Growing up, the question was always: “Which one do you like best, John, Paul, George or Ringo?”
You could be heavily judged on your answer. Mine was always George. Dark, handsome, quiet, somehow more intriguing than cheeky chappies John and Paul, and the apparently blank Ringo.
But that was when they were The Beatles. Once they went their separate ways, we went on to new idols and George didn’t seem to surface that often in my life.
So Something About Productions touring show Something about George should have been the ideal opportunity to find out more about the post-Beatle life of ‘deep and complicated’ George.
Singer/narrator Daniel Taylor
Telling the story and singing the songs was Daniel Taylor, bringing with him an impressive list of singing/acting credits, from playing Tommy in The Tommy Cooper Show, to Sammy in the West End and National Tour of Blood Brothers.
He’s also a songwriter, touring UK and Ireland and with his first album, The Party Is Over, released last year.
Last night, Taylor was struggling with shortness of breath, and for that reason, kept the first half low key.
Old favourites
As a result the show didn’t quite take off at that point, despite competent renditions of beloved favourites like All Things Must Pass, If Not For You and My Sweet Lord.
But after the interval, Taylor re-appeared with added sparkle on his jacket, and added sparkle in his performance.
In a much more upbeat set list from The Beatles’ Taxman to the two Traveling Wilburys’ classics Handle With Care and End Of The Line, and ending with While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Taylor threw his all into his performance and had the Inverness audience on their feet.
The narrative told us little we didn’t know already about George and the rest of his life, and some of the back-projected images seemed, well, weird and distractingly short of the mark if they were meant to represent the psychedelic Sixties.
Huge set list
But there are 19 songs in the show, most but not all George’s compositions, and they were what the audience came for and loved.
Taylor was backed Tom Kinton on bass guitar, James Breckon on keyboard and Joe Smithson on lead guitar, all three also on vocals. Callum MacMillan was on percussion and drums.
All talented and creative musicians who brought their own brand of energy to the show, wrapping around Taylor when he was struggling to maintain his voice.
The tour continues, in Dundee tonight [February 9] before heading south and finishing in Ireland in late March.