There’s a blast from the past at the Opera House this week as the music of legends of pop, the Beatles, is celebrated in a hit-packed show.

The  show charts The Beatles’ meteoric rise from their humble beginnings in Liverpool’s Cavern Club, through the height of Beatlemania, to their later studio masterpieces. Four boys from Liverpool who went on to change the world.

If you’re a Beatles fan and expecting a decent performance from a good tribute band paying homage to those timeless classics, you will be satisfied.

But if you want a  more than that and a strong narrative which tells the story of the Fab Four you will be disappointed. I fall into the latter category and after seeing the imagination put into the staging and presentation of productions like Thriller Live, this show seemed a little flat for me.

That said, there were plenty of people in the first night audience who lapped it up and there is no doubt that the performers are very accomplished musicians providing some superb renditions of those now legendary tunes.

Paul Mannion’s guitar solo in While My Guitar Gently Weeps stood out as a highlight of the show and the magnificent effects in Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds was another show-stopper.

It’s worth a trip if  you know what to expect. The show is basically a  concert with some bells and whistles.

Runs till Saturday March 5.

By Dave Toomer