‘American English’ marks debut of Beatles on U.S. television on Feb. 8

Beatles tribute band American English will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ world-changing appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show with February 1964, on Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Elgin Community College Arts Center.

The appearance will occur at 7:30 p.m., almost 50 years to the date the Beatles first appeared on American television.

On February 9, 1964, an astounding 73 million people tuned in to watch the Beatles make their American television debut. 

Fifty years later, this once-in-a-lifetime concert experience will capture the sights, sounds, songs, and excitement of that day complete with the American English, hailed by original Beatles’ promoter Sam Leach as “the  world’s premier Beatle Tribute band,” and Bob Rumba, an Ed Sullivan impersonator.

Rumba is a Midwest-based professional ventriloquist, comic and Hollywood-lookalike (Groucho, Charlie Chaplin, Barney Fife, Stan Laurel, Peter Sellers), in addition to a host of other talents. 

He has appeared on TV shows like “America’s Funniest People,” “Oprah,” “Human Factor,” (BBC) and numerous TV commercials. His spot-on impersonation of Ed Sullivan even features the beloved mouse puppet Topo Gigio, a classic character from The Ed Sullivan Show.

American English has won numerous awards, including the Illinois Entertainer of the Year award, and has been voted “Best Tribute Band” by fans in the Chicagoland area. 

The band has shared the stage with musical headliners such as The Grassroots, The Neville Brothers, Three Dog Night, The Ides of March, Eric Burdon, The Buckinghams, The Doobie Bros., Badfinger, Gary Sinise’s Lieutenant Dan Band, and many others.

Tickets for AmericanEnglish presents February 1964 are $35.

A three-course, pre-show dinner prepared by ECC’s award-winning Culinary Arts and Hospitality program and inspired by the British invasion can be purchased online for an additional $29. 

Menu will include a mixed green salad, bangers and apple mash, and a sticky toffee pudding. Dinners are served at 5:30 p.m. in the Spartan Terrace Restaurant, located in the lobby of the ECC Arts Center. 

Dinners must be ordered on or before Monday, Feb. 3. 

Tickets for all performances in the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC box office located in the arts center. 

Box office hours are noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call 847-622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.

For more information about the ECC Arts Center, visit elgin.edu/arts. Video clips of upcoming artists and events can be found at youtube.com/ECCArtsCenter. 

Follow the arts center on Twitter at twitter.com/ECCArtsCenter. Become a fan of the arts center on Facebook at facebook.com/ECCArtsCenter.

–News Bulletin news sources