The Fab Four

The Fab Four (officially The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute) is a California tribute band, later starring in a theatrical production, paying homage to the Beatles. They are based in Orange County, California. Founded in November 1997 by Westminster-born John Lennon impersonator Ron McNeil (born Ronald Mendonça), Alhambra-born Paul McCartney impersonator Ardavan Sarraf, along with Los Angeles-born George Harrison impersonator Michael Amador and Ontario-born Ringo Starr impersonator Rudolpho Sandoval, the group began performing Beatles music throughout Southern California and later the U.S. West Coast starting in 1998. They have performed worldwide in Japan, Malaysia, France, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil, covering nearly the entire Beatles discography and material from some of the Beatles' members' solo projects. The show is a faithfully detailed chronological history of the Beatles from their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 to their breakup in 1970. The show has brief on-stage banter and interactions with the audience directly, but otherwise very little dialogue, mainly reenacting songs that the Beatles performed live along with songs from the members' solo works after the breakup. The band never uses pre-recorded tracks or a backstage fifth member (only in special performances), instead relying on the members to use keyboards to produce background instruments in songs like "Strawberry Fields Forever". Since then, the Fab Four became globally famous and received critical acclaim from critics, audiences, and fans for its faithful recreation of the Beatles' live performances, including performing multiple residencies in Disneyland and Las Vegas, performing at various Beatles-themed and musical festivals, performing for numerous celebrities including those who are in the Beatles' innercircle, and winning an Emmy award for their 2012 PBS TV special. The band has since toured across the U.S. and Canada, and occasionally performed outside North America. The band is considered by several news outlets and critics to be one of the best Beatles tribute bands of all time. According to McNeil, he mentioned that "It's no big secret that our rivals are a group called Rain", being the band's main competitor Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles. According to the Los Angeles Times, the band was nicknamed "The Best Beatles Show in The World." According to Sarraf, Paul McCartney's touring band has copies of the Fab Four's CDs on their tour bus.