We're pleased to welcome a new band to Beatleweek from Australia, where in 1964 The Beatles toured beginning in Centennial Hall, Adelaide on June 12th. Ringo had been taken ill the previous week and was replaced by Jimmy Nicol on this date (and the preceding ones in Denmark, The Netherlands and Hong Kong). Ringo rejoined the group in Melbourne for the remainder of the tour in Sydney, New Zealand and Brisbane. On 12 June 2004, forty years on, The Beatels from Sydney travelled to Adelaide for the first ever Australian Beatles Festival, and played on the same stage as the Fabs at Centennial Hall. The Beatels also performed their own 40th Anniversary tour playing dates in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne, where Pete Best joined them onstage.
Bruce Coble (John), Steve Shipley (Paul), Marcus Phelan (George) and Neil Rankin (Ringo) are celebrating their eighth year as The Beatels and perform regularly at all kinds of special events; they played at the launch of the new Volkswagen Beetle in Sydney and the new Mazda in Queensland, and in 2003 they played a sell-out tour of Malaysia.