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Living life as a lookalike in Leeds: Frank Sinatra, David Beckham, Beyonce, Lewis Hamilton
Working as a celebrity lookalike can be a fast track to showbiz perks like VIP areas and fan adulation. Paul Robinson reports on four people with fascinating tales to tell.
They’re normally found in the down-to-earth surroundings of Yorkshire rather than celebrity playgrounds such as Monte Carlo or Las Vegas.
Every so often, however, the county’s impressive array of lookalikes and tribute performers get a taste of the luxury lifestyle that comes with genuine fame.
And today, in the second of a special Yorkshire Evening Post focus on the lookalike world, we relive the moments when four acts sampled the full glare of the showbusiness spotlight.
Phil Fryer, 52, from Churwell in Leeds, has been treating music lovers to his uncannily-accurate take on the songs of legendary crooner Frank Sinatra for more than a decade now.
He rates his booking for the wedding of TV presenter Holly Willoughby at Amberley Castle in West Sussex as his most glamorous assignment to date.
Phil, who gave up his job as a barber to become a full-time tribute act, told the YEP: “There were lots of celebrity guests, but it was Dermot O’Leary who was the first one to come over and congratulate me on my performance.
“Liam Gallagher also thanked me and spoke to me about getting on in the business.”
Like many other people in his particular corner of showbiz, Phil is represented by Morley-based agency A-List Lookalikes & Entertainment.
Also on the agency’s books is Paul Mansley, a dead ringer for football superstar David Beckham.
Paul, who is currently based in Lincolnshire but used to live in Headingley, Leeds, was caught up in an outbreak of FANDEMONIUM when he paid a visit to Japan at the same time as the ex-England skipper.
During a chaotic seven days in Tokyo, he was:
* Mobbed by hysterical locals when he touched down at the airport;
* Swamped by reporters when he turned up in a stretch limo at a building where the real Beckham was due to give a press conference;
* Forced to lie low for a day in his hotel room while two security guards stationed outside the door kept admirers at bay.
Paul’s outings as Becks have also seen him rubbing shoulders with real-life football greats like Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Cesc Fabregas.
Nor is he any stranger to TV, having appeared on programmes such as This Morning, The Apprentice, Rogue Traders and Celebrity Scissorhands to name just four.
Another ‘A-Lister’ with telly experience is Rachael White, who works part-time as a Beyonce lookalike.
Rachael, a 24-year-old hair stylist for a Leeds-based firm, was one of the housemates on the final Channel 4 run of reality show Big Brother.
And she has no doubts that her resemblance to the former Destiny’s Child singer helped convince its producers to pick her from thousands of auditionees.
Rachael, who lives in Bingley, said: “I don’t think I would have got [on the programme] if I didn’t look like Beyonce!
“It wasn’t until I was 20 that I thought I might be able to get away with being a lookalike.
“My mum had bought me Beyonce concert tickets for Nottingham Arena for my birthday that year.
“As we walked into the foyer of the arena, people began shouting “there she is” and “it’s Beyonce”.
“I was trying to see where she was but everybody seemed to be looking behind me.
“I turned round and she wasn’t there – then a security team came over and whisked me into a VIP waiting room.
“Apparently all the fans thought I was her so I caused a bit of a commotion!”
Lookalike number three today is Neil Davis, who’s a 33-year-old graphics installer and dad-of-two when he’s not ‘being’ racing driver Lewis Hamilton.
Again on the books of A-List, like Phil, Paul and Rachael he’s had first-hand experience of the crazier aspects of the business.
Neil said: “I have done jobs in the past which have got out of hand with people thinking I was the real Lewis and me being smuggled out of a back door by security.
“I am a fan of Lewis Hamilton and have met him on a couple of occasions and he is very down-to-earth.
“I think it does help to like the person so you can get into character better.
“It also makes you aware that you have to leave the public with a good impression and not tar their reputation.”
Asked if there were any downsides to the role, Neil said: “I have worked with other lookalikes in the past and been surprised at how much it had taken over their life, to the point of them almost thinking they were the real thing.
“I do enjoy being Lewis but it’s always nice to get out of the race suit and be me again.”
Like Neil, Churwell’s answer to Frank Sinatra admits that lookalike work isn’t always a bed of roses – but also stresses it’s worth sticking with in the long run.
Phil said: “My advice to newcomers is that there is more to this business than meets the eye.
“There’s a lot of travelling, nights away from home and being stuck on your own in another country.
“The rewards do outweigh all of that, though.
“The best thing about being a tribute act is the adulation that you get from the audience.
“It is a great feeling to think that everyone in the crowd is out there just for you.”
* Do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a lookalike? Send your pictures to shirley.whitehead@ypn.co.uk and we’ll print the best in Friday’s YEP.
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