The Times and Faces of  IMAGINE"some are gone, and some remain"

  IMAGINE'S  FIRST SHOW  in 1991 and introducing, the two original founders of the group, Neil Burg and Ron McNeil at Cheers in Simi Valley California (below).

 

  

Neil Burg and Ron McNeil  the originators of Imagine The Beatles Tribute on stage for the very first time in 1991.

            Neil performs as Ringo Starr at Club Mancini's back in the early 90's opening up for Peter Tork of The Monkees

  

Ardy Sarraf, David Brighton, Neil Burg, John Staples, Circa 1996.

 

 Neil Burg, David Brighton, Jim Owen, and Tony Kishman.  Circa 1998.


 Imagine at Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center, Circa 2000. Jim Caprio,Tom Perkins, Gilbert Bonilla.

 

Imagine at The Shoreline Village Long Beach California. Circa 2002. Jim Caprio, David Brighton, and Jeff Martin.

 

 

            Not only is Sean Strain IMAGINE'S personal artist as you can see below,

     but he is also a part of Imagine doing percussion when we can drag him away from writing his own music, or painting another piece of beautiful artwork!  You can visit Sean at: http://www.myspace.com/seanstrain      

                                                            

                                                                                                                                                               

     Thank You card given to Imagine for playing at Rocky's Films Producer, Irwin Winkler's home in Beverly Hills.                            

 

Tom and Rita Hanks' 10th Wedding Anniversary Celebration 

                                                                        

                                            Neil with Victor Spinetti from A Hard Days Night, Help and Magical MysteryTour

                                                                            

                                                                                  Neil and Ken Mansfield,                          

                        former US Manager of Apple Records and author of the Beatles the Bible and Bodega Bay

                                                                   "Read all about it"                                                          

IMAGINE THE BEATLES TRIBUTE appears with Ken Mansfield.     

Last Saturday (Oct.07), Imagine The Beatles Tribute just completed a wonderful and successful show for, California with special guest speaker and author of the book, The Beatles, the Bible and Bodega Bay, by Ken Mansfield.

Imagine is a Los Angeles based Beatles Tribute band, working continually, locally and throughout the country. Imagine has been around since 1991 and performed at occasions for Tom Hanks and Goldie Hawn.

As a young record label executive at Capitol Records, the Beatles were Ken Mansfield's clients, and they became his friends. Ken was handpicked to be the first U.S. manager of The Beatles' Apple Records. His new book is a spiritual memoir set against the backdrop of his personal and professional relationships with John, Paul, George and Ringo, offering an insider's view of the group collectively and individually. During the celebration on Saturday, Imagine performed their first set and then Ken Mansfield came out and spoke to the 500 people in attendance about his life during and after The Beatles and Apple. Imagine finished their last set with a resounding applause and encore of Hey Jude. The entire event was a huge success! Published September 20, 2006 by Dave Habor.  More information: • Ken Mansfield    http://www.whatgoeson.com/

        

  
 Whatgoeson.com                                      IMAGINE Apple and Apple Living in Peace

by Dave Haber

Imagine The Beatles Tribute band's owner, Ringo and agent, Neil Burg says, "It's a sad day in human kind when the Beatles, the greatest inspiration in music history loses ANYTHING, let alone a lawsuit".

Neil and Imagine The Beatles Tribute have been performing (legally) throughout the world as the Beatles since 1991, and has performed for the likes of Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson's wedding anniversary, with guests such as Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, Goldie Hawn, Tom Cruise, Kurt Russell, Rob Reiner. Ron Howard, Steve Martin, Sally Fields, Ted Dansen, Penny and Gary Marshall, John Lovitz, Paul Riser.

 

Neil remembers, "The wedding anniversary was a great event with almost all the stars you could Imagine (no pun intended). The people where very kind to us and were the perfect audience, knowing when to applaud, when to dance. I myself did not eat anything there, after our performance. I sat in a chair with a glass of water, looking around saying to myself, 'Oh my God, look where I am!' It was almost like being in a dream... really!

"During the show, we called Tom Hanks up to sing That Thing You Do with us, the song from the movie he was in, and sure enough there he was, up on the stage, grabbing a mike and singing away. After that, Melissa Ethridge literally jumped up on stage and joined us in a rousing version of Twist and Shout!  It was a great night."

 Imagine has performed at other private parties with guests including, David Foster, Sylvester Stallone, Jim Carey Larry King, Denny Laine, Victor Spinetti, Tom Arnold, Larry King, Jay Leno, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael, Douglas, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, Penny and Gary Marshal, Victoria Principal, Martin Short, Jim Carey, Robert, De NeNiro, and  they have performed along with stars like Little Richard, Natalie Cole, Ed McMahan ,Brook Shields, Coolio, Pat Boone, The Fifth Dimension, Kenny Logins, Barry Manilow, Stevie Wonder, just to name a very few.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 

   

                                                                     More Photos-Imagine The Bea      Tribute                                             

                                                             Neil and Michelle Phillips from The Mamas & Papas 6/25/08.

                                                 Being as close as I was to Michelle, ( pictured here), I have NEVER felt such a peaceful

                                                             feeling in my whole life as I experienced with this history changing beautiful 

                                                             woman as Mama Michelle is.  It really wasn't just because I was around another

                                                            celebrity again, no not at all.   What I'm saying is that Michelle definitely has an aura 

                                                            about her that just cannot be explained except if you actually are that close to her.

                                                            I have never experienced feelings like that in my whole life with anyone else. Michelle

                                                            has made millions of people happy over the years, and continues to do so.  Peace and 

                                                            Love to you Michelle, Neil  

                                                            Click on the poster for the Wrecking Crew, also.....

 http://www.grandperformances.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/season_schedule.show_detail/s_id/22

                                                                                                                                Neil Burg     with:         Hal Blaine,     and    Frank Capp of The Wrecking Crew

                                   When you say the name Neil Burg (so what), right ?  But Say,  Hal Blaine,.... and now you're talkin!

    There are only two drummers in my mind that stand out as the worlds most popular drummers, and  they would be Mr. Hal  Blaine,

     and Mr. Mickey Jones.   Hal  Blaine and  Frank Capp where, and always will be a part of The Wrecking Crew, The band, the musicians, and now soon to be the Movie released on DVD).   Thanks to people like Hal Blaine, Frank Capp, Glen Campbell, and SO many other outstanding talented musicians, there would have never been the likes of The Beach Boys, The Monkees, The Mamas & The Papas, Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass, and so many many more huge groups and songs than one can only ( Imagine), no pun intended.    The musicians were the best of the best in the sixties.  I myself was a huge fan of the Wrecking Crew back in the sixties when I was a mere 15 years old, listening to these musicians playing on all the most popular groups records that I could get my hands on, without even knowing it was them.  Come on give me a break....it was the 60's, and  I myself at times didn't know who "I"  was.   These guys are True Legends, and if you missed the Hand Print event at The Guitar Center in Hollywood on Sunset Blvd. on June 25th 2008, then you missed a FANTASTIC and very historic heart warming event.  You could tell that the remaining Wrecking Crew that made the event, were genuinely very happy to see each other again after all those  years of not working together. Mickey Jones however made his claim to fame working with some of the same people as The Wrecking Crew did.  The next picture that will be coming up, will be Mickey Jones and his-story.    That's one of the things I still remember to this day learning in school when you still could talk about religion without some nut complaining or threatening to sue someone,.... and that was the true meaning of history, and that word ( history)  we were told, was broken into two words which described God, and HIS STORY, and that's' where and when we were taught that there WAS a God, and we were part of HIS STORY as well.  Look for Mickey Jones here soon!   Thanks to all of you who took your valuable time to stop and read a great part of musical His Story.  Think about it... the Beatles themselves where not brought together by accident.....they had a higher agent to answer to.  That is, and always will be my strong belief.  Neil