Santa Monica Pier Has Beatles Fans’ Ticket To Ride This Thursday Evening

by Tomm Carroll

Call it A Hard Day’s Twilight.

During their brief U.S. touring years (1964-66), the Beatles never played Santa Monica. But all that’s about to change…sorta.

Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., the annual Twilight Dance Series of free concerts on the Santa Monica Pier will feature The Fab Four, widely acclaimed as one of the best Beatles tribute bands in the biz.

Mop-top impersonators Ron McNeil (John Lennon), Ardy Saraff (Paul McCartney), Michael George Amador (George Harrison) and Rolo Sandoval (Ringo Starr) provide a remarkable simulation of the original Fabs, all the while playing all their own instruments. They even divide their set into three distinct portions of the Beatles career -- the "I Want to Hold Your Hand" era of The Ed Sullivan Show appearances, the psychedelic phase of "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band" and the pre-break-up period of "Let It Be" – complete with costume changes.

Among their credits as a Beatles clone band, The Fab Four were heard on the soundtrack of "The Linda McCartney Story" on CBS, performed at the Hollywood Bowl on the bill with legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin for the 1999 season opening, and, just this past May, returned to the Bowl to faithfully recreate the Beatles’ 1964 and ’65 concerts on that very same stage.

The group has performed internationally as well, wowing Beatles fans in Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Mexico -- and even played to a crowd of 60,000 in a Buenos Aires football stadium! Basically, they’ve played everywhere from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. to the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel (Elvis Presley’s favorite venue).

So, Get Back to the beach this Thursday and Come Together on the pier to Twist and Shout at this virtual Beatles concert by The Fab Four. They’d love to turn you on…