Coombs said.

Ben Harper plays the part of Pete Best, the first Beatles drummer, and Ringo Starr.

“Ringo is a very down to earth kind of guy,” Harper said. “Great drummer as well.”

Brent McMullen enjoys playing the part of George Harrison.

“Just the peaceful nature,” McMullen said. “He was a real thoughtful man. Everything he did, he put a lot of thought into it. And that showed through in his guitar playing.”

“Such a great catalog of songs,” said Charters. “That artist is revered and loved. People are there to enjoy their music.”

“They were just one of the biggest bands, the most influential bands of all time,“ Charters said.

“They were in my opinion the greatest rock and roll band ever,” McMullen said.

Billings was one of three U.S. stops for “Beatlemania On Tour.”

The group will make six appearances in Canada before returning to Australia.