The Beatles crawl into Algonquin College with a little ‘HELP!’ from tribute band
It’s been six decades since Beatlemania swept the world, but the music still refuses to age. Fans packed into the Algonquin Commons Theatre on Oct. 17 as tribute band HELP! brought that same electric energy with a night of classic hits.
In the crowd was longtime Beatles fan Frank Smith, singing along to nearly every song. For him, the magic hasn’t faded.
“I think the music of The Beatles still resonates because the melodies are just so strong,” Smith said. “There was a real strength to their song writing. They’ve lived on for 50 years and are just as popular as ever.”
HELP! played familiar hits with deeper classics, recreating the sound that shaped a generation. For some of the musicians, that connection started young and never really faded.
Crowd favourites like Twist and Shout, I Want to Hold Your Hand and Hey Jude had the audience singing and dancing with every song, proving that Beatlemania never really faded.
Norman Di Blasio, who plays as John Lennon, said his fascination began after hearing a classic tune for the first time.
“When I was six years old, I heard Twist and Shout and was just enamoured by it,” Di Blasio said. “They had real character.”
He later rediscovered the band, and even after all these years he’s still finding new things in their music.
According to his bandmate Pascal Tirapani, who plays as Paul McCartney, that lasting freshness is part of what makes The Beatles’ music timeless.
“They weren’t sounding like the bands in that era, which is a big part of why they don’t sound dated today,” Tirapani said.
He’s not the only one who feels that connection. In the crowd, fans of all ages were just as passionate.
For Pearce Holm, who first heard The Beatles on the radio decades ago, it’s not surprising that younger fans are still showing up.
“I’ve been a fan of them before most people around here were even born,” Holm said. “Even though they’re not in their heyday, their music is still rocking crowds better than ever.”
As the final notes echoed through the theatre, the crowd stayed on its feet. It wasn’t just nostalgia. It was proof that good music still finds a way to connect every generation in the room.
