The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute bringing songs from The Beatles' 'HELP!' to Civic Center

John with his round, wire-frame glasses and gravelly rock 'n' roll tone.

Paul with his iconic mop top delivering melodic songwriting.

Ringo’s laid-back-style rock paired with his steady drumming.

George with his quiet, introspective nature and melodic style on the guitar.

The Beatles left an indelible mark on the world with their innovative sound, profound lyrics and cultural influence. Experience the Beatles’ musical legacy once more when Emmy Award-winning Beatles tribute band The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute takes the stage at the Helena Civic Center on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m. with their all-new show “HELP!”

“I think it’s just the fusion of the four characters together,” said Gavin Pring, who plays George Harrison, of what made the Beatles so popular. “I don’t know whether it was the way their voices connected, the way that they changed their melodies slightly, their sense of humor, the way they dressed … ”

“There’s so many things about The Beatles that you can’t say it’s one thing,” continued Pring. “It’s a lot of things acting together.”

Founded in southern California in 1997 by Ron McNeil, a John Lennon impersonator, The Fab Four is considered one of the top Beatles tribute bands in the world because of its precise, note-for-note renditions and uncanny look-alike performances. They have performed worldwide, including in Japan, Australia, France, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico and Brazil.

They gained fame through a long-term residency at Disneyland’s Tomorrowland Terrace and won an Emmy for their 2012 PBS special, "The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute.” They provided motion capture performances for the Cirque du Soleil Beatles “LOVE” show’s 10th anniversary revamp in 2017 and for The Beatles: Rock Band music game. Their numerous television appearances include “Entertainment Tonight” and “Good Morning America,” and they recorded the soundtrack for the CBS-TV movie “The Linda McCartney Story.”

“The Fab Four is one of the best Beatles tribute acts in the world,” said Pring. “It’s probably one of the most well-known tribute acts out of about four or five.”

Born and raised in Liverpool — the birthplace of The Beatles — Pring never dreamed he would one day portray one of music’s biggest icons.

“I didn’t know you could make a living being a Beatle,” joked Pring. “When I was a kid and went to the career officers and they asked what would you want to do, I think I said helicopter pilot.”

Growing up, Pring felt the presence of the Beatles in his hometown but admitted he wasn’t initially a fan.

“Only because I didn’t realize how big they were,” said Pring.

Ironically though, Pring bore a striking resemblance to Beatles member George Harrison — a fact regularly and “annoyingly” pointed out to him.

“My auntie every time she came around would be like, ‘Oh yeah, Gav looks like a young George Harrison,’” said Pring. “She kept saying it all the time.”

Pring made his first real connection with The Beatles at age 13 thanks to a humble cassette player and a single tape.

“I got ‘The White Album’ on a cassette from a mate of mine,” recalled Pring. “I remember listening to that album and I literally never slept that night.”

“From one song to the next to the next, I think I ran those batteries right out and then I liked them a lot,” continued Pring. “That was my first musical introduction to them.”

What followed were a series of events that ultimately set Pring on the path to eventually joining The Fab Four and creating a musical legacy of his own.

At 21, Pring found himself lying immovable in a hospital bed after breaking his leg in a freak accident in Spain. The break was so bad, doctors even discussed the possibility of amputating his foot. Luckily, a doctor was found who saved his foot, but that was only after Pring got a scolding from his mother.

“I used to have this little nylon guitar in my house and when my mum came over to the hospital, she brought in the acoustic guitar and said, 'Since you’re going to be sitting on your arse for the next couple of months, you can learn guitar,” joked Pring.

While he didn’t know anything about playing guitar, the patient in the bed next to him did and began to teach him.

“I just started to learn, and then when I came out of hospital I was like, ‘I want to carry on doing this,’” said Pring.

Helped by his looks and growing musical talent, Pring later landed the role of George Harrison in a Beatles documentary and played in a few smaller Beatles tribute bands, including The Blue Meanies and British Export.

“Every time I stepped up to another level, then the level above got word of me,” said Pring.

Word of Pring eventually spread to The Fab Four, who were doing a residency in Las Vegas at the time. Around 2005, he was brought into the fold of the show and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I watched it six nights a week for a month while writing notes about what he was doing, where he was going, what he was saying,” said Pring of observing a previous George Harrison performer in the Fab Four.

“There were thousands of notes and every time I watched it, I went, ‘This is a brilliant show,’” added Pring.

“It was great because I started playing guitar around 1998/1999 and I was on the Las Vegas strip in 2005,” said Pring.

“My whole life changed,” said Pring.

Now 20 years later, Pring has built a career he never imagined but is eternally grateful for.

“I found my home,” said Pring.

Pring explained that the concept for the upcoming Helena show is part of a newer trend for the group that started after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We couldn’t do the same show every month because people would tune in to see a show and it would be the same show,” said Pring. “So we had to change.”

That change was to create a new concept show every year. For 2026, the focus is on the Beatles’ second film, “HELP!” released in July 1965.

“It’s not the songs from the album, it’s all the songs that appeared in the movie,” said Pring of the show.

Audiences can expect to hear film songs like “I Need You,” “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “Ticket to Ride,” and “Help,” plus renditions of Beatles’ classics like “Yesterday,” “A Day In The Life,” “Twist And Shout,” “Here Comes The Sun” and “Hey Jude.”

“It’s been going really well, and we’ve been getting great reviews,” said Pring of the new show.

While money can’t buy you love, it can buy you a ticket to ride a wave of musical nostalgia when The Fab Four bring the sounds of the Beatles to somewhere the real group never managed to perform — Montana.

“I’d love to see a load of Montanans on the 23rd,” said Pring. “I think it would be awesome.”

“What drives me is the fact that you do have a lot of other entertainment choices and if people have come to see you play, then they’ve taken time out of their lives to come see you play,” said Pring. “You want to make sure they’re entertained and that they’re happy and want to come back the next time.”