29 Sep 2025
The Bootleg Beatles are returning to St Albans on October 9, bringing their highly-acclaimed tribute to the Fab Four to the Alban Arena for one night only. Deborah Heath caught up with George, aka Stephen Hill, to gain a behind-the-scenes insight into the show.
Got To Get You Into My Life
The Bootleg Beatles are taking the long and winding road to St Albans so to give readers a taste of what is to come I met up with Stephen Hill who has played George Harrison for the last 11 years.
Now, I am a very serious Beatles fan and was lucky enough to see the real Paul and Ringo perform last year. Although obviously seeing George is out of the question, meeting Stephen felt like the next best thing. I wasn’t expecting him to be the same sort of age as me, nor was I expecting him to look like (a healthier version of) Bez from the Happy Mondays, but I quickly got over the surprise and we began by talking about the enduring quality of The Beatles’ music and how Stephen’s love for it began.
Yesterday
“I think as with most people it was at school. I remember singing ‘Yellow Submarine’ and ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’ while some old lady played the piano.”
Over Stephen’s childhood, he developed a love for the Beatles’ work and in the 1990s, at 10 years old, his dad took him to see the Bootleg Beatles in his hometown of Wolverhampton. He was smitten. After leaving school, Stephen worked as a session guitarist ending up with two years playing George in the concert-style production ‘Let It Be’ in the West End. He then auditioned to replace the original Bootleg George and was “thrilled” to get the role – he has been with them ever since.
And Your Bird Can Sing
“My favourite song has always been ‘Help’ – it’s that instant attack on the ears; the harmonies, the lyrics. I look forward to playing it every show.”
I asked if any numbers were tricky but of course with so many years of practice and working together, the band just know what they’re doing.
The St Albans show is one of the last gigs of this year’s tour and Stephen thinks it’s pretty special. There are film sections which make it a little bit different, one of which includes Stephen playing the sitar for ‘Love You To’.
Magical Mystery Tour
The Bootleg Beatles are certainly the best tribute band I have seen but I asked Stephen to explain why he thinks they are head and shoulders above the rest.
“Well there aren’t many who have an orchestra like us – it just elevates the experience. Obviously, there’s our skillset, we can really sing and play, but it’s also about the visuals – the make up, the wigs, Ringo’s prosthetic nose. A lot of money goes into it. What we have is a whole layered show.”
Of course, we know as an audience that we aren’t going to see the real Beatles but we want to feel for that two hour period that we are.
“We want to keep everyone believing,” explains Stephen “There’s nothing worse than going to see a tribute band and no one looks like the originals. The illusion is gone.”
Come Together
Stephen talked warmly about his band mates (Steve White as Paul, Paul Canning as John and Gordon Elsmore as Ringo). They have to get on because their schedule is pretty intensive. They are together every day, touring all year and only getting about two weeks off for a family holiday. “We love it and buzz of the sound of it all.”
Fixing A Hole
This autumn The Bootlegs will begin rehearsing next year’s show but with a big change – after many years of playing Paul McCartney, Steve White has stepped down. They have just auditioned for his replacement (announcement coming soon) which was “a nerve-wracking experience”. Everyone came in costume, had to perform and sing in the right way and that included playing the guitar left-handed which is incredibly difficult if you are right-handed.
“You have to learn again from scratch,” Stephen said.
It must be so hard to find the right replacements, but I was impressed to know that the original four Bootlegs have stayed on as managers to oversee their successors. This must have a lot to do with their ongoing quality and popularity.
Do You Want To Know A Secret
Finally, I asked Stephen to pass on some advice to aspiring musicians. He admitted that social media has made the world very different to when he started out over 20 years ago but his advice was simple: “Find people you like playing with and just gig, just play. Put yourself out there.”
The End
There are only a few tickets still available for the Arena show and they can be purchased via the website at https://everyonetheatres.com/whats-on/the-bootleg-beatles/
