The Bootleg Beatles in Concert

The Bootleg Beatles are back at York Barbican on Monday 14 December, with a show that runs through the whole arc of the Fab Four. It's not just a handful of the big hits; they're tracing the line from those first nights in a small Liverpool basement right through to the rooftop concert in London, covering the eight years they spent at the top.

The set is built around seven of the Beatles' most iconic live performances, and the songs come from five of their best-selling albums: Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt Pepper, The White Album and Abbey Road. Having an orchestra on stage with them changes the feel, too — it's a full sound rather than just a four-piece band, and they're playing to the arrangements of the records.

That precision is what people usually talk about when they see them. The Telegraph called it "less a tribute, more a reincarnation", and Jeremy Vine put it as "It's incredible, you're in the room with The Beatles". It's that kind of thing that makes it more than just a covers band — they're going for the sound and the feel of the original records, not just the melodies.

So if you've got a soft spot for the Beatles, it's a good one to have on the radar. The Bootleg Beatles play York Barbican on Monday 14 December, with the set moving through seven of their most famous live moments and five of their biggest albums, backed by an orchestra.