They call themselves “John,” “Paul,” “George” and “Ringo,” but these lads don’t hail from Liverpool.

With psychedelic suits, fake mustaches and vintage instruments, the Fab Four reincarnate — Andy Irish (Paul McCartney), Jeremy O’Dell (John Lennon), Erich Nicholson (George Harrison) and Erik Fidel (Ringo Starr) — will take Sutter Street on a journey through the 1960s and down Abbey Road after Thursday’s Cattle Drive.

“Before our show, we’re just regular people. And then we change into our costumes. We’re the Beatles,” said Erik Fidel, Because: A Tribute to the Beatles band member.

In an effort to recreate the Beatles concert experience, Because performs 45 to 50 songs (grouped into three sets of stages in the Beatles’ musical career) at every “full show.”

“You’ve got your early bubble gum poppy music from the Ed Sullivan days, then it goes into the psychedelic stuff, and finally the later songs like Abbey Road where you can hear the angst,” Irish said. “We’re not stuck playing the same songs over and over. The genres are just so diverse.”

Costume and attitude changes accompany the genre shifts.

“We’re as authentic as we possibly can be without having the Beatles there telling us what to do. The movements, all the tiny details, even the accents,” Nicholson said. “If you’re not going to go all the way with something, then there’s no way of doing it,”

O’Dell bought an Indian necklace like John Lennon’s, and Irish plays guitar left-handed, as did McCartney. The band members scrutinize videos, study books and listen to recordings to better emulate the Beatles.

“We’re performers. This is no different from playing a part in a play. While we’re in the middle of a show, we just have to think, ‘What would Paul have done?’” Irish said.

According to Nicholson, the role divisions “just sort of fell into place.”

“It’s funny, because our characters fit who we are. Our mannerisms, our features, our vocal ranges fit our characters already. It’s really strange how things like that happen,” he said.

Nicholson, Irish, Fidel and O’Dell began playing together as a Beatles cover band five years ago.

“We all met here at Nicholson Music (in Folsom). It’s like the hub—it’s where you meet other musicians,” Nicholson said.

In fact, the store is the band’s sponsor, and Nicholson is the son of storeowner Nick.

Keyboardist Jeremy Dawson, “the fifth Beatle,” joined the band later.

“They were already a band — they were actually called the BBC back then (but the actual BBC made them change their name). I was a big fan,” Dawson said.

After attending numerous concerts, Dawson approached the band and asked if they wanted a keyboardist.

Now, Dawson is the band’s “behind-the-scenes” man, Nicholson said.

According to Irish, Because “pulls a very decent crowd.”

“And if we make just one fan in the crowd happy, then it’s all worth it.”

Fan Ronald Leal saw Because at a concert in Riverpark.

“(The) costumes were outstanding and . . . other attention to details made the show a memorable one. We especially noticed that ‘Paul’ was playing a left-handed guitar,” Leal said.

And why a Beatles cover band?

“Everyone loves the Beatles. And how fun is it to be a character? I don’t know. It just happened, I guess,” Irish said.

But O’Dell has a more concrete explanation.

“I can’t write songs on my own. I love old things, and I couldn’t write modern day music,” he said. “It’s great to stand up there in your rig and your boots. And even though the crowd knows you’re not the Beatles, for that hour show, everyone just gets nostalgic.”

As Nicholson summed it up, “Our goal is to bring the music to people who didn’t get the chance to hear the Beatles live.”