Lansdale native Steve Landes as Lennon with Rain. (Credit: Rain)
Landes, Lansdale, Lennon.
Since 1998, former West Fourth Street resident Steve Landes has donned the tinted circle glass to play John Lennon in the renowned Beatles tribute band, Rain.
The lifelong Beatles fan grew up listening to and loving the Fab Four, as he told The Pottstown Mercury in a recent article. “Their music brings me energy, inspires me,” he said. “I’m also a fan on the music that inspired them.”
Landes and Rain look to energize and inspire their fans new and old from May 9-11 when they play Miller Theater in Philadelphia, per the report.
“I think one of my favorite parts of this particular version of our show has been recreating the “Let It Be / Get Back” rooftop performance as a part of our second act,” Landes told The Mercury. “With that special being so popular lately, on Disney+ and Blu-ray now, it’s been fun to replicate a part of The Beatles’ career that’s been in front of people’s eyes so much lately.”
His parents Marvin and Janice lived in Lansdale Borough from 1965 to 2008, and during that time, they raised Steve, a North Penn High School Class of 1980 graduate, and his sisters, with a love for Beatlemania, according to a 2007 PrincetonInfo Community News article. His father was a country fan at heart, and played guitar, he said.
After graduation from North Penn, Landes headed to the Great White Way to star in “Beatlemania” and begin his Broadway quest, per Community News. Landes, per the article, credited his voice and appearance to aid in being the perfect Lennon, but he has a passion for Lennon’s personality and legacy too.
“John is to me the perfect kind of hero, in that he was a real person,” Landes told Community News in 2007. “I sort of relate him to superheroes — Superman had all of these superpowers, while Batman was just a guy, a guy who could be hurt, just a human being. That’s what John Lennon was, a flawed character. He had many setbacks in his life, and he had a lot to overcome in his early childhood. Through his music he was able to really learn a lot. That was his lasting statement. He was just a guy like everyone else, but he took his creativity and made great statements that said, ‘Let’s make this world a better place.’”
Rain is also comprised of Joe Bithorn as George, Joey Curatolo as Paul, and Ralph Castelli as Ringo. Their name comes from the song on the U.S. B-side to “Paperback Writer.”
Read more on Landes and Lennon here.
