Marcus Cahill and Los Escarabajos close the Mathew Street Festival

Playing at Beatle Week for the eighth year in a row, Spain's foremost Beatle group, Los Escarabajos (pronounced "es-cara-ba-Hos" and meaning, in English, "beetles") have been busy since their last appearance in Liverpool with a variety of musical projects. During 2009 and 2010 they have achieved the seminal challenge his founder had in mind, live performances of each and every one of The Beatles' songs. And they have done it in some memorable concerts, like the 40th anniversary of Abbey Road, available on YouTube, when they played the whole album.

Los Escarabajos will be performing six times by themselves during Beatle Week and two gigs where they will act as backing group for Australian singer and Lennon-specialist, Marcus Cahill. One of them will be the closing act at Derby Square for Mathew Street Festival, before an estimated audience of 50,.0000. They will play together the entire John Lennon's Imagine album, a never seen prowess at the Beatle Week, having in mind Lennon's death 30th anniversary on the 8th December this year.

Los Escarabajos

Created in 1993 by Sevillian writer, producer, musician and Beatles' historian, Enrique Sánchez (guitar, keyboards, vocals), the Los Escarabajos project has over its lifetime drawn on the talents of some 24 national and international musicians throughout the course of 17 large scale productions and 4 main line-up changes. Sánchez, for his part, is a widely regarded authority on all things Beatle, having published two books about the boys from Liverpool, presented various public and university exhibitions and lectures, as well as having been interviewed by the media in both Spain and England on several occasions.

However, Los Escarabajos is a lot more than just a great Beatles' tribute act, it's an on-going artistic project whose particular homage to the Fab Four, aside from live performance, encompasses a range of activities more akin to that of a ministry of culture or musicology research department. In addition to playing at major venues in its home country and elsewhere (Portugal, France and England), the band has toured dozens of elementary schools in Spain helping students appreciate the Beatles' legacy while also learning English.

The project has also explored the re-interpretation of various Beatles' works based on alternate studio out-takes, offered completed versions of certain John Lennon songs left unfinished by him at the time of his death and inaugurated a street dedicated to the Beatles in Almería, Spain, where Lennon wrote "Strawberry Fields Forever" in 1966. They've shared the bill or performed with various musicians who have themselves at one time played with the Beatles (such as Pete Best, former Beatle drummer, and Rod Davis, banjo player in John Lennon's original skiffle group, The Quarymen), and recorded a live album at The Cavern Club in Liverpool.

Besides founder Enrique, the line-up flying to Liverpool includes Santiago Jiménez (left-handed bass, vocals), Carlos Díaz (guitar, keyboards, vocals), José Antonio Salido (drums), José Carlos Seco (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Sánchez's own son, Enrique Jr. (guitar), showing that Beatlemania passes successfully from one generation to the next.

For more information about the Los Escarabajos, check out www.myspace.com/losescarabajoses (in English) or www.losescarabajos.com (in Spanish).

Published August 26, 2010

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