Annals of Rock Stardom
- Details
- Created: Friday, 15 April 2005 16:00
The Boston Phoenix
Issue Date: April 15 - 21, 2005
In some ways, Brad Delp is just like any other 60s-era Beatles fanatic. There is no end to his knowledge of Beatles trivia. If you ask him how old he is, he tells you he will turn 54 on June 12, six days before Paul McCartney s 63rd birthday. And he remembers exactly where he was when he first heard "Strawberry Fields Forever": in a parking lot at his high school in Danvers. He even recalls that the DJ wondered aloud whether it was a joke, "because it was sort of an unusual song."
Still, Delp is no ordinary Beatles fan. As the frontman for Boston, he has performed classic rock anthems such as "More Than a Feeling," "Amanda," and "Don t Look Back" to capacity crowds in mega arenas across the world for the past 30 years. So you ve got to wonder why he would want to play small-town gigs in Beatle Juice, a Beatles tribute band.
"It s the only thing I can do that makes me feel 15 again," said Delp, sitting on the edge of a beat-up leather couch between sets at Johnny D s, in Somerville, on a recent Saturday.
The Beatles have shaped Delp s musical career from the very beginning. Soon after seeing the Fab Four on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1964, he set off to Sears to buy his first electric guitar. "It cost $60, and it had an amplifier built into the case, which was a great thing," he says, "and it was all of five watts." The same year, he joined his first cover band the Iguanas. "We all thought, Well, let s see, we re 14; certainly by the time we re 17, we ll be famous, " he laughs.
Ever the devotee, Delp saw the Beatles perform at Suffolk Downs on the hot summer night of August 18, 1966. He showed up early and hopped the fence. Although the band was nowhere in sight, Delp was able to snag a autograph from Beatles roadie Mal Evans.
Years later, he was asked to sing the second verse of "Get Back" as a solo with Ringo s All-Starr Band at Great Woods, but the evening got off to a bad start. Ringo introduced the singer to the audience as "Brad Dell," and when it was time for Delp to sing, he came in several bars late because he thought the band was going to play the song the same way the Beatles did, with a musical bridge in the middle. Even for a rock star, it seems, being a Beatles fanatic can have its embarrassing moments.
Delp has since worked on two music projects with Beatles producer George Martin, including a 1999 show with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra that Martin guest-conducted. Delp likes to talk about the time Martin took him and several other musicians out for dinner. He was "sort of the host of the meal," Delp says. "His hair is fairly long ... and he was surrounded by all of his disciples, and the first thing he said was, Any resemblance between this gathering and the Last Supper is purely coincidental. "
Beatle Juice will perform at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, April 18.
Issue Date: April 15 - 21, 2005
In some ways, Brad Delp is just like any other 60s-era Beatles fanatic. There is no end to his knowledge of Beatles trivia. If you ask him how old he is, he tells you he will turn 54 on June 12, six days before Paul McCartney s 63rd birthday. And he remembers exactly where he was when he first heard "Strawberry Fields Forever": in a parking lot at his high school in Danvers. He even recalls that the DJ wondered aloud whether it was a joke, "because it was sort of an unusual song."
Still, Delp is no ordinary Beatles fan. As the frontman for Boston, he has performed classic rock anthems such as "More Than a Feeling," "Amanda," and "Don t Look Back" to capacity crowds in mega arenas across the world for the past 30 years. So you ve got to wonder why he would want to play small-town gigs in Beatle Juice, a Beatles tribute band.
"It s the only thing I can do that makes me feel 15 again," said Delp, sitting on the edge of a beat-up leather couch between sets at Johnny D s, in Somerville, on a recent Saturday.
The Beatles have shaped Delp s musical career from the very beginning. Soon after seeing the Fab Four on The Ed Sullivan Show, in 1964, he set off to Sears to buy his first electric guitar. "It cost $60, and it had an amplifier built into the case, which was a great thing," he says, "and it was all of five watts." The same year, he joined his first cover band the Iguanas. "We all thought, Well, let s see, we re 14; certainly by the time we re 17, we ll be famous, " he laughs.
Ever the devotee, Delp saw the Beatles perform at Suffolk Downs on the hot summer night of August 18, 1966. He showed up early and hopped the fence. Although the band was nowhere in sight, Delp was able to snag a autograph from Beatles roadie Mal Evans.
Years later, he was asked to sing the second verse of "Get Back" as a solo with Ringo s All-Starr Band at Great Woods, but the evening got off to a bad start. Ringo introduced the singer to the audience as "Brad Dell," and when it was time for Delp to sing, he came in several bars late because he thought the band was going to play the song the same way the Beatles did, with a musical bridge in the middle. Even for a rock star, it seems, being a Beatles fanatic can have its embarrassing moments.
Delp has since worked on two music projects with Beatles producer George Martin, including a 1999 show with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra that Martin guest-conducted. Delp likes to talk about the time Martin took him and several other musicians out for dinner. He was "sort of the host of the meal," Delp says. "His hair is fairly long ... and he was surrounded by all of his disciples, and the first thing he said was, Any resemblance between this gathering and the Last Supper is purely coincidental. "
Beatle Juice will perform at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, April 18.
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