ALTHOUGH I wouldn’t wish to be old before my time, I would have loved to experience Beatlemania.

For if last night’s performance by The Bootleg Beatles is anything to go by, it must have been amazing.

I’d heard that as tribute bands go they are the original and the best as they don’t just sound like the real thing, they look the part too. Their mannerisms and delivery style was spot on. Paul was brilliant from the start and John got better as the night went on.

But it was the way all four engaged with the audience that really gave the show energy.

Almost from the moment they appeared on stage, people were clapping and singing and it wasn’t long before everyone was up their feet.

For two-and-a-half hours the Fab Four belted out one hit after another starting with the early hits I Want To Hold Your Hand and Hard Day’s Night through to the more surreal Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, accompanied by a string duo and brass band, while images from the Swinging Sixties played on a big screen to set the scene.

If you like the Beatles, you can’t miss this.