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China never got Beatle Mania.
中国从未患上过“甲壳虫狂热症”。
Fifty years ago, when the rest of the world fell into a decades-long frenzy over the Fab Four, one of the greatest sensations in music history left China untouched. Isolated and in the throes of the Cultural Revolution, the country never saw the hysterical fans, the fainting, the weeping, the Ed Sullivan Show performances; no one was humming 'She Loves You' or hankering to grow their hair into a mop top.
50年前，在世界其他地方对甲壳虫乐队(Beatles，又译披头士)陷入数十年的迷恋之时，这一历史上最轰动一时的音乐现象却与中国无缘。彼时中国正闭关锁国，深陷文革泥潭，所以从未见到那些疯狂的歌迷，他们的昏厥，他们的泪水，也没有看过他们在“埃德•沙利文秀”(Ed Sullivan Show)的演出，没有谁哼唱《她爱你》(She Loves You)，也没有谁想要把头发留成拖把状。
Fast-forward to the present, and it's understandable that a driver, upon hearing that the Beijing Beatles were performing in China's capital one night, turned to his employer and earnestly asked, 'Is that really the Beatles?'
难怪在今天，当一位司机在听闻“北京甲壳虫乐队”(Beijing Beatles)将于某晚在中国首都演出的消息时，他会急切地询问：真的是甲壳虫乐队？
This wasn't the first time someone has confused the popular tribute band with the original. The Beijing Beatles, who have been performing throughout China since April 2011, often cause a stir when playing in the country's second-tier cities such as Hefei, Tianjin and Nanjing.
这不是第一次有人把这支翻唱乐队跟原版甲壳虫搞混。北京甲壳虫乐队从2011年4月起一直在中国各地演出，在合肥、天津和南京等二线城市常常引起不小的轰动。
'It's not uncommon for people in these cities to think we're actually the Beatles,' chuckles Beijing Beatles frontman Ian Burns, whose stage name is Don Lemmon. 'They're so far removed from it, they don't realize two of them are dead.'
北京甲壳虫主唱、艺名“唐•雷蒙”（Don Lemmon，仿约翰•列侬(John Lennon)）的伊恩•伯恩斯(Ian Burns)笑着说，这些城市的人们常常以为我们真是甲壳虫乐队，他们跟甲壳虫乐队太隔阂了，都不知道其中两人已经离世。
Mr. Burns is joined by British bassist John Devlin, who plays as Raul McCarthy; Troy Reilly, an Australian guitarist who goes by Jorge Arrowsmith; and Frenchman Greg Desbuquois, who drums as Gringo Star.
北京甲壳虫除了伯恩斯，还有艺名“劳尔•麦卡锡”（Raul McCarthy，仿保罗•麦卡特尼(Paul McCartney)的贝斯手约翰•德夫林(John Devlin)；艺名“乔治•阿罗史密斯”（Jorge Arrowsmith，仿乔治•哈里森(George Harrison)）的澳大利亚亚吉他手特洛伊•赖利(Troy Reilly)；以及艺名“格林戈•斯塔尔”（Gringo Star，仿林戈•斯塔尔(Ringo Starr)）的法国鼓手格雷格•德比夸(Greg Desbuquois)。
As tribute bands go, these guys are good. Less than two years old, the Beijing Beatles have racked up more than 120 gigs since first appearing on the Beijing music circuit. They perform in costume, sporting the simple black turtlenecks of the Beatles' early years as well as flamboyant Sgt. Pepper suits, custom-tailored in Shanghai, that resemble the ones John, Paul, George and Ringo donned during the later era. They play two or three sets per gig, usually incorporating a versatile range of Beatles music.
作为致敬乐队，这些人表现不错。从第一次出现在北京音乐圈以来，成立不到两年的北京甲壳虫乐队已经演出超过120场。他们演唱的时候身穿甲壳虫乐队早年素雅的高翻领毛衣，也模仿晚期的约翰、保罗、乔治和林戈，穿上在上海定制的“帕伯军士”(Sgt. Pepper)花哨套装。他们每一场都演唱两三套曲目，常常把各种风格的甲壳虫歌曲融合在一起。
'It gives people this chance to see what the Beatles used to be,' Mr. Burns said. 'It's a chance for them to experience the Beatles, not just the songs.'
伯恩斯说，这让人们有机会看到甲壳虫乐队过去的面貌，让他们有机会体验甲壳虫乐队本身，而不只是他们的歌曲。
The Beijing Beatles started out playing in local bars to gauge how much demand there was for the Fab Four's music. The response was overwhelmingly positive, mostly from Beijing's foreign community at first, but later from Chinese as well.
北京甲壳虫首先是在当地酒吧演唱，以估摸甲壳虫音乐有多大需求。反响十分强烈，最开始主要是在北京的外国人圈子里面，后来在中国人当中也引起轰动。
Robert Honer, an American citizen who will soon relocate to Beijing, caught the cover band's act on his first visit to the city. 'They had a lot of energy, and so did the audience, particularly with songs like 'Hey Jude,'' he said. 'It didn't really feel like I was in Beijing.'
即将迁居至北京的美国人罗伯特•霍纳(Robert Honer)在第一次来到这座城市的时候偶然间看到了北京甲壳虫的演出。他说，他们非常兴奋，观众也非常兴奋，特别是在唱《嗨裘德》(Hey Jude)的时候；我觉得自己简直不是在北京。
The band now plays everywhere from bars to embassy balls to private weddings. And they're finding their image appearing in some unexpected places such as an ad for a symphonic performance of Beatles music that included the Beijing group's mock Abbey Road photo rather than a picture of the original group.
从酒吧到使馆舞会再到私人婚礼现场，现在这支乐队哪里都演。另外他们的形象也出现在了一些让人想不到的地方，比如在一场交响甲壳虫音乐演出的广告上，就出现了北京甲壳虫模仿的《艾比路》(Abbey Road)专辑封面画，而不是原版甲壳虫乐队的画面。
The Beijing Beatles also say they would like to continue playing outside of Beijing, making the rounds in China's smaller cities, though they'll be scaling back the number of appearances in favor of refining the overall show.
北京甲壳虫还说，他们希望继续在北京以外表演，在中国小城市巡回。不过为了完善整个表演，他们将减少演出次数。
'We want to improve the act, work on improving the visual,' Mr. Burns said. 'We're all fans and we're in such a privileged position to decide what we want to do.'
伯恩斯说，我们希望改进表演，改善视觉效果；我们都是甲壳虫粉，而我们又处在这样一个可以决定自己想做什么的有利位置。
