Post by wingsj0 on May 6, 2006 18:44:56 GMT
International Beatle Week 2005 Special
What does Beatleweek mean to the fans that regularly go every year? Well, it’s a love of celebrating the music of arguably the greatest band ever, late nights, meeting up with old friends, fun and dancing. With The Prellies you get the whole package, although they don’t play any Beatles songs they are a tribute to the Beatles early years in the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the heady days of Hamburg. It’s high energy Rock ‘n’ Roll with sparkly guitars and lots of it. The Prellies are: - Trev Townsend on lead guitar; Gaz Evans on Bass Guitar; Julian ‘Jules’ Heath on Rhythm Guitar and Chris Henderson on Drums.
We saw them three times over this years Beatleweek, at The Carling Academy, Compton’s Bar and the Cavern Pub. The Carling Academy was a particularly important show for them as it was the biggest venue they have played so far at Beatleweek and they certainly didn’t disappoint. The Prellies re-created the set that The Beatles performed at the Cavern in 1962. It was great to see them play on a full-size stage, anyone who has seen them play live will know that Gaz, in particular, is only safe with a high ceiling, for those that haven’t seen the band it is important to note that these guys love to pogo!
Compton’s Bar at The Adelphi hotel has, for the last two years, been the Friday night venue for The Prellies and long may it continue. The stage is small, the ceiling is very low but it’s a nice intimate venue and all the regulars are there so there’s a great atmosphere. This year was a treat for us fans as The Prellies played a very long set, nearly two hours. They played all the favourites, ‘Slow Down’, ‘Rock and Roll Music’, ‘Shout’, ‘Ain’t She Sweet’ and many more including ‘Besame Mucho’, which went down a treat with Beatleweek regulars Charlene and Helen dancing Latin style right in front of the band.
On the Tuesday evening we saw them at the Cavern Pub in Mathew Street. By this time Jules had nearly lost his voice and Gaz took over most of the vocals, although with the aid of a throat lozenge Jules bravely managed to sing ‘Shout’ to the delight of the audience. The band were on great form and although probably worn out at this stage they still provided us all with another dynamic and energetic set. It was great fun with the band giving out prizes for the best dancers in the crowd. The excellent gifts included a David Dickinson video (cheap as chips), some boxes of orange juice and a bottle of fabric conditioner, magic.
The Prellies have built quite a reputation outside of Beatleweek, they have played in Belgium, The Isle of Man and at the re-opening of The Casbah Club in 2002 and they have also provided a soundtrack for a television programme on the life of Stuart Sutcliffe. The songs from the soundtrack are available on The Prellies cd, Afternoon Tea, which we bought at Beatleweek. This cd is a fantastic collection of songs from their live set, we defy you to sit still while listening as the production is so good that you still get the feel and energy of a live band. From the first track ‘Shimmy Like Kate’ through to ‘What’d I Say’ this would even get your granny jumping. The cd ends with a lovely slow rendition of ‘Loving You’, which takes you completely by surprise because you keep expecting at any moment for the band to up the tempo in the usual Prellies style.
The cd has a fantastic cover with a picture of the original Strawberry Fields building taken from outside the gates and some great photographs of the band inside complete with sleeve notes by Bill Heckle of Cavern City Tours. The full track listing is ‘Shimmy Like Kate’; ‘Twist and Shout’; ‘Ain’t She Sweet’; ‘Roll Over Beethoven’; ‘Lend Me Your Comb’; ‘Be Bop A Lula’; ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’; ‘Besame Mucho’; ‘Slow Down’; ‘What’d I Say’ and ‘Loving You’. You can check out The Prellies website on www.theprellies.co.uk and also www.atombeat.com
Paul & Pam Clarkson
How did you all meet?
Trev: I met Gaz through a temporary job after leaving University, we got on well and when I left for a full time job a year or so later he came with me. We started jamming together straight away really, and The Prellies was just a way of formalising it I guess. Jules is the brother of a school friend of mine, I also knew him from the mid-nineties scooter scene, It was Lambrettas and an interest in Templar mythology that bonded us... there wern't many people on the scooter scene interested in the gnostic gospels and The Rosslyn grail at the time.. oddly enough a mate from that era recently asked me if i'd read the Da Vinci code, so times do change.Chris was a mate of Jules', things started moving when he joined.
Gaz: I met Trev roughly about the same time as he met me, about 9:30 on a Monday morning sometime in 1998. We both worked at Business Link. There was efinately no jam involved though. He's made that bit up. When he learnt how to design webs he taught me and our pet project was a thing called Beatleworld, a Beatles website. We tried to make it a bit less po-faced than all the others 'cos one of our favourite things about them was the humour and we both loved the Goons, Python, Morecombe & Wise etc anyway. That side of the Beatles is often neglected. During this time we went to see a mod band called The Glory who Trev knew and Jules was the singer. I think I must have met him then. That was that for a while but during the course of the website we started the first online Pete Best fanclub. A friend of ours, Jackie Spencer knew Roag Best and asked Trev if he knew any bands who could play the reopening of the Casbah and Trev said "Yes, Us!" even though there was no band at that stage. So we basically assembled one very quickly! I couldn't do that first gig so Trev got Julian in. It went so well that Jackie Spencer and Jean Cathrell got a couple more gigs for us and it snowballed from that. The line up changed for the next couple of gigs until our first gig at the Cavern in February 2003 when we were as everybody sees now. Chris had come in as drummer at the previous gig as a stand in and was so good we kept him.
How long have you been together?
Trev: since 2002, For a while it was difficult to get things flowing because of Gaz's commitment to Koala, the band he plays fiddle for.
Gaz: What he said. Though as I say as the proper line up since 2003.
When did you first pick up a guitar?
Trev: First time i actually tried to play one was when I was eleven, we had a couple of lesson from a geography teacher, got all excited and then he decided he didn't have the time, the shit. An uncle continued to show me chords but I didn't really make much progress till about 16 i guess when I started playing properlyish
Gaz: Erm we had a shitty acoustic one of my dads in the house when I was little. I picked that up a few times and I think I was given an acoustic when I was 15 or 16 either for a birthday or Christmas. I had lessons for a bit but wasn't really interested until I was told I should be a bass player "cos you look like one" by Martin, who plays guitar in Koala. He taught me the bass-ics (do you see what I did there, ho ho!).
Can you remember the first song you ever learnt?
Trev: Yes, easy. The first song was 'I should've known Better' off Hard Days Night. My mate Steve and I played it to death in his garage. I had a crappy kids acoustic at the time, but his mum had taken out HP on a Fender precision, a couple of weeks later he changed his mind and didn't want to be in a band anymore. Gutting really, i'm jealous of Gaz for the fact that he still plays in Koala with school mates, its a fine thing that. Steve is still one of my best mates and The Prellies biggest fan, but i'll never forgive him that. (Laughs)
Gaz: It was 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica I think, followed closely by 'The Act We Act' by Sugar, and a song called 'Bastard' which my mates Carl & Will had written based on a Jimi Hendrix riff. It was a cracker. The only lyric was "BASTARD" shouted every now and again. Ah crappy days....
Have you had music lessons or are you self-taught?
Trev: Self taught, but always with someone around who knew more than me, I'd say thats how I still learn... I'm eagle eyed when Phil Melia gets on stage with us!
Gaz: Self taught. Well I had a piano teacher when I was 10 who was a little old man who lived in the village I grew up in but I never learnt anything cos I noticed that as soon as I started to play he'd doze off to sleep, so I always just learnt the first bit of any song then just mucked around while he kipped. He'd wake up after about 5 minutes and say 'Very good'. In retrospect I hope my parents didn't pay him.
Can you tell us about the guitars you play?
Trev: Danelectro, DC-3. There is no other guitar for a Prellie!
Gaz: Danelectro DC Bass. I'm a Prellie.
What made you choose the Hamburg/Cavern days?
Trev: I don't think there's any issue in deciding what to play if you're honest with yourself. Its the Hamburg years that got me into the Beatles first, I was brought up on Rock n Roll and The Beatles, it was an obvious choice. The first LP I ever bought was Beatles 'Live at The Hollywood Bowl', the second was the 'Live at Star Club'. How music gets through to you is primal isn't it, you don't choose. I think we were lucky in a way because there arn't that many bands at Beatleweek doing this sort've thing. But thats not true of the wider beat community, there's always been a massive interest in early mersey music, Thee Milkshakes and The Kaisers are probably the most well known bands to have explored the 60-62 years, but there are loads more. In Japan there's The NeatBeats, who are brilliant and wear authentic Kingsize Taylor check suits, how incredible is that! Germany has a thriving beat scene with bands such as The Prangles (now The Elongated Men) who are just sublime. They share a love of this period with us and we keep in touch.
Gaz: Trev had the Star Club LP, the Black Linguasong one and we both listened to that and the obscure tracks in particular like 'Shimmy Shake' and 'Red Sails In The Sunset'. We went to our first Beatleweek in 1999 I think, way before starting the band, looking for people doing that sort of thing and didn't really see it.. I always thought that strange, it seems so obvious.. It suits us as we approach the whole thing not as a straight tribute, we're giving our own interpretations of those songs, thats all the beat groups of that period were doing. Also there's so much scope in terms of song choice. We've been going through Mark Lewisham's book of all the things the Beatles covered and there's around 300 tracks. Its nice to be able to offer something different in that sphere. I suppose for Trev and myself its also the period most akin to punk which we're both really into - uncomplicated rock'nroll songs played short, fast and loud!
What's your thoughts on Beatleweek?
Trev: I love it. We do anything up to ten gigs in a weekend, see friends, get drunk, play rock and roll, smash our heads off the Cavern arch, go head to head with the Mathew Street hecklers, cuddle Stevie P and read out poems by Bill Heckle. Its a wonderful concept. A place where people with a common love of music get together and share it. What could be better? I've always thought it odd that virtually no black or asian people attend, its not by design because I know that CCT have a very 'one world' stance in what they do.. but it is a fact. We've been campaigning for a while now for The Chants or 'members of' to be represented there, they were a superb harmony band during the early sixties (later went on to become The Real Thing) and must have some amazing memories. The first time they played the Cavern they asked Brian Epstein if the Beatles would back them, he said no, but John overuled him and the Chants debuted with Beatles as their backing band, they were about the same age as the Beatbrothers at the time. I find that inspiring.
Gaz: It's great! I love getting to stay in Liverpool and going to Ye Cracke and The Pilgrim. Pilgrim Street and that part of town generally is just full of character. And they've got great bricks in Liverpool. Scousers knew how to make bricks. Er, aside from my brick fetish I like hanging around with the bands and all our friends till the wee small hours, the CCT staff, especially Stevie P, are ace, and the audiences we play to have got bigger and more into it each year. For a band that doesn't really play any actual Beatles songs and often falls apart on stage thats pretty amazing! The buzz we get from feeling like we've done a good job and kept everyone entertained for the length of a gig is ace!
What's the best gig you've ever played?
Trev: I can tell you that the worst we ever played was a Monday night in St Helens... long story. Its harder to decide on a 'best', because certain gigs were important and thrilling at the time and then someone will come up and say, 'you were better last night' - ha!
The most amazing experience for me was playing as Tony Sheridan's backing band in Mons. It wasn't our best gig, but it was just an honour that probably won't ever happen again. Anytime we play the Cavern front or Casbah has that same thrill for me. I did enjoy the Carling, because it was such an odd experience to be on a big stage, but it doesn't beat the Cavern front.. you can see the whites of their eyes there.
Gaz: St Helens was the worst gig of my entire life. One of the weirdest but best for me was the second time we played Mons when we had a major disaster as Chris left his passport in Birmingham and they wouldn't let him on the ferry to France. We had to get Daniel from Koala to drive from London to Dover and take his place. Trev had a minidisc with one of our gigs on it and Daniel spent the train journey from Calais to Mons learning the set. When we got there we were playing a massive outdoor stage in the Town Square! However the organisers weren't able to find 3 amps, just one! I think Julian and myself had to plug directly in to the sound system. We soundchecked and thought ok, lets go back to the hotel and get changed into our Prellies gear and ready but just as we were climbing off the stage
the organisers got up and introduced us! At that stage it was looking like we heading for total disaster and it was fairly ramshackle for a lot of the gig. I had to stand by Daniel shouting instructions a lot of the time. But about half way through and things really started to lift off and the square got really full and by the time we kicked into 'Shout' the place went bananas. It seemed like the whole town had turned up. I remember Goth kids in Marilyn Manson Tshirts really going crazy for it and little old ladies going crazy too. It felt quite victorious, partially cos we'd all expected such a disaster but we'd felt we had to honour our committment to play.
The Carling gig at Beatleweek this year was awesome too. All my rock star wet dreams come true. Our own dressing room with one of those mirrors with lights, that massive stage and just walking out to that sea of faces! It was such a thrill.
Other than that our first gig of Beatleweek in 2004 in Cromptons (Adelphi) at 1am. That was one of the best we've ever played. we were really tight for that one.
Have you had any embarrassing moments on stage?
Trev: Well embarrasment is a state of mind isn't it. My kids get embarrased because I want to hold their hands as we walk to school, or kiss them goodbye in the morning.. they're terrified their friends will see.. as if their friends are too cool to have parents who love them or something! It just makes me laugh. Children get embarrased, adults learn not to take themselves too seriously... Oh alright then. Our first gig at the cavern, was an audition for Beatleweek. We knew it was hard to get selected, and so were keen to get it right. We opened with Roll Over Beethoven, and I lurched into the opening riff with determination, stamping my foot down Johnny Ramone style, pure RnR attidude... only to step on my lead.. pulling it out, and cutting off the opening solo half way through... The entire front of the Cavern burst out laughing. Fortunately Gaz burst out laughing too, walked up to the mic and said "Hello, we're The Prellies..." it was easy after that, everyone understood....
Gaz: Errrr, yes. The first Beatleweek in 2003, one of our gigs at the Cavern Front. It was a great gig too and by that point we'd played three or four gigs and were starting to get good. It was just before we played our last song and the crowd was buzzing and we were all really excited and I walked up to the mike and said 'We've got a great one for you now. I want to see you all dancing like spastics and crazy people!'. I don't know where the words came from, I said it without even thinking and as the words were tumbling off my tongue I was mentally trying to grab them and put them back in my stupid gob. I was mortified and thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed though and spent the last song and the rest of the evening hanging my head in disgrace. Trev laughed at my misfortune, that was the worst thing.
What was it like making your cd in the studio?
Trev: For me, an important aspect of prellies is really about creating chaos live. The live experience is different to recording obviously, we knew we had no chance of recreating what happens at a prellies show, though I think we could still do that to an extent, its dificult because its about compromise, when we play live people tend to forgive a bum note when its been played a hundred miles an hour mid pogo.. it looks great and it comes off because the moment passes in an instant. Recording means things have to be perfect, which is fine, you just concentrate and get it right.. but something for me gets lost in that. This CD is the closest we've got to getting it across, Brian O'Shaunessy had a lot to do with that, he undertood that it needed to be fresh and so pretty much took all the songs in one take as a live band. I'm quite pleased with the fact that there arn't any lead guitar overdubs, it sounds fresh.
Gaz: I loved it, but the time contraints were quite frustrating. There were things we didn't get around to doing, a few harmonies that I would like to have added etc that we didn't have time to do. I've worked with Brian before though and he's great, a really lovely bloke. When I worked with him before I noticed that for a man of his age he wears an excellent cut of trouser, so I knew he was the right man for the job.
What does the future hold for The Prellies?
Trev: Afternoon Tea hopefully.
Gaz: Some gigs that pay would be nice! I'd like to record another cd, preferably with Brian. When and how we get that opportunity I don't know. I quite fancy a trip to Ireland in the new year though. And I'd like to get back to Beatleweek in 2006. We've ummed and ahhed about writing some of our own material in the past also, although it might spoil the purity of the concept. We'll see!
We’d like to thank the Prellies for taking the time out of their busy schedules to talk to us.
Paul and Pam Clarkson
with The Prellies.
Official Site: www.theprellies.co.uk
Please note all articles on this site are (C) to The Beat Goes On And On Fanzine and may not be used without permission.
To book tickets or to find out more about International Beatles Week visit here: www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk/beatleweek
Photos from Beatle Week 2005 can be viewed at: www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk/beatleweek/history/2005/BWscrap2005.htm
What does Beatleweek mean to the fans that regularly go every year? Well, it’s a love of celebrating the music of arguably the greatest band ever, late nights, meeting up with old friends, fun and dancing. With The Prellies you get the whole package, although they don’t play any Beatles songs they are a tribute to the Beatles early years in the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the heady days of Hamburg. It’s high energy Rock ‘n’ Roll with sparkly guitars and lots of it. The Prellies are: - Trev Townsend on lead guitar; Gaz Evans on Bass Guitar; Julian ‘Jules’ Heath on Rhythm Guitar and Chris Henderson on Drums.
We saw them three times over this years Beatleweek, at The Carling Academy, Compton’s Bar and the Cavern Pub. The Carling Academy was a particularly important show for them as it was the biggest venue they have played so far at Beatleweek and they certainly didn’t disappoint. The Prellies re-created the set that The Beatles performed at the Cavern in 1962. It was great to see them play on a full-size stage, anyone who has seen them play live will know that Gaz, in particular, is only safe with a high ceiling, for those that haven’t seen the band it is important to note that these guys love to pogo!
Compton’s Bar at The Adelphi hotel has, for the last two years, been the Friday night venue for The Prellies and long may it continue. The stage is small, the ceiling is very low but it’s a nice intimate venue and all the regulars are there so there’s a great atmosphere. This year was a treat for us fans as The Prellies played a very long set, nearly two hours. They played all the favourites, ‘Slow Down’, ‘Rock and Roll Music’, ‘Shout’, ‘Ain’t She Sweet’ and many more including ‘Besame Mucho’, which went down a treat with Beatleweek regulars Charlene and Helen dancing Latin style right in front of the band.
On the Tuesday evening we saw them at the Cavern Pub in Mathew Street. By this time Jules had nearly lost his voice and Gaz took over most of the vocals, although with the aid of a throat lozenge Jules bravely managed to sing ‘Shout’ to the delight of the audience. The band were on great form and although probably worn out at this stage they still provided us all with another dynamic and energetic set. It was great fun with the band giving out prizes for the best dancers in the crowd. The excellent gifts included a David Dickinson video (cheap as chips), some boxes of orange juice and a bottle of fabric conditioner, magic.
The Prellies have built quite a reputation outside of Beatleweek, they have played in Belgium, The Isle of Man and at the re-opening of The Casbah Club in 2002 and they have also provided a soundtrack for a television programme on the life of Stuart Sutcliffe. The songs from the soundtrack are available on The Prellies cd, Afternoon Tea, which we bought at Beatleweek. This cd is a fantastic collection of songs from their live set, we defy you to sit still while listening as the production is so good that you still get the feel and energy of a live band. From the first track ‘Shimmy Like Kate’ through to ‘What’d I Say’ this would even get your granny jumping. The cd ends with a lovely slow rendition of ‘Loving You’, which takes you completely by surprise because you keep expecting at any moment for the band to up the tempo in the usual Prellies style.
The cd has a fantastic cover with a picture of the original Strawberry Fields building taken from outside the gates and some great photographs of the band inside complete with sleeve notes by Bill Heckle of Cavern City Tours. The full track listing is ‘Shimmy Like Kate’; ‘Twist and Shout’; ‘Ain’t She Sweet’; ‘Roll Over Beethoven’; ‘Lend Me Your Comb’; ‘Be Bop A Lula’; ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’; ‘Besame Mucho’; ‘Slow Down’; ‘What’d I Say’ and ‘Loving You’. You can check out The Prellies website on www.theprellies.co.uk and also www.atombeat.com
Paul & Pam Clarkson
How did you all meet?
Trev: I met Gaz through a temporary job after leaving University, we got on well and when I left for a full time job a year or so later he came with me. We started jamming together straight away really, and The Prellies was just a way of formalising it I guess. Jules is the brother of a school friend of mine, I also knew him from the mid-nineties scooter scene, It was Lambrettas and an interest in Templar mythology that bonded us... there wern't many people on the scooter scene interested in the gnostic gospels and The Rosslyn grail at the time.. oddly enough a mate from that era recently asked me if i'd read the Da Vinci code, so times do change.Chris was a mate of Jules', things started moving when he joined.
Gaz: I met Trev roughly about the same time as he met me, about 9:30 on a Monday morning sometime in 1998. We both worked at Business Link. There was efinately no jam involved though. He's made that bit up. When he learnt how to design webs he taught me and our pet project was a thing called Beatleworld, a Beatles website. We tried to make it a bit less po-faced than all the others 'cos one of our favourite things about them was the humour and we both loved the Goons, Python, Morecombe & Wise etc anyway. That side of the Beatles is often neglected. During this time we went to see a mod band called The Glory who Trev knew and Jules was the singer. I think I must have met him then. That was that for a while but during the course of the website we started the first online Pete Best fanclub. A friend of ours, Jackie Spencer knew Roag Best and asked Trev if he knew any bands who could play the reopening of the Casbah and Trev said "Yes, Us!" even though there was no band at that stage. So we basically assembled one very quickly! I couldn't do that first gig so Trev got Julian in. It went so well that Jackie Spencer and Jean Cathrell got a couple more gigs for us and it snowballed from that. The line up changed for the next couple of gigs until our first gig at the Cavern in February 2003 when we were as everybody sees now. Chris had come in as drummer at the previous gig as a stand in and was so good we kept him.
How long have you been together?
Trev: since 2002, For a while it was difficult to get things flowing because of Gaz's commitment to Koala, the band he plays fiddle for.
Gaz: What he said. Though as I say as the proper line up since 2003.
When did you first pick up a guitar?
Trev: First time i actually tried to play one was when I was eleven, we had a couple of lesson from a geography teacher, got all excited and then he decided he didn't have the time, the shit. An uncle continued to show me chords but I didn't really make much progress till about 16 i guess when I started playing properlyish
Gaz: Erm we had a shitty acoustic one of my dads in the house when I was little. I picked that up a few times and I think I was given an acoustic when I was 15 or 16 either for a birthday or Christmas. I had lessons for a bit but wasn't really interested until I was told I should be a bass player "cos you look like one" by Martin, who plays guitar in Koala. He taught me the bass-ics (do you see what I did there, ho ho!).
Can you remember the first song you ever learnt?
Trev: Yes, easy. The first song was 'I should've known Better' off Hard Days Night. My mate Steve and I played it to death in his garage. I had a crappy kids acoustic at the time, but his mum had taken out HP on a Fender precision, a couple of weeks later he changed his mind and didn't want to be in a band anymore. Gutting really, i'm jealous of Gaz for the fact that he still plays in Koala with school mates, its a fine thing that. Steve is still one of my best mates and The Prellies biggest fan, but i'll never forgive him that. (Laughs)
Gaz: It was 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica I think, followed closely by 'The Act We Act' by Sugar, and a song called 'Bastard' which my mates Carl & Will had written based on a Jimi Hendrix riff. It was a cracker. The only lyric was "BASTARD" shouted every now and again. Ah crappy days....
Have you had music lessons or are you self-taught?
Trev: Self taught, but always with someone around who knew more than me, I'd say thats how I still learn... I'm eagle eyed when Phil Melia gets on stage with us!
Gaz: Self taught. Well I had a piano teacher when I was 10 who was a little old man who lived in the village I grew up in but I never learnt anything cos I noticed that as soon as I started to play he'd doze off to sleep, so I always just learnt the first bit of any song then just mucked around while he kipped. He'd wake up after about 5 minutes and say 'Very good'. In retrospect I hope my parents didn't pay him.
Can you tell us about the guitars you play?
Trev: Danelectro, DC-3. There is no other guitar for a Prellie!
Gaz: Danelectro DC Bass. I'm a Prellie.
What made you choose the Hamburg/Cavern days?
Trev: I don't think there's any issue in deciding what to play if you're honest with yourself. Its the Hamburg years that got me into the Beatles first, I was brought up on Rock n Roll and The Beatles, it was an obvious choice. The first LP I ever bought was Beatles 'Live at The Hollywood Bowl', the second was the 'Live at Star Club'. How music gets through to you is primal isn't it, you don't choose. I think we were lucky in a way because there arn't that many bands at Beatleweek doing this sort've thing. But thats not true of the wider beat community, there's always been a massive interest in early mersey music, Thee Milkshakes and The Kaisers are probably the most well known bands to have explored the 60-62 years, but there are loads more. In Japan there's The NeatBeats, who are brilliant and wear authentic Kingsize Taylor check suits, how incredible is that! Germany has a thriving beat scene with bands such as The Prangles (now The Elongated Men) who are just sublime. They share a love of this period with us and we keep in touch.
Gaz: Trev had the Star Club LP, the Black Linguasong one and we both listened to that and the obscure tracks in particular like 'Shimmy Shake' and 'Red Sails In The Sunset'. We went to our first Beatleweek in 1999 I think, way before starting the band, looking for people doing that sort of thing and didn't really see it.. I always thought that strange, it seems so obvious.. It suits us as we approach the whole thing not as a straight tribute, we're giving our own interpretations of those songs, thats all the beat groups of that period were doing. Also there's so much scope in terms of song choice. We've been going through Mark Lewisham's book of all the things the Beatles covered and there's around 300 tracks. Its nice to be able to offer something different in that sphere. I suppose for Trev and myself its also the period most akin to punk which we're both really into - uncomplicated rock'nroll songs played short, fast and loud!
What's your thoughts on Beatleweek?
Trev: I love it. We do anything up to ten gigs in a weekend, see friends, get drunk, play rock and roll, smash our heads off the Cavern arch, go head to head with the Mathew Street hecklers, cuddle Stevie P and read out poems by Bill Heckle. Its a wonderful concept. A place where people with a common love of music get together and share it. What could be better? I've always thought it odd that virtually no black or asian people attend, its not by design because I know that CCT have a very 'one world' stance in what they do.. but it is a fact. We've been campaigning for a while now for The Chants or 'members of' to be represented there, they were a superb harmony band during the early sixties (later went on to become The Real Thing) and must have some amazing memories. The first time they played the Cavern they asked Brian Epstein if the Beatles would back them, he said no, but John overuled him and the Chants debuted with Beatles as their backing band, they were about the same age as the Beatbrothers at the time. I find that inspiring.
Gaz: It's great! I love getting to stay in Liverpool and going to Ye Cracke and The Pilgrim. Pilgrim Street and that part of town generally is just full of character. And they've got great bricks in Liverpool. Scousers knew how to make bricks. Er, aside from my brick fetish I like hanging around with the bands and all our friends till the wee small hours, the CCT staff, especially Stevie P, are ace, and the audiences we play to have got bigger and more into it each year. For a band that doesn't really play any actual Beatles songs and often falls apart on stage thats pretty amazing! The buzz we get from feeling like we've done a good job and kept everyone entertained for the length of a gig is ace!
What's the best gig you've ever played?
Trev: I can tell you that the worst we ever played was a Monday night in St Helens... long story. Its harder to decide on a 'best', because certain gigs were important and thrilling at the time and then someone will come up and say, 'you were better last night' - ha!
The most amazing experience for me was playing as Tony Sheridan's backing band in Mons. It wasn't our best gig, but it was just an honour that probably won't ever happen again. Anytime we play the Cavern front or Casbah has that same thrill for me. I did enjoy the Carling, because it was such an odd experience to be on a big stage, but it doesn't beat the Cavern front.. you can see the whites of their eyes there.
Gaz: St Helens was the worst gig of my entire life. One of the weirdest but best for me was the second time we played Mons when we had a major disaster as Chris left his passport in Birmingham and they wouldn't let him on the ferry to France. We had to get Daniel from Koala to drive from London to Dover and take his place. Trev had a minidisc with one of our gigs on it and Daniel spent the train journey from Calais to Mons learning the set. When we got there we were playing a massive outdoor stage in the Town Square! However the organisers weren't able to find 3 amps, just one! I think Julian and myself had to plug directly in to the sound system. We soundchecked and thought ok, lets go back to the hotel and get changed into our Prellies gear and ready but just as we were climbing off the stage
the organisers got up and introduced us! At that stage it was looking like we heading for total disaster and it was fairly ramshackle for a lot of the gig. I had to stand by Daniel shouting instructions a lot of the time. But about half way through and things really started to lift off and the square got really full and by the time we kicked into 'Shout' the place went bananas. It seemed like the whole town had turned up. I remember Goth kids in Marilyn Manson Tshirts really going crazy for it and little old ladies going crazy too. It felt quite victorious, partially cos we'd all expected such a disaster but we'd felt we had to honour our committment to play.
The Carling gig at Beatleweek this year was awesome too. All my rock star wet dreams come true. Our own dressing room with one of those mirrors with lights, that massive stage and just walking out to that sea of faces! It was such a thrill.
Other than that our first gig of Beatleweek in 2004 in Cromptons (Adelphi) at 1am. That was one of the best we've ever played. we were really tight for that one.
Have you had any embarrassing moments on stage?
Trev: Well embarrasment is a state of mind isn't it. My kids get embarrased because I want to hold their hands as we walk to school, or kiss them goodbye in the morning.. they're terrified their friends will see.. as if their friends are too cool to have parents who love them or something! It just makes me laugh. Children get embarrased, adults learn not to take themselves too seriously... Oh alright then. Our first gig at the cavern, was an audition for Beatleweek. We knew it was hard to get selected, and so were keen to get it right. We opened with Roll Over Beethoven, and I lurched into the opening riff with determination, stamping my foot down Johnny Ramone style, pure RnR attidude... only to step on my lead.. pulling it out, and cutting off the opening solo half way through... The entire front of the Cavern burst out laughing. Fortunately Gaz burst out laughing too, walked up to the mic and said "Hello, we're The Prellies..." it was easy after that, everyone understood....
Gaz: Errrr, yes. The first Beatleweek in 2003, one of our gigs at the Cavern Front. It was a great gig too and by that point we'd played three or four gigs and were starting to get good. It was just before we played our last song and the crowd was buzzing and we were all really excited and I walked up to the mike and said 'We've got a great one for you now. I want to see you all dancing like spastics and crazy people!'. I don't know where the words came from, I said it without even thinking and as the words were tumbling off my tongue I was mentally trying to grab them and put them back in my stupid gob. I was mortified and thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed though and spent the last song and the rest of the evening hanging my head in disgrace. Trev laughed at my misfortune, that was the worst thing.
What was it like making your cd in the studio?
Trev: For me, an important aspect of prellies is really about creating chaos live. The live experience is different to recording obviously, we knew we had no chance of recreating what happens at a prellies show, though I think we could still do that to an extent, its dificult because its about compromise, when we play live people tend to forgive a bum note when its been played a hundred miles an hour mid pogo.. it looks great and it comes off because the moment passes in an instant. Recording means things have to be perfect, which is fine, you just concentrate and get it right.. but something for me gets lost in that. This CD is the closest we've got to getting it across, Brian O'Shaunessy had a lot to do with that, he undertood that it needed to be fresh and so pretty much took all the songs in one take as a live band. I'm quite pleased with the fact that there arn't any lead guitar overdubs, it sounds fresh.
Gaz: I loved it, but the time contraints were quite frustrating. There were things we didn't get around to doing, a few harmonies that I would like to have added etc that we didn't have time to do. I've worked with Brian before though and he's great, a really lovely bloke. When I worked with him before I noticed that for a man of his age he wears an excellent cut of trouser, so I knew he was the right man for the job.
What does the future hold for The Prellies?
Trev: Afternoon Tea hopefully.
Gaz: Some gigs that pay would be nice! I'd like to record another cd, preferably with Brian. When and how we get that opportunity I don't know. I quite fancy a trip to Ireland in the new year though. And I'd like to get back to Beatleweek in 2006. We've ummed and ahhed about writing some of our own material in the past also, although it might spoil the purity of the concept. We'll see!
We’d like to thank the Prellies for taking the time out of their busy schedules to talk to us.
Paul and Pam Clarkson
with The Prellies.
Official Site: www.theprellies.co.uk
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To book tickets or to find out more about International Beatles Week visit here: www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk/beatleweek
Photos from Beatle Week 2005 can be viewed at: www.cavern-liverpool.co.uk/beatleweek/history/2005/BWscrap2005.htm