Britain's Finest is one of the most authentic Beatles tribute bands to emerge in the last 20 years.It's All-Star cast has been rapidly gaining both national and international attention with their hauntingly accurate recreation of all the iconic eras in The Beatles history.
Britain's Finest was featured twice on AXS TV's "World's Greatest Tribute Bands" held the top four spots in the Volume 5 compilation song chart of the same name available on iTunes.
On Chris Carter’s Sunday morning’s “Breakfast with the Beatles” show on KLOS 95.5,
Chris Carter said: “Interviewing Britain’s Finest must have been what it would’ve been like interviewing the Beatles.” Britain’s Finest was also featured in an article by Niki Payne on CBS Los Angeles, Best Tribute bands in LA, in which Payne wrote: “Britain’s Finest is as close to the real deal as you may ever find in this lifetime.” What's more, Lee DeCarlo, recording engineer for John Lennon’s “Double Fantasy” album said to the band after a performance at a private event: “You guys are really great, you remind me so much of the lads."
Britain’s Finest has performed at venues like: Knott’s Berry Farm, The Lawrence Welk Theater, Beatles Fair - San Diego, Summer Concert’s in the park, Hard Rock Café - Las Vegas, Encore, House of Blues - San Diego, Del Mar Fab Fair 2014, Speaking Rock Entertainment Center, San Felipe Hollywood Casino, Fountain Inn Performing Arts Center and many more. Summer 2015 the band is performing once again at Knott's Berry Farm.
So, what do Britain's Finest think about bringing the true Beatles Experience to fans everywhere?
Let's find out!
Question: What made you form Britain's Finest?
Robert J. Bielma, George Harrison: We formed the band because of our love for the Beatles, their music, and because the message their music expresses. LOVE! And these sexy tight black trousers.
Luis G. Renteria, Ringo Starr: After years of us playing in different bands, we decided to form this one and be the best of the best. At least that what we tell ourselves. But of course it's also the love we collectively have as Beatle fans that brought us together. But, besides us being band mates we're also all close friends, a brotherhood of sorts, we've share one bed in many occasions, even though we had separate rooms.
Benjamin David Chadwick, Paul McCartney: We formed the band because of our love for the Beatles, and of course we wanted to be rich, famous, and travel the world. Quitting our day jobs was also a factor, being a Beatle for a living is a dream come true for all of us.
Robert J. Bielma: That's a hard question to answer, we're all going to say we're the biggest. But I can honestly say I've been a fan the longest, my parents would play Beatles songs to stop me from crying when I was a newborn, according to my mom, it worked like a charm. I've been a fanatic since.
Luis G. Renteria: We all are, really. I think a lot of the way we interact with our fans / friends has a big Beatle vibe to it. We love, respect, and dissect the music, of course. But through osmosis, somehow, we've taken on their sense of humor and love to spread
Tyson Kelly: No, I love the Beatles the most, hold me!!
Benjamin David Chadwick: I think we ALL are. I say that because each of us, in different respects, love a certain facet of the Beatles. Robert, for instance is a VERY detail oriented guy. He can tell you what color underwear they had on during which particular concert. In a way it's sort of like we have different super powers that collectively bring us together to help fight crime... Crime being, hatred of Beatles. Luis is the pink ranger, he focuses on the business aspect of the Beatles. I'm the blue ranger and my focus lies in the complete seriousness that my character exudes. (Right?!) The Beatles themselves are the inspiration for our group. We think of them as REAL people who weren't just musicians, but were friends too. So we think it's important to bring that to the table.
Robert J. Bielma: Not just because I perform as George
Harrison, but "Something" has always been a very loving and touching
song. It's great from beginning to end. One of George's best. I always get a
great crowd reaction after the guitar solo.
Luis G. Renteria: There's too many to list. John, Paul, and George really had a maturity to their lyrics. They were 20 something year old kids, writing with a depth commonly associated with older, wiser folk. They were philosophers and knew how to evoke emotion with their lyrics and melodies on a consistent basis. Nowhere Man stands out, in particular, for me.
Tyson Kelly: In My Life. It's a great song, with great lyrics, and a great melody. It has great written all over it!
Benjamin David Chadwick: Yellow Submarine. Or not. I suppose "Something" is a song that has a great vibe and a sweet sentiment. So... if I had to choose..."Something."
Robert J. Bielma: I never thought of it that way, we go up
there and just have fun. We've studied the music, and their on stage persona,
but we're also a band of guys that love to joke around with each other, and
that's the charm the Beatles had, each of them were likable. And that's what we
try to bring to each show.
Luis G. Renteria: Oh yes, definitely. We are here to provide an authentic experience. I think it proved to weigh so heavy on Benny (Paul), that even though he is right handed, he learned how to play those Hofner and Rickenbacker Basses left handed. There was more pressure when we started out. But, rest assured, that generation of Beatles fans have set us straight after every show. And, we continue to learn from them til this day. I like when a new fan shares with us their story of when they first saw the Beatles. It's always different and the same, all at the same time. While we perform, we love seeing the faces of that first generation of Beatles fans, as they're transported back in time.
Tyson Kelly: If the venue that were playing it does not have a bar, we can feel the weight of the silver Audi. We obviously have to make a choice, before the show begins if these people start clicking the glasses then we know it's going to be a good one.
Benjamin David Chadwick: Of course! I surmise that, arguably, the Beatles are THE most important pop band EVER. We're just hoping to bring joy to the folks who appreciate the character and music of such a beloved band. That said, it's not easy to please such avid fans. People love the details. If we miss the details, we hear about it. So we work hard to bring the music and ideals behind it, to life.
Robert J. Bielma: Having fans of all ages enjoying the music
The Beatles wrote and performed. I also love the applause and admiration,
that's also is a plus. The fans love you as if you're the character you're
portraying.
Luis G. Renteria: Everything! Absolutely everything! Most of all, getting to play the greatest music of all time, all the time. I love the technical element of the show. I love hanging with friends and fans after the show. And, I get to work with my best friends, Benny, Rob, and Ty.
Tyson Kelly: Absorbing all the attention gives a man more power than he knows what to do with. I am actually Ironman...but nobody knows it.
Benjamin David Chadwick: Personally, I enjoy seeing someone who hasn't attended a tribute act before. You can spot them by the way their faces light up when they catch us recreating something that they love about The Beatles. That moment when someone is, clearly impressed by something we've managed to capture in our performance.
Question: If you were invited to Buckingham Palace to sing for the Royal Family, what song would you perform?
Robert J.Bielma: "Twist and Shout" all the way, so
we can do the famous John Lennon line about rattling your jewelry. Plus, people
always enjoy the more upbeat tempo songs.
Luis G. Renteria: Got To Get You Into My Life, in reference to the "bathroom incident" (wink, wink!). That's an in joke, you know!
Tyson Kelly: You're going to lose that pearl...
Benjamin David Chadwick: Angel Of Death by Slayer. That would confuse them nicely.
Robert J. Bielma: How well can you know anyone, really? I'm
sure they each had their secrets they keep out of the lime light, their
skeletons in the closet.
Luis G. Renteria: A lot of people feel John was the "leader" of the group, but Paul "led" the group for most of the psychedelic era and beyond. We commonly attribute John as being "trippier" but we see that Paul had the heaviest impact in direction for their more critically acclaimed works like Sgt Pepper. I'm not sure we can know EVERYTHING about any one person or group but Beatle Fandom being what it is, there are a legion of documentarians who have researched and continue to research their lives. Maybe more than other more traditional historical figures, still.
Tyson Kelly: I think they were very good at appearing comfortable when they clearly were bombarded by the press for so many years. But they were trying to get where they were and by the time they achieved all the fame, I think they knew it was their destiny. I'm sure there's lots of things that we will never know about the Beatles. You can read many books as you like but in the end we will just never know.
The First: The Beatles are just the boy-band of their generation. ...mmmm that's partially correct. In terms of driving all the females (and males) wild, sure, that statement is viable. However, that sentiment is generally delivered in a negative tone, by folks trying to convince me that The Beatles are overrated. I would respond by saying, The Beatles wrote their own songs. NO boy-band I'm aware of, does that. All the music was performed live, NOT just the vocals as it is seen in modern groups. Were they directed, by management, to upgrade their image in order to make them (The Beatles) more marketable? Yes! Does that make them like all boy-bands? Yes! Do I care? Nope! If you write songs that stand the test of time for decades, wear a tutu and a hockey mask. I don't care.
The Second: Ringo is a lucky drummer who wasn't very good. Can you play EXACTLY what he played, without embellishing ANYTHING? Don't play what you THINK he's playing... Play WHAT he's playing. I've yet to meet a drummer who's made that claim against Ringo, and then can do what I just asked. It's harder than you think. Ringo wrote parts that fit the songs beautifully. You're missing out if you just write him off as "lucky", without REALLY listening to his work.
The Third: Yoko broke up the Beatles. - I know this one's indirectly about The Beatles, but for those of you that think that Yoko broke up the band, you're really insinuating that The Beatles were stupid people who let one person come in and destroy their union. The Beatles broke up The Beatles. That's the truth. If you hate Yoko, throw away your "Imagine" album among others. John was inspired by her and wrote great music on account of that inspiration. So get over it. And yes, of course it's possible to not know everything about the Beatles. In fact, it's impossible TO know everything about them.
Question: What are some of your favorite places to perform?
Robert J. Bielma: We love playing in front of people, so
where ever people can gather, we enjoy performing for them. But, to name
specific places, theaters, casino's, cruise ships, and performing art centers.
Luis G. Renteria: Beatles Festivals / Conventions are always the best! We get to nerd out with and perform for equally nerdy fans, like ourselves. Beatles fans are crazy! In the best way, of course.
Tyson Kelly: Wellllllll...Auckland New Zealand, and the Cellar Door in Visalia!
Benjamin David Chadwick: Mexico! Hermosillo! It is a beautiful place for us. The fans are so amazing! We've had nothing but great experiences with that country!! But, honestly, anywhere we go outside of metropolitan areas, seems to really appreciate what we're doing. I hate to single anybody out. It's really great to be ANYWHERE that Beatles fans are!
Question: So, which band member looks the most like he could have actually been in The Beatles?
Robert J. Bielma: That would be me! Right guys?
Luis G. Renteria: Tyson (John). He's got good sideburns.
Tyson Kelly: Luis Renteria (Ringo), definitely!
Benjamin David Chadwick: Robert! He thinks he's sooooooo special! (Laughs...sort of!)
Question: If you could go back in time and meet The Beatles when they first stormed America, would you take like a million selfies of you with your favorite band member?
Luis G. Renteria: Just one, actually. I'd recreate that famous Ringo selfie, side by side with him. Him with his Pentax, me with my iPhone.
Tyson Kelly: No, just hopefully get a good hang session with them.
Benjamin David Chadwick: Absolutely not. I'd just admire them from wherever I was standing. I'd love to see them candidly, living in the moment. I wouldn't bother telling them how great they are AGAIN. If they wanted to talk to me, I'd dig that. But I'd leave them alone. Maybe I'd sneak a shot of them. I think I'd rather just live the moment, rather than capture it.
Luis G. Renteria: A young gal named Lauren once drew us as cartoons. She captured our personal likeness, but in our "Ed Sullivan" costumes. We printed that image on T-shirts. Another young gal named Molly made muffins with our likeness in frosting form. I was a chocolate muffin and I was good!
Tyson Kelly: I would say the Rick 325 I play, it was a gift from Twen Ma, our benefactor and amazing soul of a man!
Benjamin David Chadwick: I got a fan-made, knit cap AND custom T-shirt.
Question: What will be the legacy of Britain's Finest?
Robert J. Bielma: That we were the most authentic and fun
band to watch in the world. Also, the first Beatles tribute band on Mars!
Luis G. Renteria: They loved and respected The Beatles. So much so, they were willing to put on wigs to show it - despite their mum's warnings.
Tyson Kelly: Our recipe for chicken soup.
Benjamin David Chadwick: Our legacy will hopefully, be that we're the band that you feel like you know. In other words, we want to have our fans say, "yeah I met them and they were super friendly and approachable." I like to illustrate to folks that we're just big Beatles fans ourselves and we know that it's not rocket science. It's rock and roll. We're just trying to get away from the hard things in life for a couple of hours, and escape with you to, what feels like, a more simple moment in time. We're just guys that want to impress our friends and our fans ARE our friends. At least we hope so!
For more information or to book Britain's Finest,
contact CJ DiRoma at cjdiroma@stationave.com or call 215-644-8171.
contact CJ DiRoma at cjdiroma@stationave.com or call 215-644-8171.
