As long as there have been popular entertainers there have been people eager to cash in on their success for themselves. I can imagine a clever Neanderthal wag putting some ash on their nose, hamming it up and getting a huge laugh from their mates because that cave person had seen an even more clever Neanderthal joker originating the gag in another cave back in the day. By the time the Beatles played the Ed Sullivan Show there had been plenty of records released that were geared to make the unwary think they were getting gold when they were getting tin. After that pivotal moment, though, a lightbulb went off in an unprecedented number of hucksters’ heads with a laser sharp focus on this one particular group of Liverpool lads and a Faux Fab Four Frenzy was born: “All I need is a photo of some kids with shaggy wigs, some loopy ‘yeah, yeah, yeahs’ tossed in, the word BEAT on the cover and/or the insinuation of Britain being the origin of the music and I can rake in big bucks from all the rubes who fall for this silly shtick!”

One of the most egregious examples is pictured above. Yes, Pete Best had played with the Beatles for years and was with them when they were on the verge of making it big. Yes, that is his face circled on the cover of the album, along with John, Paul, George and Stu. But the notion that no one would make the assumption that this was a greatest hits collection by the real deal was ludicrous in the extreme. Pete had moved on and in 1966 he was taken under the wing of Bob Gallo who took the music Pete was cranking out with a new batch of beat musicians and packaged it in a way that guaranteed it would be misconstrued as being genuine Beatles product. It’s not a bad album, but it’s not a particularly good one either. The ruse continued on the inner vinyl label: no songwriters are identified and at least several songs, “Shimmy Like My Sister Kate” and “Some Other Guy” were songs the actual Beatles had covered early in their career. This is an album I had been lusting after for years, based on the cover, and I’m mighty glad I finally found it at a decent price.

I started collecting the dubious fruits of these charlatans’ labors from the get go, though it wasn’t originally a conscious effort and it would be quite a few years between my first acquisition and my second. A neighbor bought the Buggs’ “The Beetle Beat” for her teen, thinking it was the Beatles album they had asked for. Said teen was not fooled and informed mom they wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. I was happy to get it as a hand me down and thought it was just about as good as the real McCoy. I still do! It stayed in my small collection as I picked up records by Herman and the Hermits, the Dave Clark Five, the Left Banke, etc., etc., etc. It was probably about ten years later that I started picking up other sham product for the kitsch value and developed an appreciation for the deception involved and the ridiculous nature of the music. I will be showcasing a number of shady Beatles-ish records and giving a brief review and/or random thoughts about them. I will also include some related novelty records; some genre Beatles mashups; and some albums by respected artists who took a diversion into Beatling (a term I did not coin, but am quite fond of), some with heartfelt gems, others with humorous results. I will also expand this article with additional selections by guest contributors (I feel like I have a fairly large collection, but I know there are plenty of other examples out there). If you have something you think is relevant that I have not included, send me a cover image and a few words about the record and I’ll include the release and give you a plug.

The Buggs album, “Beetle Beat” (Coronet Records, USA), is the gold standard as far as I’m concerned. Everything on the cover is total BS! The blokes pictured are models who had no connection to the “real” band, which was the Coachmen V (featuring Gary Wright of Spooky Tooth and “Dream Weaver” fame!) from New Jersey. The songs that John and Paul did not write (other than “Just One Look”) are by Lor Crane and Joan Kingsbury, who were, like the pretty boy models, not part of the band. The actual song titles have nothing to do with the Swinging London references. My favorite is “You Got Me Bugged,” which is listed as “Mersey Mercy.” The reason I like this album so much is because the group put their heart and soul into their performances of some derivative, but surprisingly good material and the vibe is spot on gear fab! It’s also the one I’ve been digging since I got it back in 1964! There is a bit more info available about this on Wikipedia, which is where I gleaned a good bit of the background information.

In 1966 the same huckster who put out “Beetle Beat” released “Boots A Go-Go with the Buggs.” I don’t have a copy, but I might just as well have. The cover graphics, front and back, feature dancing girls and a story about how the Buggs are masters of the new Go-Go craze. The viny inside, however, is the same in every respect as the earlier album. This was a ploy to offload copies of the original sham that didn’t sell the first time around.

The three albums pictured above contain the exact same vinyl inside with different info on the covers and on the center vinyl paper. One source, Everybody Wiki, claims the entity was known as the Liverpool Beats then changed their name to Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots. The “Liverpool Beats!” LP is on Rondo Records, out of New York. The “Merseyside Sound” LP lists the band as the Beats. It is on Stereo-Spectrum Records, also out of New York. “Merseymania” lists the band as Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots (Allegro Records, UK). According to what I have found online, there was an entity called Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots, which included Billy Shepherd, songwriter and musician; Jimmy Fraser, songwriter and possible musician; and some other long forgotten studio cats. There are/were some weird conspiracy theories that connected this group with the Paul is dead nonsense, but you didn’t hear this from me! Sgt. Billy Pepper? Nah!!!! The music is decent throughout and the performances listenable, though the vocals are delivered a tad on the rough side. They have the basic Beatles style down pretty well, from the juvenile boy/girl charm bracelet love scenarios to the wobbly “oooohs,” but aside from the two hits, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “I Saw Her Standing There,” there is nothing particularly memorable here. I have no idea how I ended up with all these versions of this album, but I guess someone has to hoard this crap. On some level I suppose I am the ideal target parent; I fell for the same shoddy ruse three times!

The Beatles hailed from the northern port city of Liverpool. The fab lads were so beloved that anything associated with their home turf was also revered. It is no wonder that a number of ersatz rip-off entities were christened with a name geared toward making the unwary think they were also Liverpudlians. The folks who foisted these two albums on unsuspecting record buyers were from America. Ladies and gentlemen, the Liverpools! The earlier LP, “Beatle Mania! in the U.S.A.” contains four of the earliest of the Lennon/McCartney mega hits and six songs that were written by people associated with the label, Wyncote. Kal Mann (who co-wrote “(Let Me be Your) Teddy Bear”) has credits as do Straigis, Appell, Baderak and Richards (no Stones were involved with this product, I guarantee you), in various configurations. The non-Beatles numbers are all silly approximations of what someone at the time thought Beatles songs boiled down to. I have no idea how many color combinations they used for the cover. I have two; I think that’s more than enough! The second album is included because I dig the cover and it’s such a perfect example of the devious entrepreneurial spirit behind these records. “The Hit Sounds from England” has passable versions of “House of the Rising Sun,” “Don’t Throw Your Love Away,” “I Like it” and “She’s Not There.” The other six songs are the exact same lame filler tunes used on the previous LP! These shysters had more balls than a major league sports organization!!

There is at least one other cover that was used for the earlier record. The one pictured is on Cameo Parkway Records, released in the Netherlands. I don’t own a copy of it and it’s doubtful I ever will, but the future is a fickle beast. I’m including this image because I like the graphic so much.

Palace Records (USA) put out these artifacts that took me on a trip to the Twilight Zone! I may never be “normal” again. The one on the left is number 777, the one on the right is 778. The liner notes for both albums are identical except for the headings, “Beatle Mash” by the Liverpool Kids for 777 and “Beatle Mania” for 778. The liner notes for each refer to the band as the Liverpool Moptops and extol the skill of the four young men at “Beatling.” I’ll let you count the musicians on each cover and come to whatever conclusion seems appropriate. The inner paper record info for 777 lists the band as the Schoolboys. For 778 the band is listed as the Moptops. Each album contains one competent, but unremarkable, Beatles cover. 777 has a song that sounds like a lame attempt at creating a song that could pass for the Fab Four. 778 contains a decent version of “Twist and Shout,” which the Beatles famously covered. All other tracks on both discs are rhythm and blues recordings you have likely never heard, probably demos that never made it to a more reputable label than Palace Records.  

To the casual record buyer, it would appear that the Manchesters (Liverpool was taken many times over so another prominent English metropolis was used to christen this outfit) put out an album called “Beatlerama” and at some point down the line followed it up with “Beatlerama Vol. 2” (Diplomat Records, USA). The album on the left indicates “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” are packaged along with other material. The album on the right indicates “Please Please Me” and the Beatles covered chestnut, “My Bonnie” are packaged along with other material. The reality is that all four tracks are on both albums along with the same batch of filler tunes, which feature weak woos and yeahs. “Mama’s Little Baby Loves Shortnin Bread” is one of the better tracks; one listed as, “Little Miss Margie” is actually their version of “Please Please Me; one is an instro called “Beatle Move; and they wrap things up with one called, “Oh What a Sorry Day.” They can say that again!

The Bearcuts, “Swing in Beatlemania” (Stereo-Fidelity Records, USA) is good fun music. On the five Beatles originals, as well as “Twist and Shout,” the band nailed the individual Beatle voices and did a great job with the harmonies as well. The other four songs are all cool instrumental numbers with clever titles, “Your Barber is a Beatle Too, “Monkey Down to London Town,” “Liverpool Stomp,” and “Bearcut Haircut.” Pity they didn’t do any original Beatlesque songs. This is not quite in the same pantheon as the Buggs, but I think I would have been very happy to have been given this record by one of my clueless parents when I was a wee lad. Why the label would take a bunch of musicians to London, England!! to record this hooey is anyone’s guess, but it says they did right on the cover!

The Beagle and the Four Liverpool Whigs, “The Great New Sound of” (Sutton Records, USA) is a whole other animal! I would imagine the name was chosen to guaranty this platter was filed near those of the Beatles (the same can be said of the Bearcuts, but I’m cutting them some slack). They do one Beatles hit, “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” It would have been reworked as, “I Want to Hold Your Paw” if the top dog featured on the cover had been given the props deserved. That tune is primitive and slowed down with weird harmonies and an odd rhythm. Most of the rest of the songs are decent rhythm and blues cuts. My favorite is a lively song about eating chicken called “Painless Thoughts,” for some reason or other. There are some weepy teen ballad dirges with female vocals and a proto-exotica number titled, “Pillow Thoughts,” which should have been called, “Enchanted Island” as well. Hopefully, the Beagle went solo after this limp LP. I love, love, love the cover, though!

The Weasels, “The Liverpool Beat Sung by” (Mercury Wing Records, USA) album sounds like the work of a good band, but I don’t know; these albums rarely provide any info so the most likely scenario is the producer got lucky with his studio hacks this time around. The Beatles songs are obviously not by the Beatles, but the playing is great, the vocals are good and they sound confident. The non-Beatles songs have enough swing, bounce and enthusiasm that they could be Fab Four cast away dregs. One tune, “This Little Light of Mine” has the trademark wooos and plenty of great energy. I would have been as happy as a clam with this record if I had been given it when I was about ten.

Beatle Barkers, self titled (Rich River Records, New Zealand) is silly. The band name/title almost says it all. If this were just a recording of dog yips, yowls, arfs, growls and barks engineered to sorta fit the melodies of Beatles songs, ala the Christmas “classic,” “Jingle Bells” it would be annoying enough. Throw in some chickens, cows, cats and various barnyard critters and you could have every neighbor within blocks clamoring to get you kicked out…. If you had a stereo powerful enough. There is a sheep used quite effectively on one of the gear fab ones’ earliest hits. The obnoxious hounds are barking out, “love, love me do…” and somewhere in the mix a sheep bleats along to the “…you know I love ewe” part. Genius! The set contains early invasion material, mid period hits and Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da to get a fairly rounded mutt’s overview of the lads’ work.

There is fraud, there is tribute and then there is crossover exploitation. The Chipmunks, “Sing the Beatles” (Liberty Records, USA) is a fine example of the latter. David Seville had already put out seven albums by these cute rodents at this point and they were popular TV celebrities to boot. No one was fooled by the cover into thinking they were getting anything other than professionally produced music with electronically manipulated voices and silly chatter. I love the cover illustration with Alvin playing a harmonica that is attached to his guitar. Don’t try this on stage, folks! Somehow or other I ended up with a copy of this disc I can listen to as well as a factory sealed copy. I’m not sure why but there is very little of the back and forth banter between Dave, Simon, Theodore and ALVIN!!!!!!

The Grasshoppers, “Sing the Hits” (Diplomat, USA) is a double rip off and then some! They have the wigs, the Beatles tunes and mention of the “Liverpool Sound;” they have the electronically modulated “Chipmunk” voices; and seven of the ten songs are the same seven of ten found on fellow Diplomat label mates, the Manchesters album. Interestingly, they appear to me to be different recordings, not just repurposed backing tracks. On the “real” Chipmunks album Dave introduces the trio, makes sure their wigs are on properly and then turns them loose. On this disc the human (or is it a frog?), Jerry, talks to Leroy, Herman and Henry throughout and even sings a song without his green pals. The kicker is when Jerry needs to corral his insects and can’t get the slacker of the group’s attention and has to repeat his name with increasing volume until he screams, “HENRY!!!” … twice over the course of the disc. Wow! Where did they get that idea???

There is nothing remotely Beatlesque about the music on “The Beatle Beat” by the Blue Beats (Records Affiliate, USA), but the cover is pretty swell. It looks like they used an actual Beatles wig. The music is decent guitar heavy teen instrumental dance fair of the early ‘60s that lends itself to doing the various moves suggested on the cover. The back cover offers no information about the band (studio cats most likely) or the songs within. All you’ll find there is instructions for doing the twist, reprinted from “The Fred Astaire Dance Book.”  A primer on doing the Bobby Chicken-Back might have been more enlightening.

 The In-Sect, “Introducing… Direct from England” (RCA Camden, USA) is a cool album. It opens with a great Chuck Berry style rocking groove. Their takes on two Beatles tunes feature good harmonies and strong lead vocals. The Beach Boys cover could pass for the product of a Soutghern California beach group. Their originals are fine. “There Ain’t no Woman” has a Dylan vibe and “The Biggest Lie” is a ballad. They also cover two Herman and the Hermits hits and two by Freddie and the Dreamers (it’s great hearing a version of “Do the Freddie” without an orchestra. They were from England (per last.fm), did this one album then changed their name to the Flies.

The Beatle Buddies, “Fabulous Beatle Sound” (Diplomat Records, USA) features sweet female harmonies and interesting arrangements on two of the handful of Lennon & McCartney hits that swept the US in 1964. In these gals’ hands, “Who Can I Believe” has more of a Beatles feel than on other Diplomat releases. There are plenty of the same filler titles from other “fine” Diplomat Records albums, all done with the same Buddies style. This time “Little Miss Margie” is a rocking instrumental tune instead of, “Please Please Me” in disguise (see the Manchesters entry above). From the liner notes: “We think that their names and sound will last long after the Beatles are gone.” Maybe if they had included their names…

“From Britain with Beat” (Modern Sound Records, USA) No band name is listed, just the title. The folks who recorded this included three Beatles songs, one of which appears to feature female backup vocals, and some other hits of the day. This is pretty decent garage rock with sweetened vocals. They do a raucous version of Tobacco Road. It seems conceivable that this could have been the same group of players throughout with a variety of singers, but who knows?? I love the photo of the lads on the cover. Their moms probably threatened to ground them if they cut the wigs to look like Beatles dos. If they appear to be stoned it’s because they are on grass! (sorry, I couldn’t resist)

Gary Chester and the Beatle Beat, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!” (DCP International Records, USA). In the fine tradition of the Dave Clark Five, Mr. Chester is the drummer for this project. His propulsive rhythm is mixed fairly high. The melodies are provided by sax, organ and guitar, often taking turns from verse to verse and chorus to chorus. There are two non-Lennon/McCartney numbers by Teddy Randazzo, listed as a singer. My guess is he provided the “yeah, yeah, yeah” and “come on, come on, come on” vocals on his “Spider Walk” (which borrows heavily from “Please Please Me”) and “yeah, yeah, yeahs” on his “So Long.” Things get pretty rambunctious on Chuck Berry’s, “Roll Over Beethoven.”

The “You Know Who” Group, “First Album” (International Allied Records, USA) Produced by Bob Gallo who was also behind the “Best of the Beatles” album, this one has a similar misleading concept. The band is masked and no names are given for the musicians. Could this be THEM?? This album sounds very much like it was played and sung by a small, almost tight band, whether or not they have any connection to the dudes on the cover. They throw in some “ooohs” and end a lot of lines with a weak “yeah.” There is also some truly rancid harmonica work. The gem here is the opening track, “Hey You and the Wind and the Rain,” which I never get tired of. There are some obvious covers, but I sure wish the album came with song author credits… yeah.

B. Brock and the Sultans, “Do the Beetle” (Crown Records, USA). Per Discogs, this was a surf band from La Mirada, CA that morphed into B. Brock and the Vibratos. The vibe I get is frat boy rockers milking the latest trend. The title track starts with the band announcing, “let’s all do the Beetle,” then devolves into a standard rock instrumental. They sing the lone Beatles song and the Beatles-ish, “Bonnie,” but for everything else they shut up and play. A hybrid cross between Chuck Berry and the Ventures with rougher edges. My favorite track is, “Beetle Walk,” a quirky number with some decent studio effects. In true Crown tradition, the only information is what you see on the cover.

Current Hits Volume 12, featuring “I want to Hold Your Hand” (Hit Records, USA). The unwary shopper in 1964 might have thought that they had a genuine Beatles classic included on this set. The same might be said about every other track on this album. No actual recording stars are featured. The renditions are good, but they were all produced by studio cats and kittens. The liner notes talk about the songs only. The closest thing to mentioning the origins of the tunes is a line about “I Want to Hold Your Hand” being a product of “Beatleism” or “Beatlemania.” I just like the cover illustration.

Here are two mashup records that might seem to be similar, but are very different creatures. The Fabulous Beats, “Go Country Style” (Design Records, USA) is more the type of deceptive product I have been showcasing. The band, or rather the shady producer, was pretending this is a Beatles style group trying their hand at country music. They sound like they were raised on Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers (as were the Beatles, but I digress) and are doing these country tunes in that basic ‘50s style with a smattering of “yeah, yeah, yeahs” and “wooos” thrown in, but with very little of the fire. In my opinion it doesn’t seem likely it would appeal to fans of the Beatles or country music, but anything is possible. The Fabulous Beats offer proof that there was more to the Beatles than a few clever gimmicks.

The Charles River Valley Boys, “Beatle County” (Electra, USA) goes about the marriage of genres from a totally different direction. They were a hugely talented bluegrass band that transformed a whole album of Lennon and McCartney hits into their own style. This album is from ‘66 so the boys have had more time to digest the ever-changing grooves the Beatles worked through. This is music either camp is likely to dig. I do, but I’m a fan of both and these are some truly exceptional artists. Some extra cool moments: when they sing, “we all live in a yeller submarine” and when they croon classic cowboy whoops and hollers where the fabs did their wooooos. This album is proof of the axiom that a truly good song will work well in just about any style. If you haven’t checked out Johnny Litrell’s version of “Hard Day’s Night” yet, now might be just the right time. (no connection to this record, but a truly groovy country version of a great Beatles song)

“The Beatles Hits in Brass and Percussion” (Audio Fidelity Records, USA). There is no band name affixed to this project or musicians listed. That’s a shame as there are stellar performances throughout. I was expecting a Herb Alpert meets Command Records experience when I picked this up. There is a bit of that here and there, but a whole lot more too, often within individual songs. The tracks include orchestral sweep, hipster jazz, pop swing and everything but the kitchen sync. It was released in 1966 so there is a lot more than just the few early hits found on so many cash in records of 1964. An homage rather than theft.

Billy Lee Riley, “Harmonica Beatlemania” (Mercury Records, USA) The title says it all! Billy picked the best possible song to kick things off, “Love Me Do.” The song sounds pretty much identical to the original with the harmonica intro, but instead of one of the mop-topped crooners livening things up with sappy love lyrics, Mr. Riley just keeps huffing and puffing away on his mouth harp for all he’s worth. The band is spot on and have the Beatles’ sound down pat. You want some variety? Don’t fret; the back cover has a photo of Billy with three harmonicas wedged in the knuckles of his able hands ready to swap out as the mood dictates. There are some tasty guitar leads thrown in around the harp melody lines too. Not deceptive, just a tribute to good song craft. Which is what you would expect from the bloke who gave the world, “Flying Saucers Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Bob Leaper (Arranger and Director), “Big Band, Beatle Songs” (London Records, UK). I guess if you have four Beatles wigs and an orchestra on hand you might as well make the most of the situation. Like a lot of big band records, this one has a wide range of moods on display, from pastoral serenity to jazzy bombast to pop toe tapping groove. And the melodies we all love are ever present. I suppose the original concept was to make a record that would appeal to young and old alike, but I have my doubts they succeeded. 

Buddy Morrow and his Orchestra, “Big Band Beatlemania - The Big Hits of 1964” (Epic Records, USA). Buddy plays trombone and fronts an 18-piece band of snazzy, jazzy swingers. There are no wigs or other hints that the Fab Four had anything to do with this effort on the cover except the inclusion of six of their tunes and a few they covered. The cats also put their stamp on a couple of Dave Clark Five hits and one that the Searchers rode to the top. There are plenty of guitars and the vibe is rather rambunctious for an orchestra.

Various Artists, “Budget Punk Party vol. 65 - Beat!!!! - the Style of BEATLING” (Bacchanal Records, Germany). While it looks like one of the Beatles parodies circa 1964 or 5, this raw compilation was released in 1999. It contains a smattering of tunes by bands I’ve covered above, the Liverpools, the Schoolboys, the Manchesters and Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots, doing their cheesy Beatles act. But it also features some other raw groups reworking the Stones, the Who, Sam the Sham, the Detroit Wheels and other wild rockers. I included this comp because it is a nice expansion on the rip off craze and I like the cover so much. The photo is of Charly and His Explorers, who rated four wacky tracks of the twenty found on this rip snorting album! Cheers to Lee Joseph of Dionysus Records who turned me on to this record when it came out!!

The Supremes, “A Bit of Liverpool” (Motown Records, USA). I love this album on so many levels! There is no deception involved whatsoever. The Supremes had a number of hit albums out before this gem. They pay tribute to the Beatles, the Animals and the Dave Clark Five, bands that had paid tribute to the Motown sound as part of their careers. They also used their Supremes/Liverpool magic on tunes by the Miracles and the Contours. This is a class act and, throughout, the gals add as much of their sound and feeling as they borrow from their British mates.

Bobby Vee, “Sings the New Sound from England!” (Liberty Records, USA) is my final entry… for now! Like the Supremes, this isn’t about ripping off; it is more of a recognition that the Beatles and other British Invasion acts were adding an exciting wrinkle to pop music and an attempt to join in the fun. He kicks off the album with, “I’ll Make You Mine,” which is one of Bobby’s originals, but is a song that could have fallen from the heads of Lennon and McCartney. There are two fab four numbers and some other cool covers, but five of the tracks are Bobby originals (one is a cowrite). He borrows some parts here and there from the Beatles’ canon and relies on their trademark “ooohs” a tad too much, but his voice and songwriting prowess make this less cringe worthy than any of the other wannabes discussed thus far. Good, silly fun! Hoo yeah!!

P. Edwin Letcher, May 2026