We knew the French really like the Beatles. (Yes, we know they are also crazy about Jerry Lewis, but try to look at the bigger picture. Work with us here!)



The number things we have experienced here that would never have occurred to us is amazing. It has proven the worth always being open to interesting possibilities.


To clarify: Our wonderful landlords invited us to go with them and some of their English friends to the ‘Beatles Performance’ in Limonest, a village just outside Lyon. For 20 Euros per person, we got the event and dinner – a bargain as it turned out. This being France, we were also able to purchase a Champagne apéritif and wine with the three-course dinner.  The event was designed as a benefit performance for the Conservatoire de Limonest, who provided the back-up musicians.

Here's a Picture of the Tickets for the Event

The event was scheduled for 8PM Saturday evening, April 16, in the Salle des Fêtes, a performance hall that most towns of any size seem to have. The event was mostly performed by locals, with an opening act doing some 60s and 70s songs by groups other than the Beatles. The main event was a five-man group [not locals] who performed for almost two solid hours to an enthusiastic audience, including kids dancing in the back of the hall and some songs with audience sing-alongs. The drummer was amazing, unlike Ringo who was barely adequate. The group did not make any attempt to mimic the original Beatles, but performed faithful renditions of dozens of songs, although curiously, none of the early stuff like ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’, or ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. It was all very faithful to the original, but with a distinctly French twist. It was all quite good, with the 30-piece back-up band from the Conservatoire de Limonest, and excellent sound and lighting. There were two encores before the audience of about 400 could be persuaded to leave.




Because the event did not lend itself to pictures, we are attaching a link to a marketing film for the event that includes the Beatles and the group we saw, ‘Great Britain Revisited’. You should be able to see it by putting your cursor on the link and hitting ‘control’ and clicking your mouse. If that doesn’t work, paste the address below into your browser.

http://perso.numericable.fr/blog.conservatoiredelimonest/ACTUS/SOIREE_BEATLES/BANDE_ANNONCE


This second link is from a performance by the same group in Grenoble earlier this year, and has more footage of the group performing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4KBE5wz7AM


PS – surreal is when a group spends all its time performing Beatles tunes in almost flawless English, but speaks to the audience in French.