Mark Vaccacio, who spent a good portion of his career playing John Lennon and George Harrison in Beatles tribute bands, lost a lengthy battle with colon cancer Wednesday. He was 58.
Strawberry Fields, the band with whom he had played for the last 15 years, issued a statement on their website. "We regret the passing of Mark 'Farquar' Vaccacio, who suffered and died on June 15, 2011 from colon cancer and its complications. He was our guitarist for Strawberry Fields and a most dear friend for 15 years and also an aluminist member of Beatlemania. His ability to touch the lives of so many people was immense and all that saw him perform and knew him as a friend were greatly touched by him in so many ways. Thank you, Farquar, for being such a positive light in our lives and we will all miss you forever."
According to his biography on the Strawberry Fields website, Vaccacio starred for three years on Broadway as John Lennon in "Beatlemania" and played George Harrison with Strawberry Fields. The band has had weekly Saturday shows at B.B. King's in New York. On Aug. 16, 2005, the group re-created the Beatles' Shea Stadium show at the original venue, which was demolished in 2009. The performance included taped messages from Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney.
But Vaccacio's Beatle connections weren't totally imitations. He created and starred in "Imagine," a live show based on John Lennon in which he performed with members of Lennon's backup band, Elephant's Memory. And he also played guitar and did backup vocals with Ringo Starr and the Monkees on the national television commercial they did for Pizza Hut. He has recently been executive producer for Strawberry Field's backing tracks.
The news of Vaccacio's colon cancer had been reported in several newspaper stories. For one man, it was a lifesaver. According to fellow band member Tony Garofalo, who plays John Lennon in Strawberry Fields, the man wrote the band after hearing about reading the stories. The man said before reading the newspaper reports, he hadn't had a colonoscopy and said the stories finally made him do it. He said his test results were all clear, but credited Vaccacio with making a big difference in his life.
Garofalo said about Vaccacio, "As the producer, manager and John Lennon impersonator of Strawberry Fields, I can say that Farquar (Vaccacio's nickname) was not only a close and dear friend to me, but a steller musician and showman. He lived to perform and to make people sing and laugh. He will be missed forever both in the social circuit and also in the music industry."
Charles F. Rosenay, Horror Happening Examiner and producer of Beatle conventions, also said, "He was among the best Lennon solo imitators in history."
© COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: This article is the original work of Steve Marinucci.