There have been fakers and imitators, tributes and rip-offs, but no one sounds like The Beatles on record—including the ex-Beatles. Nevertheless, some efforts have come closer than others, the most successful being those that have managed to capture the group’s essence rather than just replicate its sound while matching the standard of song material. In this episode, we dive into the good, the bad and the ugly—including those recordings which, bearing zero resemblance to the Fab Four, were promoted by bootleggers during the 1970s to fill the vacuum created by all of those unfounded Beatles-reunion rumours.

The Music

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• ‘Cheese and Onions’ - The Rutles
  
• ‘Can’t Get it Out of My Head’ – ELO
  
• ‘Because’ – Julian Lennon
  
• ‘Have You Heard the Word?’ – The Fut
  
• ‘Return to Pepperland’ – Paul McCartney
  
• ‘When We Was Fab’ – George Harrison
  
• ‘Lies’ – The Knickerbockers
  
• ‘The Girl I Love’ – The Five Shits
  
• ‘Pay Attention to Me’ – The Tikis
  
• ‘Talkin’ About the Good Times’ – Pretty Things
  
• ‘The L.S. Bumble Bee’ – Peter Cook and Dudley Moore
  
• ‘Black is Black’ – Lord Sitar
  
• ‘Carousel of Love’ – Peter Best
  
• ‘So Much in Love’ - McGough & McGear
  
• ‘We Are The Moles’ – The Moles
  
• ‘Peace of Mind’ – unknown
  
• ‘Frenzy and Distortion’ – Ravi Shankar
  
• ‘Pink Litmus Paper Shirt’ – unknown
  
• ‘No Matter What’ – Badfinger
  
• ‘Come and Get It’ – Badfinger
  
• ‘Sun in Her Hand’ – Blond
  
• ‘Coz I Luv You’ – Slade
  
• ‘Just a Smile’ – Pilot
  
• ‘Neanderthal Man’ – Hotlegs
  
• ‘I Must Be in Love’ – The Rutles
  
• ‘Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft’ – Klaatu
  
• ‘She Still Loves Him’ – Jellyfish
  
• ‘Sittin’ Here in Silence (On My Own)’ – Oasis
  
• ‘Costafine Town’ – Splinter