ED FOSS Beatles fans will be Feelin' Fine after one of the Fab Four's prime cover bands announced they would play in Norfolk this summer.

ED FOSS

Beatles fans will be Feelin' Fine after one of the Fab Four's prime cover bands announced they would play in Norfolk this summer.

The Bootleg Beatles' outdoor picnic-style event has been aimed specifically at the family market, with concert promoters taking the unusual step of offering reduced prices for children and families.

The group will play at North Walsham Rugby Club, Scottow, on August 6. Advance tickets will cost £22.50 for adults, £5 for children with under-fives free.

Touted as the most successful and longest running Beatles show ever, with more than 4000 performances, the band was launched in 1980.

The Bootleg Beatles are said to have been successful through their "immaculate recreation" of the sights and sounds of the original band's stage show.

Keith Louch, director at promoters IML Concerts, said: "IML has always brought a variety of outdoor picnic-style concerts to the county, from Jools Holland and Midge Ure to The Glenn Miller Orchestra and Salute to the Rat Pack.

"This year we believe we are the only venue that offers substantially reduced ticket prices for children as well as a family ticket."

Mr Louch said the discounted price structure was inteded to get children involved in live music.

Formed from the Broadway musical Beatlemania, the Bootleg Beatles' career began in March 1980 in front of a small gathering of students at a college function in Tiverton, Devon.

They are said to have given themselves "six months max". But work began to come in, including more colleges, social clubs, the occasional corporate event and then a 60-date tour of the Soviet Union.

Other tours included America in 1984, which was part of the commemoration of the Beatles' initial US tour 20 years earlier.

The band now performs annually to sell-out concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and was the opening act for Party at the Palace in summer 2002, part of the Queen's Jubilee celebrations.

The Norfolk event will see gates open at 6pm and the show start at 8pm. There will be a fireworks finale.

Tickets are available priced at £22.50 in advance and £25 on the night for adults; £5 in advance and £10 on the night for children; and a £50 family ticket (two adults and two children).

There is a 10pc discount for group bookings of 10 or more.

Contact the IML box office on 01603 660444 or the Theatre Royal in Norwich on 01603 630000.