PDT Staff Writer

Will The Return return?

There's a good chance, according to WNXT FM morning personality Steve Hayes.

“It's already in the works,” he said on Monday. “We will probably see them back, hopefully by the end of the year. We're working on it, but we haven't found a venue for them yet.”

The Beatles tribute band played before an enthusiastic crowd of about 1,000 Saturday on a cold, snowy night at Shawnee State University's Vern Riffe Center for the Arts.

The Atlanta-based quartet played mid-'60s Fab Four songs to loud cheers and applause from the crowd.

Hayes said the show was almost a sellout. The Riffe Center holds about 1,200 people.

Hayes also said people have been asking about a Return return.

The Return was supposed to open for Peter Noone and Micky Dolenz at the eighth annual Rock ‘n' Roll House Party on April 21 at SSU.

But Hayes and co-producer Carl Daehler decided to give the band its own night instead.

The band members are in their mid-20s, about the same age the lads from Liverpool were when they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

On Saturday, they wore suits like the Beatles did and played the same type of instruments as the Beatles.

The band was authentic down to their guitar amplifiers. The Beatles used Vox amplifiers, and The Return had two Vox models onstage also.

They also had the mop-top hair style made fashionable by the Beatles.

The Return played for about two hours, treating the crowd to notable hits like “Help,” “Hard Days Night” and “Yesterday.”

The band also played some lesser known Beatles' hits.

Those who missed The Return can sample clips of their music at www.thereturnonline.com.

JEFF BARRON can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 236.