Meanie Madness on Merseyside!

No doubt many of you will now have witnessed, read or heard about a fabulous group of guys from Liverpool called The Blue Meanies. (And if you haven't, where have you been for the past year, eh?) You may even have read my incoherent report in the last issue of TWIL when they performed at the George tribute at the Cavern on 9th December.

Debuting at last year's Beatle Week, the Blue Meanies have built up quite a following and their residency at Baty's on a Thursday night is extremely popular. Not only that, they have their own web-site and two well-subscribed, very active Yahoo Groups.

In case you are unaware, or need reminding, the Blue Meanies are: Jimmy Coburn (John), Tony Coburn (Paul), Gavin Pring (George) and Stu Simpson (Ringo). The boys are ably accompanied by Jay, their keyboard player.

My weekend of Meanie madness was incorporated with the poignant, yet thoroughly enjoyable, George Harrison Day hosted by live@pool Tours on 23 February, which itself warrants a separate review. Needless to say, for me and three other members of the Hazza Harem and Meanie mad minxes, JP - our HH honorary member, Di and Alli, - the weekend kicked off at Baty's on the Thursday.

We arrived just as the boys did and sat directly opposite the small stage. Jimmy and Tony came over to say hi before they took to the stage for the warm-up. One of the most enjoyable things about a Blue Meanies' gig is the sound-check beforehand. It's almost a performance in itself and thoroughly entertaining.

The boys re-appeared in the dark blue suits and kicked off the evening with "Eight Days A Week" and the first set was over all too quickly. Gavin proved himself master of the one line quip during the second set when he singled me out whilst dedicating "Taxman" to the four of us ("No! You, you and you, but not you! You're too excitable!") Was it my tee-shirt with the cheeky slogan, I wonder? Gav has really got to grips with being George, and has incorporated some of George's mannerisms into the act, complete with the infamous leg movement. He has also invested in a pair of brown contact lens, thus causing a squeaky reaction from this highly excitable individual when being asked later:" So, what do you think of the lenses then?"

Highlights for me were Gav's rendition of "Something" - it gets better every time I hear it; "Roll Over Beethoven" and an arousing (ahem!) rendition of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)". Only those close to me that night will have seen my reaction during the combination of Gav's guitar work, Jimmy's vocals and Tony's sliding bass! There were also excellent performances of "Dear Prudence" and "Come Together". It was great to hear these later songs as well as the earlier Mop Top hits. I'm praying the guys will agree to playing Hamburg and early Cavern sets, complete with black leather, maybe?

Kudos to the boys for letting Stu sing. As the chords of "Sgt Pepper" faded out, we were treated with his uncanny Ringo-like vocals to "With A Little Help From My Friends". I only hope we get to hear more of Stu. Perhaps the Meanies should include "Boys", "Act Naturally" or "Honey Don't" in the future.

By the end of the evening, Baty's was heaving and we were practically dancing and singing on stage with the group. I didn't want the evening to end, but I knew that this wouldn't be the last time I'd see the boys over the weekend.

The second gig, that weekend was at the Aintree Institute for "A Celebration for George Harrison's Birthday ", which ended the George Harrison Day on the Saturday. Filled with locals, we wondered how they would react to an evening of Beatles' music, and being invaded by a group of Beatles' fans.

We needn't have worried. The Blue Meanies went down a storm. And the regulars really enjoyed themselves and their enthusiasm was touching. Gavin deserved extra applause as I learnt earlier he was suffering from a throat and ear infection, but he sang so brilliantly, you couldn't tell he was suffering!

I spent the first set, as did many of the others seated, taking loads of pictures with my old camera, which was by now, slowly dying a painful death. By the second set, we were up and dancing again near the band and two of our party did end up dancing and singing on stage with them! Alli and Di, fetchingly attired in Yellow Submarine Blue Meanies tee-shirts, were called upon the stage to join the boys in a rendition of "Hey Jude!" Despite looking embarrassed, they both sang along and well deserved the round of applause and cheers as they left the stage.

The last set ended with Jimmy announcing if anyone liked to dance with 'George' on his birthday causing mass hysteria as Gav took to the dance floor during 'Rock n Roll Music'. Sadly I wasn't able to get close enough to have this honour, but a number of very lucky girls did.

The third Blue Meanie moment occurred during the George Tribute concert at the Empire Theatre on the Sunday. The boys performed in the first half of the show after the Ivy League who kicked off the evening with a good set. The boys' intention of performing the one song (' She Loves You') was abated when they were called back for a well-deserved encore, ('From Me To You') but it wasn't the last time we saw them that evening!

They were called back to present a cheque for £1,000 to cancer charities raised from ticket sales at the tribute gig to George and John held at the Cavern back on 9th December.

They were then, back on stage, still clearly wide-eyed and in awe at the packed out theatre, with the rest of the line-up for the final song "My Sweet Lord" led by Rick Alan. But the best was yet to come.

When Paul appeared onstage for his surprise appearance, both Jimmy and Tony made their way to the front and hugging him held tightly onto the big Beatle for all their worth! Both Jimmy and Tony are not tall guys, so they literally had to stretch up to hug Paul. The looks on their faces was enough - I later learnt that they were unable to go to the party at the Cavern afterwards as they were so emotional at their encounter with Paul - he even signed their guitars. Tony offered his bass to Paul who laughingly gestured "What's this, then?"

The Blue Meanies will be performing again at Beatle Week this year, do go along and see them. They are infectious, funny, hugely talented and genuinely Scouse. If you can't wait that long, pop along to Baty's on a Thursday night, subject to the boys' commitments, you won't be disappointed!

Amanda Holgate
TWIL Issue Eight August 2002