Ardy sarraf biography books
The Fab Four (tribute)
California-based Beatles tribute band
The Fab Four | |
|---|---|
(From left to right) Ardavan Sarraf, Erik Fidel, Gavin Pring, Ron McNeil | |
| Also known as | The Ultimate Tribute |
| Origin | California |
| Genres | |
| Years active | –present |
| Labels | Delta Ent. (Laserlight), New World Digital |
| Members | Ardavan Sarraf Ron McNeil Adam Hastings Gavin Pring Jon Fickes Neil Candelora Tyson Kelly Steve Landes Doug Couture Robbie Berg Erik Fidel Richard Lewis Miles Frizzell Gilbert Bonilla John Auker |
| Past members | David Brighton Frank Canino Frank Mendonça Jim Owen Joe Gallo Michael Amador Rolo Sandoval Brendan Peleo-Lazar Luis Renteria Joseph Bologna Joshua Jones |
| Website | |
The Fab Four is a Californiatribute band paying homage to the Beatles. Founded in by Ron McNeil (born Ronald Mendonça[1]), a John Lennon impersonator, the group began performing Beatles music throughout southern California.[2] They have played in many places worldwide, including Japan, Malaysia, France, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Mexico and Brazil, covering nearly the entire Beatles songbook and material from Beatles members' solo projects.
The band's beginnings included Tuesday night performances at a small venue called Music City in Fountain Valley, as well as regular performances at Disneyland's Tomorrowland Terrace in Anaheim, The Hop in Puente Hills and Scruffy O’Sheas in Marina del Rey.[3] The core group consisted of McNeil (John Lennon), along with Ardavan Sarraf (Paul McCartney), Michael Amador (George Harrison) and Rolo Sandoval (Ringo Starr). Sarraf, a natural right-hander, taught himself to play the bass guitar left-handed to emulate McCartney.[4]
From to , the Fab Four brought in a second cast of musicians to help perform a full stage show six nights a week in Las Vegas, with various members alternating between cast. Performing as Fab Four Mania, the Vegas cast performed regularly at locations such as the Las Vegas Hilton,[5]The Aladdin,[6] The Sahara[7][8] and The Riviera.[9]
In , the PBS special "The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute," filmed at Pechanga Resort & Casino in , received an Emmy Award.[10][11]
In , McNeil said "After 25 years, I want to be home a little more. But I'm still president of the company, and everybody who started this with me are still my business partners, even though only Ardy's still on stage. So it'll be carrying on, which is great." He anointed Liverpool-born Adam Hastings as his replacement.[12] As of , the most common lineup consisted of Sarraf (McCartney), Hastings (Lennon), Gavin Pring (Harrison) and Joe Bologna (Starr).
From to , due to the COVID pandemic, the Fab Four live-streamed numerous concerts, with McNeil, Sandoval and Erik Fidel coming back.
The cast
Since , the Fab Four has had a rotating cast. Cast members currently part of the Fab Four's regular rotation are:
- Ron McNeil, Adam Hastings, Jon Fickes, and Gilbert Bonilla as John Lennon
- Ardy Sarraf, Neil Candelora, and Miles Frizzell as Paul McCartney
- Gavin Pring, Robbie Berg, John Auker, and Chris Colon as George Harrison
- Erik Fidel and Richie Lewis as Ringo Starr
George Trullinger, Jeff DeHart and Fred Whitfield portray Ed Sullivan as the MC of Fab Four shows, in reference to the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. In May , Jerry Hoban (their first Ed Sullivan) died. The Fab Four dedicated the song "In My Life" to him until In September , the Fab Four's first manager, Mike Dixon, died. "In My Life" was dedicated to him on some Rubber Soul tours.
Wingsband
Formed by Ardavan Sarraf, Wingsband is a Paul McCartney and Wings tribute act that covers many of McCartney's biggest post-Beatles hits. The band features Ron McNeil as Denny Laine, Michael Amador as Henry McCullough and Rolo Sandoval as Joe English, plus a horn section led by Wendell Kelly (The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston) and singer/songwriter Christine Rosander as Linda McCartney. Both Laurence Juber, Wings guitarist from to , and Denny Seiwell, the original Wings drummer from to , have performed onstage with Wingsband at The Grove in Anaheim, CA.
George Harry's Son
George Harrison impersonator and Liverpool native, Gavin Pring, created a tribute act called George Harry's Son to celebrate Harrison's solo material, as well as his hits from the Beatle years. Pring has brought this act to the top Beatles music festivals, including the annual Beatleweek in Liverpool[13] at the Mathew Street Festival and Abbey Road on the River in the United States.
Rutlemania
In , The Fab Four was approached by Eric Idle from the British comedy group Monty Python to perform a set of shows celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Rutles, a Beatles parody group formed in by Idle and Neil Innes. The show featured McNeil as Ron Nasty (originally played by Innes), Sarraf as Dirk McQuickly (Idle), Amador as Stig O’Hara (Ricky Fataar) and Sandoval as Barry Wom (John Halsey), and was performed multiple nights in both Los Angeles[14][15] and New York.[16][17]
Yellow Submarine movie remake
In , The Fab Four was cast to do the motion-capture performance footage for director Robert Zemeckis' 3-D remake of The Beatles animated film classic, Yellow Submarine. The movie was set to be released sometime in , but Disney canceled the project when Zemeckis' film Mars Needs Moms performed poorly in the box office and critics' reviews of Zemeckis' animations were mostly negative.[18][19][20][21]
Notable appearances
- Recorded Beatles tracks "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Please Please Me" and "Kansas City" that were featured in the biopicThe Linda McCartney Story in [22]
- Performed at the Hollywood Bowl in for the 37th anniversary of the Beatles’ concerts there.[23]
- Performed at the official DVD release party for the Miramax edition of A Hard Day’s Night at the Los AngelesHouse of Blues in
- Featured as a headlining act during Liverpool’s annual Beatleweek in , and [24]
- Featured on many TV shows and channels, including Entertainment Tonight, Good Morning America, Hallmark Channel and Ellen DeGeneres’ Really Big Show in [25]
- Had their version of "The Little Drummer Boy" played on the show House M.D. in the episode "It's A Wonderful Lie."[26]
- Performed the motion capture for the Harmonix video game The Beatles: Rock Band in [27]
- Featured in their own PBS special, filmed at Pechanga Resort & Casino in January [28]
- Performed at an unveiling of Madame Tussaud's Beatles wax figures, when the figures were brought to Las Vegas from London for a short exhibit in [29]
- Performed the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band album in its entirety on The World's Greatest Tribute Bands on AXS TV, recorded live at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood in May [30]
- Featured as guests and performers several times on the weekly radio showBreakfast with the Beatles, hosted by Chris Carter.
- Performed alongside Micky Dolenz, (The Monkees) and Mark Lindsay (Paul Revere & the Raiders).[31]
- Named the official Beatles tribute band of radio station K-earth
Discography
- Ron McNeil – vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica
- Ardavan Sarraf – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, guitar
- Michael Amador – vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, sitar
- Rolo Sandoval – vocals, drums, percussion
All songs were arranged, performed, recorded and produced by The Fab Four.
A Fab Four Christmas
Release Date - October 16,
Label - Delta Ent. (LaserLight)
Have Yourself a FAB-ulous Little Christmas
Release Date - October 16,
Label - Delta Ent. (LaserLight)
HARK!
Release Date -
Label - Robo Records
- In , all songs from both albums were digitally remastered and released on a single album entitled HARK!,[32] available on Amazon, iTunes and The Fab Four's official website. The compilation includes the bonus tracks "Sleigh Ride" and "The First Noel", in the style of "Lady Madonna" and "Let It Be", respectively.[33]
The Ultimate Beatles Tribute in Concert, Vol. 1
Release Date - /
Label - Self-released
TV Special Soundtrack
Release Date -
Label - Self-released
- The soundtrack to the PBS special The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute, recorded live at Pechanga Resort & Casino in January Available exclusively on CD at the Fab Four's official website.[36]
Personnel
- Ron McNeil – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica
- Ardavan Sarraf – Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Guitar
- Gavin Pring – Vocals, Lead Guitar, Keyboards, Sitar
- Erik Fidel – Vocals, Drums, Percussion
| Title | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 2. | "All My Loving" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 3. | "A Hard Day's Night" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 4. | "Eight Days a Week" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 5. | "Can't Buy Me Love" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 6. | "Help!" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 7. | "She Loves You" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 8. | "I Saw Her Standing There" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
| 9. | "Twist and Shout" (Medley / Berns) | &#; |
| "Yesterday" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "With a Little Help From My Friends" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "Strawberry Fields Forever" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "Yellow Submarine" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "A Day in the Life" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "Imagine" (Lennon) | &#; | |
| "Here Comes the Sun" (George Harrison) | &#; | |
| "Get Back" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "Revolution" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; | |
| "Hey Jude" (Lennon / McCartney) | &#; |
References
- ^"The Fab Four Corp". . Retrieved 18 October
- ^"The Fab Four: Beatles concert experience comes to the MAC". . Retrieved
- ^"The Fab Four - Artist Profile". . Retrieved
- ^Demuth, Gary. "Band's devotion to detail part of bringing The Beatles to life". The Hutchinson News. Retrieved
- ^Quezada, Zeke. "Las Vegas Hilton Theater: Entertainment Schedule". . Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Weatherford, Mike (). "'Fab Four' reminds fans of simple roots: Beatles tribute isn't as fancy as 'Love,' but still a crowd-pleaser". . Retrieved
- ^Heather (). "Fab Four Mania at the Sahara Hotel". . Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Weatherford, Mike (). "Mop Top Mania: 'Fab Four' balances authenticity with wise-cracking fun". . Retrieved
- ^Weatherford, Mike (). "Beatles tribute reopens at Riviera". . Retrieved
- ^Graff, Gary (). "The Fab Four at Sound Board, 3 Things To Know". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on
- ^The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Pacific Southwest Chapter (). " Emmy Award Winners"(PDF). . Retrieved
- ^"The Fab Four at Sound Board, 3 Things To Know | Arts & Entertainment | ". Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^"GEORGE HARRY'S SON - A George Harrison Themed Supergroup from Liverpool". . Retrieved
- ^Thompson, Elise (). "Rutlemania!". . Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^"The Set List: Rutlemania Returns to Hollywood". Variety. Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Jarnow, Jesse (). "Live: Rutlemania at the Blender Theater the Gramercy at Your Mom". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Lustig, Jay (). "Celebrating the band that celebrated the four lads from Liverpool". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved
- ^Perpetua, Matthew (). "Disney Kills 'Yellow Submarine' Remake". Rolling Stone. Retrieved
- ^Kreps, Daniel (). "Actors, Tribute Band Cast as Beatles in Zemeckis' "Yellow Submarine" Remake". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Hall, Russell (). "Main Cast Selected For Beatles' Yellow Submarine Remake". . Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^Foster, Patrick (). "Beatles actors who will all live in a 3-D Yellow Submarine are named". . London. Archived from the original on Retrieved
- ^"The Linda McCartney Story". IMDb. Retrieved
- ^Lisi, Michael (). "Fab Four re-enacts Beatles' shows word for word". . Retrieved
- ^"Liverpool Tour". . Retrieved
- ^"Ellen's Really Big Show". EllenTube. Archived from the original on February 2, Retrieved
- ^"House M.D., It's a Wonderful Lie - Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved
- ^"The Fab Four" &#; via Facebook.[non-primary source needed]
- ^"The Fab Four: The Ultimate Beatles Tribute". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved
- ^"Madame Tussauds Las Vegas Welcomes The Beatles Abbey Road Traveling Experience". - Las Vegas News. 20 March
- ^"The Beatles tribute by The Fab Four (performing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album)&#;: The World's Greatest Tribute Bands on AXS TV hosted by Katie Daryl The World Famous Whisky A Go Go".
- ^"Celebrate 50 Summers of Love With Micky Dolenz, Mark Lindsay, and The Fab Four". . Retrieved
- ^"The Fab Four (2) - Hark!". Discogs.
- ^"The Fab Four Online Store". .
- ^"The Fab Four Online Store". .
- ^"The Ultimate Beatles Tribute in Concert - Vol.1 by The Fab Four". iTunes Store.
- ^"The Fab Four Online Store". .