Utrecht 26/03/2005

The Mal Evens Memorial Band is the winner of the first Golden Apple Award.  (http://www.memb.nl/)
They beat the Koos Lonis band with very little difference.

Golden Apple Award

The Golden Apple Award is a new initiative by Beatles Unlimited and is organised to coincide with their annual international Beatles Convention.

Beatles Cover Bands & Performers can apply to compete for this award by sending in a recording. The competition is based on the plug-in and play principle (no sound check).  Each band / competitor plays one Beatles song and a jury decides who is the winner. The winner gets the award and the right to play a full set at next year’s Beatles Unlimited Convention.The 2005 Bands & Performers

The audience was treated to 6 bands and performers: 

  1. The Fabulous Wannabeatles: Don’t Let Me Down
     
  2. Saxozie: When Im 64
  3. Peter Bettinger’: Yesterday
  4. The Mal Evens Memorial Band: Tomorrow Never Knows
  5. The Koos Lonis Band: Blackbird
  6. Rud-A-DUB DUB: Don’t Pass Me By

The quality of the performances was amazingly high and it was only after careful consideration that the jury decided in favour of the Mal Evens Memorial Band who played a rousing version of `Tomorrow Never Knows`.The Koos Lonis Band finished a close second with a jazzy version of `Blackbird`.

The Fabulous Wannabeatles who were dressed in Sergeant Pepper’s clothes and Rud-A-DUB DUB who played a highly original version of one of the few songs that Ringo ever penned for the fab four also didnt fail to impress.

No Hard Feelings
In spite of fierce competition, the camaraderie between performers was heart warming. When the prize was’awarded to the Mal Evans Memorial Band, it turned out that their drummer had already left due to other pressing engagements. One of the drummers of the other bands gladly took her seat behind the drums for the encore of the winning performance. The award ended with another rousing performance of `Taxman`.

Audience response to the award was enthusiastic and the Golden Apple Award will therefore also be featured in the Beatles Unlimited Convention of 2006.

A Splendid Time Was Guaranteed For All!