Liverpool Legends to play in Iola

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October 21, 2014 - 12:00 AM

It’s a rare occurrence when several generations enjoy the same musical performer. The Beatles took America by storm 50 years ago and continue to wow fans today.
Since there is such a huge following, there are hundreds of Beatles cover bands across the world who try to act as Paul, Ringo, John and George.
One cover band has a special weapon of sorts: George Harrison’s sister.
Louise Harrison was 11 years old when little brother George was born. When the four Liverpool men formed the famous band, Louise Harrison had already married and moved to the United States.
“They were very well known in Britain and I was very supportive of my kid brother,” Harrison said. “My mother would write me and talk about how they were ‘absolutely incredible and fantastic’ and I knew if she was on board then they must be good.”
Harrison doesn’t like to go into great detail about George’s childhood because that was the one part of his life that was private.
“I will say he had a nice childhood and he was a wonderful little boy,” she said.
Harrison’s parents were supportive of their children’s’ careers.
“They didn’t tell us that we had to be this or that when we grew up,” she said. “They told us to do our best, don’t harm other people, and whatever we do, do it with integrity.”
When The Beatles started becoming popular in England, Harrison decided to help out with the radio play in the U.S. She would go to radio station and tell them about her brother’s band and how good they were.
“They weren’t really interested,” she said.
America got its first taste of The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan show” in 1964. Harrison was in the audience.
“It was unbelievable,” Harrison said. “There were mobs of kids everywhere and the police would have to dash us to the limo to get us to the hotel.”
She said fans would jump on top of the cars and then would fall off when they tried to drive away.
Harrison accidentally became a radio reporter while going from show to show with her brother. Rumors would get started about the band and she called in to clear up the air and set the facts straight.
“The radio DJs would want me to call in and give them the true Beatles reports,” she said.

GEORGE died in 2001 but Harrison wanted to keep his memory alive.
And so enters Marty Scott, stage left.
Scott has been a Beatles fan for many years. He enjoyed playing George’s music and would play a few shows with his friend, Kevin Mantegna.
“I met Louise at a Beatles convention after George had died,” he said. “We started talking about a band and we’ve been together ever since.”
It started out with just two members, George Harrison and John Lennon. Their show was well received, and Harrison decided to make a complete band.
Liverpool Legends was formed in 2005.
Scott said it has been a “pretty awesome” experience so far. The show is stationed in Branson, Mo., but has traveled to other places.
The group branched out to other countries and continents like South America and Israel. They’ve even floated their music to a cruise ship and headlined the Rose Bowl.
“In other countries, the crowd will sing every word even if they don’t speak English,” Scott said.
Scott said Harrison has been involved with Liverpool Legends. She travels with the band sometimes and at shows she’s even helped sew on buttons of the costumes.
“I want to represent how they were with a good sound and a good look,” Harrison said.
The cover band sounds so similar to the original band, one audience member stomped out of a show once and told Harrison she didn’t want to watch it anymore.
The performers play and sing live but the angry Beatles fan said they were liars because she said it sounded just like a Beatles record.
Scott said this band is something Harrison wants to be proud of.
“If George was still here he wouldn’t want to hang out with a bunch of knuckleheads,” she said. “The band members are lads that he would like.”
Scott agrees.
“We’re all friends and we’ve all been playing music for awhile,” he said. “It’s been a good gig to have.”
“It’s a wide variety audience and it’s a show everyone can agree on,” Scott said. “It makes for a fun time.”
Harrison is happy with the men’s tribute to her little brothers band.
“The great thing is, I don’t want to be a millionaire with what happened to George,” she said. “I want those who leave the show to be happy and enjoy a couple hours of fun.”

LIVERPOOL Legends will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $23 for the orchestra and $21 for the balcony. Tickets may be purchased online at bowluscenter.org or from the Bowlus office.
Harrison said she will not be able to attend Saturday’s show due to another obligation.
“Tell everyone I’m sending a Harrison hug through the airwaves,” she said.

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