When Beethoven rolled over, Genuine Pluck took the spotlight

Sun, 09/07/2008 9:46 AM  |  Entertainment

On that very same day 46 years ago, Ringo Starr joined the not-yet-legendary Beatles, the fourth of the Fab Four, to become one of the luckiest young musicians in the 1960s.

But this time it was a windy Friday afternoon in Liverpool, and walking across the alley leading to the Cavern Club was not Ringo Starr, although looking a lot like him, but Indonesian-born Beni Pratama.

To his left and right walked three other band members, all sporting gray suits carefully tailored to mimic what the real Beatles wore for the cover of their Please Please Me album. These young men were Genuine Pluck.

The band, casually called G-Pluck, is the only Southeast Asian Beatles tribute band invited to participate at the Beatleweek festival in 25 years.

In less than 15 minutes the clock would strike four in the afternoon, which meant that it was time for the four men -- Awan Garnida as Paul McCartney, Beni Pratama as Ringo Starr, Adnan Sigit as John Lennon and Wawan Hid as George Harrison -- to perform onstage at the historic Cavern Club.

It was their first performance since arriving in Liverpool the day before, and nobody in the audience had ever seen them perform at that venue.

But the stage was set, spotlights were trained, and Genuine Pluck was ready.

"These guys flew 20 hours to be here," joked the master of ceremonies, "and they have to get back to Indonesia because they have a gig waiting."

Enthusiastic claps and cheers greeted the foursome as they launched into the first song in their repertoire, "Twist and Shout".

One by one, the puzzled looks out in the audience were replaced with enthusiastic smiles and occasional encouraging shouts and whistles echoed across the room.

"The band was chosen because we admire their enthusiasm, said Ray Jones from Cavern City Tours, one of the festival organizers.

About 500 applicants were reviewed and sifted through until only 40 bands remained. The 40 were invited to perform at the Cavern Club where the Beatles played regularly in the early 60s.

"The material that G-Pluck sent us, a recording of their performance, their photographs and their profile, arrived on time. And they were great," Jones said.

After wrapping up their first set, the four musicians, already drenched in sweat and raring to go, got ready for their next round. They performed 13 Beatles songs in all, from all the albums except Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Their repertoire included, among others, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You" and "Please, Please Me".

Awan, the spokesperson for G-Pluck, looked out at the crowd and said, "We're going to move on to the first film the Beatles made. As you know, this one is called "Help!"

In no time, around 200 people were dancing to the constant drumbeat, the melodious weave of the bass and guitar, and the solid and undulating harmonies of the three front men -- "Help me get my feet back on the ground, won't you please, please, help me" -- thick with the British accents distinct to the Beatles.

Help was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in 1965, when the band started to feel burdened by the pressure of growing expectations from their fame.

"The band was really brilliant," said 28-year-old Judith, who flew all the way from Germany for the 2008 Beatleweek festival.

She praised Sigit's impersonation of John Lennon for his perfect accent. "And the way he stands," she added, "is just like the way John Lennon stands. And only a Beatles fan would know that."

Another avid Beatles fan, Phil Weeder, also commented on the band's precision in adopting the personae of the world's most acclaimed rock 'n' roll band and pioneers of their time.

By the fourth day of the festival performances, the band, already acknowledged by the Liverpool audience, made their appearance on the Billy Butler show on BBC Radio Merseyside.

At the end of the broadcast a smile broke out on Butler's face. Right after he shut off the mike, he winked and said, "brilliant".

--Lovelli Ariesti

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