Open Air Picnic Concert, Broadlands, August 11

IT'S a case of spot the odd one out at Broadlands on Saturday.

For, of the three big-name musical acts lined up to entertain at the outdoor concert in Romsey, only one is the genuine article.

Headline act Bjorn Again - an Abba tribute band - will be joined for the occasion by The Bootleg Beatles (do you really need to be told who they are paying homage to?) and Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - the real ones.

Lord and Lady Romsey's stately home will make the perfect backdrop for this trio of super-groups, whose penchant for musical and stylistic excess was perfectly in keeping with their time.

Abba and The Beatles may be poles apart in terms of artistic ambition, but in the popularity stakes, few can touch them. One thing they had in common was their painstaking approach to production - a fanatical attention to detail which was probably, at least partly, responsible for their success.

The jokey Bjorn Again cash in on both the Swedish foursome's astonishingly catchy tunes - Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Fernando, Knowing Me Knowing You etc - and their kitschy Eurovision image, complementing a faithfully reproduced sound with a garish parade of costumes and some particularly unconvincing dance moves.

The Bootleg Beatles have been described variously as "magically real", "flawless" and "fastidiously authentic". Embracing all eras of Beatledom, their recreation of the Fab Four's look and music even extends to them using original Sixties instruments and amps. Originally formed from the cast of the 1979 Broadway musical Beatlemania, they are now one of the UK's most popular touring groups.

The only truly authentic act in the line-up, Steve Harley, still enjoys an enviable reputation as a live performer more than 25 years after his biggest hit, the compilation-friendly Make Me Smile (Come and See Me), stormed the British charts.

Renowned for his quirky vocal style and high-flown lyrics, his other hits include Judy Teen, Mr Soft and a cover of The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun.

The gates open at 5pm, with the show starting at about 7pm. For tickets and information, call 01202 456456, 023 8071 1811 or 01722 327676.