Let it Be is billed as a celebration of the music of the Beatles but it turned out to be so much more! A historic trip down memory lane, aided by archive film footage of the 60’s and 70’s played out on retro TV screens suspended high above the stage, and along with the swinging 60s and flower-power 70s, some classic advertisements of the time were shown – my particular favourite being the one for Capstan Full Strength cigarettes being vigorously puffed into the face of the bride on her wedding day whilst she smiled dreamily. How times have changed in some fifty years when now propositioning the bridesmaids would be a lesser crime!
The show covers the early years of the Beatles and all their hits, going through their visit to America and triumph at the Shea Stadium, through to the magical mystery tour of Sergeant Pepper. The costumes for each period were faithfully reproduced, the sharp suits of the Cavern era, the braided military jackets for Sergeant Pepper and later on the casual denim look which has somehow stayed in fashion ever since. The hairdo’s were representative too, credible mop tops, sleek and shiny, later on to be replaced by something longer and wilder.
At the hub of all this is the four multi-talented musicians who play the Beatles and, dare I say it, are probably better musicians than ever the fab four were especially in in their early days. Reuven Gershon, Emanuele Angeletti, Paul Mannion and Stuart Wilkinson do a magnificent job of interpreting the songs, whilst looking like their counterparts John, Paul, George and Ringo. The guitar solos were a real treat and I loved the haunting ‘Blackbird’ which really showed off the skills of Emanuele Angeletti. Not to forget also Michael Bramwell who plays keyboards and as they said is the group’s very own George Martin!
The show isn’t just a parade of songs, and there are also some very good special effects and graphics which hold the interest. We loved every minute of it, sang along when appropriate, bopped in the aisles on cue and came away with very happy hearts. You didn’t have to be there in the 60s to enjoy it, this music is timeless and when performed by skilled musicians it has something for everybody.
Jacquie Vowles