The Beatles LOVE Fifth Anniversary Turns Stars Like Mark McGrath Into Fanboys

Posted on Jun 13th 2011 8:34PM by Benjy Eisen
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Ethan Miller, Getty Images for Cirque Apple LLC

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil at the Mirage in Las Vegas. And, just like for its launch five years ago, members of the Beatles family showed up to watch the actual fifth anniversary performance last week -- from wives (Yoko Ono, Olivia Harrison) and kids (Sean Lennon, Dhani Harrison) to Sir Paul McCartney himself. His bandmate, Ringo Starr phoned it in, via a special video message that was played for the audience before curtain. Of course, none of that was particularly surprising even if it wasn't exactly to be expected. But it was still exciting for Beatles fans and, c'mon, who isn't a Beatles fan?

"I just shook Sir George Martin's hand and Paul McCartney is here!" Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath (pictured) told Spinner from the red carpet, like a manic fanboy. "The first time I ever heard the Beatles, it was 'Twist and Shout.' And then 'Love Me Do.' It was sort of the same intro to the Beatles that the world got. I was very young, like five or six years old, and I'm like, 'This is great! I can't wait to listen to music my whole life!' But it never got better than the Beatles.'"

It seems he's not alone in that sentiment. While the list of musicians that attended the anniversary celebration includes Slash, T-Pain, Danger Mouse and the Killers, many more have seen the show over the past five years. In fact, it's kind of been the thing to do if you're an artist and you happen to be in Las Vegas with a few hours to yourself.

Of course, the anniversary celebration proved to be more than just a performance -- an after-party at the Mirage pool saw Elijah Wood taking over the DJ booth to spin -- what else? -- Beatles remixes. No word on whether or not they were authorized remixes, but 'Grey Album' mastermind Danger Mouse didn't seem to mind, as he chatted it up with friends by the nearby food buffet.

Five years into it and with other Cirque du Soleil projects now spotlighting the careers of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, this month the company is proving that, indeed, all they need is LOVE.

Watch This Exclusive Video From the Beatles LOVE Fifth Anniversary

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