Marty Scott knew he could sing like George Harrison. He just never expected anything to come of it.
Louise Harrison, the late Beatle’s sister, had other ideas.
Scott, a Chicago native, had just finished performing with his Beatles tribute band at a convention honoring the Fab Four when he received a surprising request.
“A promoter came up and told me, ‘George’s sister would like to speak to you,’ ” Scott recalled. “I was thinking, ‘Oh crap, I hope I didn’t suck.’ ”
To the contrary, she was impressed — both by his performance and his resemblance to her brother.
Over the next few years, Scott and Louise Harrison kicked around the idea of starting a Beatles tribute band that could not only match the musicianship of the original Beatles, but look, talk and act like them, too.
Liverpool Legends, formed in 2005, will portray the Beatles and perform their hits Oct. 27 at the Historic Everett Theatre.
The tribute band, handpicked by the 86-year-old Louise Harrison, includes Scott as George Harrison, Kevin Mantegna as John Lennon, John Perrin as Ringo Starr and David Tanner as Paul McCartney.
Over the past 13 years, they’ve performed their Beatles tribute around the world, traveling as far away as India, Israel and Ecuador. Their biggest show in the United States came last year when they performed in front of 68,000 people at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Though none of them are trained actors, they’ve meticulously studied interviews, television appearances and recordings of live performances to match the inflections, tones and accents of each individual Beatle.
“We learned the acting thing by absorbing ourselves completely into The Beatles,” Scott said. “We try to blow people’s minds.”
“The Complete Beatles Experience” spans most of the band’s 10-year run and plays out like a Broadway musical, starting from when they burst onto the American music scene with their appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964, to the final album they recorded together, “Abbey Road,” in 1969.
While a narration of the Beatles’ history plays, the band changes costumes to reflect the time period they’re portraying. Their costumes include the black suits, white shirts and moptop hairstyles from the Beatles’ early days, the psychedelic, colorful army uniforms featured on the cover of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in 1967, and finally the streetwear worn in the iconic album cover of “Abbey Road.”
“We’re like Vegas showgirls or something,” Scott said with a laugh. “As a fan, it’s really fun.”
Evan Thompson: 425-339-3427, ethompson@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @ByEvanThompson.
If you go
What: Liverpool Legends
Where: Historic Everett Theatre, 2911 Colby Ave., Everett
When: 8 p.m. Oct. 27
Tickets: From $35
More: 425-258-6766 or www.historiceveretttheatre.org
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