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Update (4/11/08)
(2/23/2008) Longtime readers of Abbeyrd's Beatles Page will recall that in the over dozen years we've been doing this, we've offered praise to many Beatle and Beatle-related projects.
Few Beatle-related acts have won our enthusiasm more than the Eleanor Rigby Experience, one of the most uniquely talented Beatle-related groups we'd ever heard. The group, which included lead singer Tina McBain and former members of Jethro Tull (drummer Clive Bunker) and ELO (guitarist Phil Bates), had a sound that could only be described as the Beatles meet Steeleye Span. It's two albums had the most incredibly unique interpretations of Beatle songs we'd ever heard and were an absolute joy to listen to.
Unfortunately, the group has not been heard from in quite a while. After touring with the Eleanor Rigby Experience, which Tina says was a great experience, she had a cancer scare, which took her out of the loop for a couple of years. "I am pleased to say that I am fighting fit now and back on track. But the lengthy lay off meant that the core members of the ERE had to be ‘let go’ to do their own projects," she told us in an email.
Here's more from Tina:
Just a little background for you: Mik Kaminski, the famous blue violinist with ELO, and Phil Bates of ELO ll and, of course, ERE are now in a band that are called The Orchestra (almost the same as ELO ll, with the exception that now Bev Bevan has left). They are touring again worldwide but have a major tour in March in the UK and October. They are regular players in the U.S. Have a look at this link which will show you Phil at work. This is an ELO ll clip (now called The Orchestra as stated, how confusing !!!!). The Orchestra play very large theatres and festivals worldwide. But Phil and Mik are developing a spin off project called Beatles, Blues and Blue Violin with me as a guest on selected gigs.We are hoping that the BBBV project will feature well in 2009, not only in the UK, but also overseas. But we have to fit it all in around Orchestra’s touring commitments. We are doing a short tour in November 2008 to get the project off the ground and a more extensive tour in March 2009. Here are the dates we are booked for so far in November 2008:
- Thursday 6th The Musician, Leicester
- Friday 7th The Diamond, Nottingham
- Saturday 8th Artrix Theatre, Worcestershire
- Thursday 13th Half Moon, London
- Friday 14th Solihull Arts Complex, Birmingham
- Saturday 15th The Cavern, Liverpool
- Sunday 16th The Stables, Milton Keynes
Tina says there will be an album by the group, as yet not completed, to accompany the BBBV tours. In the more immediate future, though, she says the black Eleanor Rigby Experience album, currently unavailable, is being reissued and this will be available for purchase from Phil Bates' website within the next couple of weeks.All information about the BBBV project is available from www.phil-bates.co.uk and for those interested in the ELO / ELOll / Orchestra connection, there are links to those sites from Phil’s site. (Comment: Those links didn't appear to work when we tested them. We'll let you know when the links are up and running.)
Late add: Tina emailed us and said the BBBV has been booked for The Acoustic Festival of Britain 2008 on May 26.
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