From The Advertiser, Adelaide, 1 November 2000

Beatles bring new dawn to Twilights

By Sean Fewster

Their clear harmonies and albums featuring Beatles covers made them one of the hottest bands of the 1960s.

The Twilights wowed audiences more than 30 years ago and have not performed as a group since, but yesterday they were back together once again.

“It’s absolutely brilliant to be back together – it’s rekindled that sort of spiritual thing we had,” band member John Bywaters said yesterday.

“It only too a couple of days to get past the baggage we had and get back to where we were before,” he said.

Bywaters and fellow Adelaide boys Glenn Shorrock, Terry Britten, Peter Brideoake, Laurie Pryor and Paddy McCartney were just out of their teens when they captured the hearts of a generation by duplicating the sounds of the Beatles and other big-name British groups.

They also had Top 10 success with original songs, including Young Girl and Cathy Come Home.

They went their separate ways in 1969, with Shorrock and Britten achieving further success in the industry, notably Shorrock with Little River Band. Today, they’re ready and willing to storm the stage for All You Need Is… Beatles, a tribute to the lads from Liverpool.

The two performances – with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and guests Doc Neeson and Ross Wilson – on Saturday will be the first time the group has been on stage together since 1969. They will perform some of the Liverpudlians’ greatest hits – including songs that the Fab Four never performed on stage.

The group still possesses an amazing sound – even without drummer Pryor – as an impromptu performance of Magical Mystery Tour at yesterday’s rehearsal proved, being vintage Lennon and McCartney.

Bywaters said the band was not concerned with being forever linked with the Beatles.

“The Beatles actually changed a lot of people’s lives musically, but not a lot of bands ran with it,” he said. “We did, and we did it well – now we’re bringing Beatles songs to the public that’ve never been performed, and I think that’s an honour.”

Bywaters said the Twilights never realised they were famous until after their break-up.

“We didn’t think it was such a big deal – it was just a job,” he said. “We only realised what we had after we broke up – I was doing research for a book Peter and I are writing about the band, and I thought ‘we let a lot of people down’.”

All You Need Is… Beatles plays for two performances at the Festival Theatre on Saturday.