American English to perform at ECC
Daily Herald report
Beatles’ tribute band American English returns to Elgin Community College Saturday, April 23, with a special treat — cut-for-cut performances of the classic albums “Revolver” and “Rubber Soul.”
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. in the ECC Arts Center, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.
Both albums, released back-to-back in 1965 and 1966, were ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and featured new musical directions for the Beatles, from the guitar-heavy “Revolver,” featuring “Taxman,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Good Day Sunshine,” and “Got to Get You Into My Life,” to the folk-rock “Rubber Soul”, featuring “Michelle,” “Norwegian Wood (The Bird Has Flown),” “Nowhere Man” and “In My Life.”
Billed by fans as “The Ultimate Beatles’ Tribute Band,” American English’s crowning moment came in 2002, as they headlined International Beatle Week in Liverpool in front of more than 50,000 screaming Beatles’ fans. They also were voted “number one” by thousands of Beatles’ fans as winners of sound-alike contests at Beatlefest for three consecutive years.
The band earned the respect of Sam Leach, the original Beatles’ promoter from Liverpool, England, who called the band “The Beatles’ incarnate!” after seeing them perform.
Leach is currently promoting and managing American English, and under his wing, the group traced The Beatles’ historic footsteps and performed on the hallowed ground of several original Beatles’ venues.
They also recorded the concept album What If at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London. The album features songs that might have ended up on the next Beatles’ record if they had stayed together.
Tickets are $32. Tickets for all performances in the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC box office in the arts center. Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call (847) 622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.
For more information about the ECC Arts Center, visit elgin.edu/arts. Video clips of upcoming artists and events can be found at youtube.com/ECCArtsCenter. Connect with the arts center via Standing Room Only, a blog at eccartscenter.com. Follow the arts center on Twitter at twitter.com/ECCArtsCenter. Become a fan of the arts center on Facebook at facebook.com/ECCArtsCenter.