In the St. Louis concert scene, Beatle Bob is somewhat of a
mysterious icon: The omnipresent Bob shows up from out of nowhere,
finds his way to the front of the crowd and proceeds to dance
continuously for the duration of the concert. When Beatle Bob
dances, bands occasionally have to stop midway through a song to
regain some focus. And, much like his entrance, Beatle Bob
disappears soon after the show. Who is this longstanding St. Louis
figure?

Bob said he has had the name since elementary school. “I was a
big Beatles fan, and it was 1964. I was given the name from a
Catholic nun named Sister Celeste,” Bob said. “We were supposed to
be reading our geography books; well, behind my geography book I
was sneak-reading a Sixteen magazine all-Beatles issue. I thought I
was getting away with it, but she caught wind of it, raced down the
isle and snatched it out of my hand and said, ‘That’ll be enough of
that, Beatle Bob.'”

Bob said he resurrected the name in 1979 as a pen name while he
wrote for the now-defunct St. Louis rock ‘n’ roll magazine called
Jetlag. Since then, he used the name as both a freelance writer and
as a radio DJ. He said, though, that he truly became known for his
unique dancing style.

“I would go these lesser-known national acts, first. I’d start
dancing, and the bands would comment ‘Hey, nice dancing.’ They
would talk to me after the show, then they would know my name. As
it went on, years and years later, bands would say ‘Hey Beatle Bob,
thanks for dancing,’ or ‘Don’t be shy, don’t let Beatle Bob be the
only one dancing.”

The dancing itself actually started because of a friend, Bob
said. “I first did my dance solo thing at a concert by a guy named
Dwight Twilley. He was a one-hit wonder with a song called, ‘I’m on
Fire.’ He was playing Mississippi Nights, and I had never really
done the dancing thing before, but there was this guy I knew who
was a music scholar–he actually taught a credit course in rock ‘n’
roll at [Washington University]. He was real reserved and
soft-spoken, but here he came and started shaking like a leaf on a
tree. I said, ‘If Paul can come there and feel like doing it,’ and
I felt like doing it,” he said.

Bob went on to say that when the concert scene in St. Louis
became bigger in the mid-’80s, he started to become more well known
as bigger bands noticed him and talked to him. These band members,
some long after the demise of their respective bands, still come up
and talk to Bob.

“Twenty or so years later, long after their bands have broken up
long ago and [the members] are working in different parts of the
music industry, and I’ll bump into them at festivals and they’ll
say, ‘Hey, Bob, remember me? I was in such and such a band, how you
been doing? We still have good memories of you.’ It’s kind of
touching in a way,” he said.

Bob said that, in any given year, he goes to around 500
concerts. This might seem impossible, but Bob said that he goes and
sees two or three shows a night, depending on how early they start.
He went on to say his favorite concert so far has been when he saw
Polyphonic Spree at this year’s South by Southwest Music
Conference.

“It’s a 25-piece band that wear white robes, and they are just
amazing. They have a 12-piece choir, two percussionists, a drummer,
conga player, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar, a guy who
plays a theremin during the show, French horn and a cello. It was a
mind-boggling set that they put on, and expect big things from
those guys,” he said. Along with Polyphonic Spree, Bob said he also
enjoyed seeing Bob Dylan and Stereolab at The Pageant,
respectively.

As for the local venues, Bob said his favorite place to see a
concert is Off Broadway, near Soulard.

“I just like the ambiance and the sound system, and it’s just
got a good vibe to it,” he said. Along with Off Broadway, Bob also
likes the Venice Cafe, which Bob calls “a popculture haven.”

On the other side of the coin, Bob thinks a place like the
Rocket Bar downtown is not set up very well for live shows.

Of all the concerts Bob has seen through the years, he said
there are still some acts he wished he had seen.

“I’d have loved to see Gene Vincent from the ’50s, a great
rockabilly guy … some of the R&B guys like Larry Williams
from the ’50s. I’ve pretty much seen everybody that’s out now that
I want to see, either through St. Louis or out-oftown festivals.
Mostly it would be the ’50s people who are deceased and never
toured that much or I was too young to see them at the time.”

So, if you happen upon a concert and Beatle Bob is there, go
ahead and dance with him. Who knows, you might like it.