By Luke Voogt
People often ask the members of Beatle’s tribute act Rubber Soul if they hail from Liverpool, says guitarist David Gillard.
“We do all the banter,” the band’s ‘George Harrison’ told the Indy Monday, fresh from Albury’s Beatles Weekend festival.
“We want to take them on a magical mystery tour.”
The Melbourne guitarist was part of Australian pop-rock band The Xentrix in the 1980s, along with two other members now in Rubber Soul.
“We always got told ‘gee you guys sound very Beatlesque’,” he said.
“It got a bit annoying to be told that because we were trying to be original.”
In 2003 they decided to create a cover act and went on to play across Australia and the world.
“We were all huge fans of the Beatles,” Gillard said. “We were young enough to have missed their heyday but old enough to know what they did.
“We’ve got that kind chemistry that you just can’t get from some guys you advertise for in the paper.
“It’s gone much further and been much more fun and successful than we ever dreamed.”
In 2015 they were on board the Centenary of Anzac Day cruise alongside Daryl Braithwaite, Ross Wilson, Kate Ceberano and John Williamson.
“There were 3500 people on board including the crew. I never thought it was going to eventuate but it certainly came up quick enough.”
Rubber Soul play a two sets, one dedicated to Beatlemania and the other with the band decked out in colourful Sergeant Pepper outfits.
They belt out songs the Beatles rarely sang live, including Penny Lane and I am the Walrus, to the joy of fans who saw the originals.
“I think I’ve met every single person who saw them in Festival Hall (in Melbourne in 1964) there’s been that many,” Gillard said.
He looked forward to playing at Geelong RSL on Saturday night 24 June.
“It’s always gone down very well there. It’s good to know the locals like it.”
