MAKING a living by pretending to be one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll figures of all time can’t be a bad life.

Reuven Gershon, who stars as John Lennon in the hit musical Let it Be, which comes from the West End and arrives at the Cliffs Pavilion in June and July, agrees.

The actor is no stranger to taking off icons, having played the lead in West End musical the Buddy Holly Story, among numerous other parts.

But he has had a personal interest in the Beatles since he was a child, and says this role is “his dream job”.

Reuven, from Birmingham, says: “I started getting into the Beatles’ music when I was about nine or ten.

“I noticed, and other people saw, there was a bit of a resemblance between me and John Lennon, which I suppose encouraged me further.”

Music and playing in bands became a passion of Reuven’s, as did drama and theatre.

He says: “The two things were separate in a way back then. I started playing music myself, and through my interest in the Beatles, discovered other influences like Buddy Holly, Elvis, and also a lot of jazz musicians.

“I also watched school plays, things like that, and thought ‘I fancy doing a bit of that’.”

And so he did, getting involved in youth theatre and going on to study drama at university.

Reuven says: “When you go and audition for things, you get the jobs you are most suited for and you take what’s on offer. So when it’s known you can play guitar and sing, it’s known you’ll be perfect for certain roles, such as Buddy. I actually did two Buddy shows – one was like a tribute show to his music, the other was the Buddy Holly story in the West End.

“So I got into those shows and you do one and that leads to another.”

Reuven’s role as Buddy Holly led to him meeting a genuine Beatle.

He says: “I have to tell you that I got to meet the real Paul McCartney once. When I was in Buddy, a lucky few got to go to a party he throws once a year, in honour of Buddy. He owns the rights to Buddy Holly’s back catalogue and both he and John admired Buddy.

“There were people like Twiggy there, Dave Gilmore from Pink Floyd, other faces you’d recognise.

“I went and introduced myself. He was nice. He was just having a nice time – he’d had a couple of glasses of wine.”

Reuven began to notch up parts in other musical shows, including the Eva Cassidy story, where he played Eva’s boyfriend and had to use his guitar skills again, and the Barry Manilow musical, starring Chesney Hawkes.

He says: “I got a bit fed up at that point. I was an understudy in that, so hardly got to go on.

“I thought to myself, I’ve been into the Beatles since I was nine, I’ve played music all my life, but I’ve never done both. So I started looking for a Beatles tribute band. I found one, told them I was interested and got the job.

“It was great. We got to travel a lot – India, Malta, all over the place.”

It also led to Reuven playing the part of John in a BBC production about Lennon turning 70. You can find it online, and see Reuven singing and talking, sounding very close to the legend.

He says: “When I wrote my own songs in the past and played them, people had always said, ‘you sound like John Lennon’ or ‘you sound like the Beatles’. I think they thought I sounded like both Lennon and McCartney.

“But being in the band really helped train my Lennon.”

The job eventually came to an end and Reuven found himself unemployed.

He says: “While I was in the Beatles band, I had thought it’d be great if there was a proper West End show about the Beatles, which was done well, done properly.

“My agent was putting me up for stuff like Mamma Mia. Then suddenly there was an audition for a Beatles show. I went, got the recall, got the job!”

Let it Be started in 2012 and became a success. There are two cast members for each Beatle, with Reuven and Michael Gagliano alternating the part of John. It tells the story of the Beatles through about 30 of their songs, placing them at famous points of their career.

Reuven says: “I’ve been involved and seen this show grow from the beginning. It was only meant to be a four-month run, but it’s been a success, moving from the West End to Broadway and going international.

“I’m very excited to be part of it. It is my dream job.”

LET IT BE
Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff.
Monday, June 30, until Saturday, July 5.
Tickets, £24.50 from 01702 351135 or
southendtheatres.org.uk