Over the last couple of years I have found myself attending gigs of an increasing number of tribute bands.
Venues ranging from what in the 60s were top range (Beatles and Stones playing them in 1964/65) capacity 1500-2000 to much smaller, intimate venues holding maybe 300 or so.
Saw Australian Pink Floyd in the larger venue and Beatles and CSN in the smaller, for example.
I like that you are close to the stage, sound often very good, very reasonable cost and, if competent (and most are who make a living) seeing an approximation of artists through death or expenses you could often never see now.
Not so keen where they feel a need to obsessively mimic look (wigs and clothes – feels a little “end of pier”) and is unnecessary.
And the audience at times squeezing into 45 year old Ben Sherman’s can be unseemly.
Overall, a fine set is generally delivered, so much more affordable night out, location much more convenient, more intimate venues.
Ok. It is very nostalgia based and not breaking or promoting new artists.
But compared to dynamic prices of major acts (often way past prime) it gets my vote.
They can be very good. I saw the excellent Hejira doing Joni Mitchell – Shadows and Light, and later a second Joni tribute called This Flight Tonight who focus on the first five albums and who were excellent too. I also saw a Dire Straits act who played well but the sound was horrible – for some reason they were all using digital amp simulators with the whole lot channeled through a quite small PA system – 4 vocals, 2 x guitars, bass, keys, saxophone and the drums. Too clever by half. Get some amps boys.
I’ve got tickets for the always excellent Nearly Dan for next October in the bag too.
I like the focus of a tribute as opposed to the standard covers band who don’t interest me in the slightest.
Regarding amp modelling… yep, it can work, but very rarely in my experience. You see the worst when you get a band full of weekend warriors who have spent hours ‘dialling in’ the perfect ‘tone’… and each of them sounds like they are playing in a different room due to different sizes of modelled speakers, different size room simulation, etc… it’s snake oil, the DX7 of the 2020s.
I saw a live set by an extremely popular current band, who undoubtedly are outstanding players and performers. But the guitarist stomped on her Helix for a solo, and it sounded like it was coming from Abbey Road instead of the place it was actually happening.
Very niche gripes from me! I think it’s just that people haven’t learned how to use their ears with the tech.
I’ve never heard one that sounded good for more than a few minutes. Horrible things.
Actually I was being a bit harsh. They CAN work – I tried a UA Dream 65 pedal, and that instantly sounded right to me (it’s trying to be a Deluxe Reverb amp in a box). I am not sure exactly, but I think that it was not trying to emulate a room sound, plus it had the tremolo and reverb from the amp.
I’ve seen a decent Who tribute band and a so so Pink Floyd fairly recently. I think the key difference is that the Floyd sound is so dependent on tone, and when ‘Gilmore’ couldn’t precisely match the original it was so obvious that it was a bit grating. The same, extremely capable, musicians who played the Floyd catalogue are performing a Rush tribute in 2026, which I shall void but The Light will attend.
The Light likes Rush? You married a unicorn!
If she thinks the tribute act does a good job, please let us know the name of the band. I’d like to see a good Rush tribute act – though I’m still hoping that Geddy and Alex will bring the Rush Fifty Something Tour over here next year.
I went to see Moving Pictures recently and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a recreation of an R50 tour gig apparently but basically played songs from across their career. Bass player does try to look a bit too much like Geddy but the guitarist certainly doesn’t and they’ve just been joined by a female drummer which is ace!. There were young people at the gig…
Interesting. Thanks. I saw Moving Pictures a couple of years ago and didn’t rate them. Maybe they’ve improved.
Wouldn’t it be a bit strange if both the bass player and guitarist looked like Geddy ?
Good point! Badly written but you know what I mean!
They’re called Chemistry. Plenty of YouTube vids if you want to check them out and search for ‘Chemistry Rush tribute’.
La Villa Strangiato were very good when I saw them. Looks like they have some gigs this year, including Rushfest (Glasgow – Moving Pictures too, apparently) in May.
So much depends on the quality of the band – and possibly also on how well you know the original music. I’ve seen Genesis tribute bands be superb, very good and quite poor. The last example had a drummer who seemed to think that Phil Collins’ drum parts just weren’t elaborate enough and needed supplementing with a load of irritating flourishes and he ruined the whole show. There’s a Rush outfit who seem to be highly rated but just weren’t tight enough to be an enjoyable listen – but I do know the material very well and was aware of thinking that the tribute guys were a notch or two below the standard of the originals. I once walked out on a Led Zep tribute band who were playing all the right notes in the right order but in a really plodding way. When they struck up the intro to Moby Dick, I just had to go. The idea of listening to 15 minutes or so of drum solo by drummer who had learned his part well but didn’t have John Bonham’s feel was just too much to bear.
I find it’s the vocals which can let the whole thing down. I saw a Floyd one called Darkside and they started with “Breathe” and after initial anxiety I was then able to relax as they had the Dave/Rick harmony thing nailed. Later the bass player did a good Rog so the rest flowed. I saw a Nick Drake tribute some years ago who had the guitar playing nailed but he sang in a sort of whispered mumble which was no good at all.
The Musical Box are a good Genesis tribute – they have a lot of the actual instruments and costumes. They sound exactly like early Genesis to the point where @feedback_file leaned over to me and whispered “I feel like I’ve gone back to Sheffield City Hall in 1971”.
I agree re Musical Box. I’ve seen them loads of times. Always excellent. Re-Genesis were good 15+ years ago. Not going to name the bad ones – they may have improved.
I went to see Aja, an Irish Steely Dan tribute band last month and they were excellent. Was wondering how they were going to pull it off but they had an amazing guitarist who was able to deliver and an engaging vocalist. There’s nowt wrong with tribute bands – if you like hearing live music it’s just another way to enjoy that. Plus tribute bands tend to have an undercurrent of joyfulness/playfulness/celebration which are often missing from the real thing.
Yes Nearly Dan sing “we’ve got the Nearly Dan t shirts” at the right point in Show Biz Kids. And on Kid Charlemagne they pause after the first “is there gas in the car” and the whole audience sings the repeat line. Donald wouldn’t do this.
Agreed on Nearly Dan. We saw them at London’s Jazz Cafe a few years back and they were amazing.
On the Gold Coast, near where I live is a joint called Twin Towns, which is tribute band central. Over the next six months, we are offered Phil Collins, Meatloaf, Linda Ronstadt, a Jersey Boys tribute band (!), Elton John, Legends of Motown, Van Morrison, Judy Garland, the Village People, the Fabs, INXS, Cold Chisel, Sting, Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, Andrea Bocelli, Michael Jackson, Johnny Cash/June Carter, the Eagles, your actual Bjorn Again, Dolly Parton, Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and Barbra Streisand.
Every so often somebody real creeps in to try and make a buck – in this case The Church. Recently they’ve had The Animals (or to be strictly accurate An Animal) and, if memory serves, The Zombies.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tribute band, but the tribute industry must be worth billions, which I find fairly depressing.
Looking on the bright side we have tickets for Gillian Welch and David Rawlings at the arts centre in Surfers Paradise in February. Hurrah!
We have friends who are big tribute band fans, mainly Beatles and Eagles and other soft rock acts, so we’ve been to our fair share of gigs with them. We decided, however, that we had enough of them ( the bands not the friends ) and when they suggested we go to a John Lennon Imagine tribute concert at Stroud Subscription Rooms we politely declined and told them that we never wanted to see any more tribute bands. Relations have cooled a bit since but I’m sure all will be fine.
I agree that any act with wigs and costumes is an absolute no-no. The only band I wouldn’t mind seeing though is The Analogues who do a remarkable facsimile of The Beatles, right down to the correct original instrumentation.
I saw The Analogues and was surprised that I didn’t enjoy it. I think the reason was that their whole schtick is that they sound as close as possible to the originals and there is no real sense of show so that you end up listening closely and noticing all the ways in which they don’t sound exactly like the records. In particular, echoing what @Twang says above, the vocalists just can’t compare with the people they’re trying to copy. When I saw them, there were quite a few other bits that didn’t sound quite right. The thing that really sticks in my mind is that the piccolo trumpet in Penny Lane was played fairly poorly which just ruined the song.
I’m sorry if this sounds a bit harsh but if you set out to do nothing more than reproduce the records that the HJH made you’re going to fall short.
In fairness, I stopped going to watch Paul McCartney live nearly 30 years ago because his voice had started to go and I thought his band were lousy.
Was always completely averse to them when they became a thing but my views have softened quite considerably.
The Rumours of Fleetwood Mac are much better than the real thing.
Australian Pink Floyd are great value for money and very proficient.
I saw Nearly Dan for the first time this year and the songs were mostly faithful to the originals except when the did Hey Nineteen there was an absolutely delightful extended sax and reggae part that really elevated the song to another level.
on the other hand I saw a pretty piss poor David Bowie, a couple of iffy Abbas and an orchestral Leonard Cohen by candlelight that was dire.
I think tribute bands are fine, and quite like the historical detail plus witty playing with it to break the fourth wall. It’s entertainment, and what’s wrong with that? The Aussie PF were better than the real thing – and I saw the Floyd in 1977. The Bootleg Beatles have survived since the 90s. The Musical Box’s 1973-4 Genesis was a great cultural reenactment. I’d like to see Space Ritual or Yes’s “Relayer” tour done like this (and Yes are their own tribute pretty much now, anyway). How else do we see the original than as a performance ? Junior saw a Rammstein tribute that had pyro in a pub. That’s dedication. This is rather good, and surely affected the structure of Ripon Cathedral:
I’m surprised no-one has pointed out yet that one of the worst tribute bands doing the rounds nowadays is Fairport Convention.
I thought the same but I was intrigued when Dave Mattacks started drumming for them again. They were certainly better when I saw them.
Far be it from me to support the old codgers, but they would be a whole lot better if that is what they were. It’s all the new I can’t abide. As in from the last 45 years.
Bootleg Beatles have been going since ’79!
And very good they are too. I generally agree with the comment about avoiding the lookalike, as opposed to soundalike, tribute shows but I make an exception for the Bootlegs. The original incarnation came out of the Beatlemania theatre show and it has retained that spirit of theatre, and also a perfectionist attention to detail. When I first saw them many years ago, the section where they did peak mop tops to finish the first half was genuinely thrilling and gave me at least a sense of what it must have been like to see them back in the day. The band has been through many changes over the years but is still run by the original ‘John’ and he has clearly worked hard to maintain high standards over the last 40 plus years.
I once saw a Michael Jackson in the local curry house. He liked to write of the original records. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
“Write”? What’s wrong with “mime”?
“‘Cause this is din-ner, dinner night ..”
“Just eat it, eat it…”
“You wanna hot starter/sundries…”
“I’m lookin’ for the lamb in me dinner…”
Etc.
Bravo! 😄
Sunshine… Moonlight… Good Times… Bhaji
“…living off the dhal”.
Having attended several concerts in Ripon Cathedral over the years, the acoustics are dreadful for anyone not sat right at the front due to the large number of pillars. The local concert society had to move out and find another venue nearby.
They put on a lot of these tribute acts a year, mostly billed as “by candlelight” and with no named performer.
We’ve a coldplay concert ‘by candlelight’ here in Thirsk soon. As I don’t think I’ve heard a coldplay song I’ll give it a miss.
Thanks for the warning about Ripon.
For the extended Platinum Jubilee weekend, the council put on three days’ worth of tribute acts on the Market Square, running from about 10am to 11pm. The majority of those that bothered to turn up were club acts singing along to backing tapes whilst miming, with the Elvis impersonator being almost as bad as Eilert Pilarm. I felt sorry for the nearby shop staff who had to endure the noise all day.
Generally not a huge fan, but Bjorn Again is as good a night out as anything. I also enjoyed The Bootleg Beatles the one time I saw them
They’re both in my top two, too.
As I’ve mentioned on here before, I repeatedly saw the original lineup of Bjorn Again (52 times in 9 months), simply because they were musically brilliant and a guaranteed fun night out. But they girls went back to Australia after a year in the UK and, since then, the franchised Bjorn Agains have been a poor tribute to the classic original lineup Bjorn Again. If that doesn’t sound too daft.
Usually avoid them but did go to see T Rextasy who as well as doing the crowd pleasers that my sister enjoyed also did some B-sides and album tracks which got a thumbs up from me. Rabbit Fighter and Rip Off in fact!.
My mate has just come back from Austria a trifle disappointed to have missed the Falco tribute act by one day!
My feeling is that they’re simply bands with no imagination who can’t write their own material.
I’d make an exception for Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets, because that’s obviously a labour of love rather than cashing in on past glories.
I would have liked to have seen that French band (edit: The Musical Box) that recreated the Peter Gabriel era of Genesis, but I’m at least 30 years too late with that. I hope they’re not still going.
T-Rextasy was a decent attempt, but the singer was getting far too old when I saw them nearly 20 years ago.
Other than that, they’re just glorified pub-band bores churning out the same, restricted rota of tracks.
This could be a new thread actually … Compulsory pub band corny old rock set list.
1. Rocking In The Boody Free World
2. Live Forever … or whatever
3. Sit Down
4. Superstition … Aaarrgh – I always run away if thet starts up
5. Ring of Fire
5. Something by Status Quo
6. Song 2
7. Sex on Fire … just no.
8. Smoke On The Water
9. Creep
10. Smells Like Teen Spirit
I’m fine with bands playing crowd-pleasers in pubs. After your list, Mr Brightside is the encore, I guess…? You can’t not play that one. I’d also swap Ring of Fire for Folsom Prison Blues.
No more Mr Brightside, PLEASE.
Rock the Casbah
Sultans of bloody Swing
All Right Now
Honky Tonk Women
I once had a “I’ll join a covers band and do some gigs” moment. Audition duly obtained, they sent me the song list (horror after clichéd horror) and stressed that they gigged every Friday and Saturday night and sometimes Sunday lunchtime too. I politely declined…
All Right Now is a good shout. I feel tense when a band goes for that one. Guaranteed to get some late-middle-aged air guitar/gurning on the dance floor.
Brown Sugar and/or Jumping Jack Flash
(Spoilsports…)
All extremely difficult to get right…
I’ve played in a covers band on and off since about 1992. It’s always slightly irritating to get the “muso sneering” reaction. If the band have fun and the audience enjoy it, what’s the problem?
Admittedly, one glance at our chosen covers would demonstrate that we weren’t typical…
I’m all for covers bands but I like them to take the song and interpret it rather than just try to replicate it, because even if they do, so what. I saw a band in Liverpool announce “Mrs. Robinson” then did it à la The Ramones. Brilliant.
Actually I’ve always thought “I wanna see the bright lights tonight” would work well like that. My first band used to do a rock version of “Apache”. Etc.
At one point, we did One to Another in the style of Big Muff…
Like the new pic Fitz!
Took you two months to notice, though…😢
I’m a bit slow…
I guess the rockiest version of Bright Lights is by Barrence Whitfield & Tom Russell. They also change the lyric from a “silver band marching up and down” to a “rock’n’roll band”, IIRC. It’s shite.
Do you mean the Lemonheads version?
Theirs is more power pop. This was thrash distorted guitars etc. Same principle applies though.
French Canadian band actually, The Musical Box, and yes they are still going I saw them this year. I am told their line-up changes regularly, they were very good, I went to keep a friend company
So good, Genesis let them use a lot of stuff from their archive at ‘The Farm’. Good enough also that both Steve Hackett and Phil Collins have played live with them. Musical Box member Antoine Baril appears to be able to play drums, guitars and keyboards.
I have a friend in Genesis Songbook which involves mainly the Collins era. Fortunately he’s a whizz with both the technical side of playing and of the equipment, which means the sounds are dialled in perfectly and they (for example) play the album version intro of Firth of Fifth, which even Tony Banks latterly eschewed. Going back to the originals vs. covers discussion, they also have a member of what passes for It Bites these days, and the UK’s premier Phil Collins tribute, which is handy.
Incidentally our drummer was compared to Phil Collins only last week. “No, not his playing…”
Three out of ten from that list.
For avoidance of doubt: is that the number of songs from Huge’s list that you play in your own covers band?
That would be the case, although we don’t always play Song 2 or Sit Down. In fact, hang on;
All These Things That I Have Done
Dreaming of You
Just What I needed
Smile
Refugee
Somewhere in My Heart
Alright
Parklife
Fantastic Day
Up the Junction
Grace
Pump It Up
I Predict a Riot
The Only One I Know
Good Enough
Common People
The Snake
Jackie Wilson Said
The Things We Do for Love
Cruel to be Kind
Strange
2468 Motorway
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
London Calling
Down Down
And She Was
A Town Called Malice
Don’t You Forget About Me
Nothing Ever Happens
Take it Easy
That was last Saturday’s pick of the pops.
The money’s going towards recording half a dozen songs I made up out of my own head in the spring. It’s not necessarily a binary choice between doing one or the other, as I’m sure Field Music – for example – will tell Huge.
Although there is obviously a difference between a ‘tribute’ band and a covers band, if only by degrees. I used to be ‘George’ in The Star Club and occasionally people would pick us up on who sang what, but we got over it. These days, mind… https://skirky.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-three-hundred-year-old-band.html
Tribute Bands specialise in playing from a particular artist or band’s repertoire. A Covers Band plays from several different artists repertoire, or possibly from a particular decade or musical genre.
Yes, that’s how I used to be able to tell both bands I was in apart.
Arf!
Interesting mix – I must have a rummage and see if I can find a typical set list…
@fitterstoke. Do! Even though we are one, we try and avoid the usual cover band suspects, although they tend to go through cycles. You rarely hear an Oasis cover these days, but everyone seems to have latched on to My Sharona.
Hi, @Skirky. As requested. Found this set list in the loft. This is from about 2004/5, when the same line up had been together for about 12 years. We had a “one vote veto” on any tune that was suggested, to make sure we were all on board. We never did functions (Original Lead Singer left due to that, formed a Commitments style band) and we never did requests. We agreed to please ourselves first and hope that we could drag the audience along with us – it mostly worked, although it took a while. Original Lead Singer called us self-indulgent – well, of course we were…
This was our final gig before we broke up (hence the big three-setter) and we cherry-picked tunes from the 12 year period. I’m confident that we were the only covers band on the island doing Can, Sparklehorse and Husker Du in the same gig.
Bitch
Molly’s Chambers
Bones
NYC
Good Fortune
Imitation of Life
Hate to say I told you so
Let it Bleed
Souljacker
Neil Jung
Chains of Love
Scar Tissue
Pig
Chevrolet
Dancing barefoot
White Punks on Dope
Connection
Could you be the one
Down in the Hole
One to another
Cracking up
Teenage Kicks
Bohemian like you
Word up
Shot by both sides
London calling
She sells sanctuary
Elevation
Amphetamine
Mr Pharmacist
Ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn’t have
Pretty vacant
Happy man
Splendid work!
It makes a good playlist, if I say so myself…
…and now, after a decade, I’m back in a covers band again, with the guitarist from the old band and a new rhythm section – just getting our act together, literally and figuratively.
Keep us posted!
Just noticed: it should be TWO decades! Eeek!
(I did play in some odd one-off projects for a few years after the band stopped – didn’t stop completely until about 2015…)
Even Frank Zappa was wont to play the “My Sharona” riff.
Zappa loved a big, dumb, cheesy riff – hell, The Mothers used to play Louie Louie…
Don’t know about you, but I’ve always dreamed of a world free of those damned Boodies.
After expecting very little, I was quite amazed by the Depeche Mode tribute band, Strangelove. They were very good indeed. The real band seemingly have stopped venturing below the Equator, but I’d go to see Strangelove again in a heartbeat. They even gather at the exit, posing for photos and are happy to chat!
Once went to an open air tribute band festival.
It was a good show/experience, and to be honest was the only way I’d ever get to see T.Rex, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and The Beatles live on the same afternoon.
Have seen From The Jam several times – last time though Bruce Foxton wasn’t onstage and they lost their USP somewhat.
Slady and The Ramonas gave proceedings gender twist (but the Sex Pissed Dolls were rubbish)
As more members leave, does a band start to become a tribute to itself?
New Order without Hooky, anyone?
Have seen Peter Hook and The Light, and blooming good they were too.
Yeah. The main criticsm being that Hooky can’t sing, but then neither can Barney.
We saw PH&TL on the opening night of this tour (in Worthing, you hipsters) and I was prepared for ropey vocals but he was ok. He had injured his shoulder so his son was doing a lot of work on bass so maybe that helped.
By which I mean he didn’t have to do two things at once.
I am always amused by your comments about New Order… you are a proper fan when you like a band so much that you actually hate them a bit. I recently went back to them, and I really enjoyed Barney’s singing – it’s an antidote to everything we hear now.
Yeah, I am a huge fan, have (in some form or other) everything they have released. ‘Bonus’ CD featuring an hour of doof-doof remixes of Blue Monday? Yep, got that, might even have two copies. It’s awful.
I think that gives me the right to acknowledge that some of it is shite, that Barney is a bit of a pillock, and Hooky’s not much better.
If they tried to autotune Barney, it would probably cause widespread power outages.
Hah!
Mm, I know what you mean but I do like that Hardfloor mix of Blue Monday. The rest of it is a doof-doof too far.
I recently went through a mad Technique phase and bought up all the related 12″ singles. The Steve Hurley mixes of Fine Time are pretty good, IMO
One of my fave NO tunes is the Best & Marsh theme, which is on the flipside of Round & Round.
“have (in some form or other) everything they have released. ”
Does that include ‘Substance Abuse’?
In short, Sal, no I don’t – but I probably have the component tracks spread around various hard drives. I’m really a completist of songs rather than of promos, or of doof-doof remixes (I’ve rarely heard one which improves on the original). I’ve asked a ‘moody’ post-punk pal for help.
I could compile an Out Of Order easily enough, though.
doof-doof remixes can be left at the door, but sometimes my favourite New Order is the multitude of variations on the Confusion 12″ some of which really take the original apart and throw them together in creative ways. I appear to have 22 different versions…
There was a Mojo cover CD with cover versions of all of Power, Corruption and Lies, but I don’t remember any of them being particularly noteworthy.
I could probably fill a single CD with my fave doof-doof mixes, but not two. The Perfecto mix of True Faith is so good they took to playing it live.
I thought that had promise at the end as they started wavering away from the template of the mix, but unlike what are for me the holy trinity of Kiss, Subculture and BLT, True Faith (the most Pet Shop Boy adjacent of their songs) is best in the original version.
I now ‘have’ Substance Abuse. Keep an eye on your PMs for ‘help’ over the weekend.
Well you could always get the new Blu Ray releases on Movement / Low-Life / Brotherhood which have new Steven Wilson instrumental mixes…….
@Chrisf – and very good they are too
@slotbadger they certainly are – although have presented me with a dilemma with Low-Life……
I generally play all my music from a NAS via Roon. Due to the ever expanding size of my library with multiple versions of albums, I’m going through a phase at the moment where I have stripped out my library to keep just the “best” version of any album, with the rest being archived.
This should be the “best” version of Low-Life (the SW stereo mix et al) but my previous “definitive” edition has the full length version of Elegia, which is one of my all time favourite NO tracks….
I know – first world problems.
Saw PH in Paris last March – wasn’t expecting much but really enjoyed it.
That said, in the battle of the books, Hooky’s is infinitely more entertaining, detailed and engrossing than Barney’s rather constipated ‘Chapter + Verse”
What about Stephen Morris’s one? I was gifted it but haven’t read it (only read Hooky’s)
Both are very good read, a little slow in places, but heavy on specifics. He is an equal part of the story of the bands, but his character/personality is not as public as Hooky or Barney.
The 2 volumes make better reading because of that.
Yep, both are worth a read, as are Hooky’s, as they’re aware of the absurdity of it all, unlike Barney, who came across as a self-obsessed prima-donna in his, so I gave it away.
@dai – I very much enjoyed Steven’s as an audiobook. To Fents’s point – he has a nice line in self deprecation and unlike Barney, cheerily natters through the sheer absurdity of his story with tongue remaining more or less in cheek throughout. It’s obviously not as hair raising as Hooky’s and certainly more generous (Hooky’s withering asides about Gillian couldn’t have sat well with Steven). He’s also writes very poignantly about the day Ian killed himself and other traumas- the deaths of his dad and Rob Gretton, or his young child’s severe illness.
Thanks both, I remember Hooky also completely dismissed Steven too
I once saw Boney M who were a tribute act of Boney M.
Oh, those Germans…
Phoney M?
There are some excellent musicians around with sidelines in occasional tribute gigs. Leeds based Gary Stewart has assembled a band to perform Paul Simon’s Graceland album and he also plays in a very creditable Fleetwood Mac tribute. Both great nights out .
The ones to avoid are the impersonators wearing cheap versions of their subject’s stage clothes, trying and failing to replicate mannerisms and vocal styles. Perhaps the less expressive, introverted artists spawn the better tributes. I have enjoyed Nearly Dan, Aussie PF, Alchemy (Dire Straits) and several Nick Drake tributes. I never ever want to see a Bowie tribute.
You need to approach a tribute act in the right spirit. If you want to hear Thin Lizzy songs well played live then you will enjoy Limehouse Lizzy, if you are hoping for a reincarnation of Phil Lynott then you were always going to be disappointed.
I have tickets to see the Gary Stewart Graceland show twice next year. Looking forward to it.
See also: Field Music going out as The Doors.
I saw Wingmen, who are both a band in their own right and sidemen for Ruts, Stranglers, Damned and Supergrass. Bloody good actually and they played one of each band’s numbers as well as their own album.
Ah yeah. Rob Coombes is in that band, he’s a brilliant player (Supergrass are massively undervalued…)
I’ve attended a few gigs by Simply Dylan (a tribute to Bob Dylan, not a Bob Dylan tribute band). The main man is John O’Connell who hails from Liverpool. No dressing up, no wigs, no doing the voice. Excellent musicians. They will be touring UK from January. An added extra for me is that I am an O’Connell too (no relation).
This year, I also saw Hejira here in Dumfries and the Australian PF in Glasgow Hydro. A few weeks ago, I attended the Carlos Alomar D.A.M. Trilogy gig which was superb with Kevin Armstrong a highlight on guitar.
I’m becoming less averse as time goes on. My wife asked me to take her to see an Eagles tribute band a couple of times, and The Dude’s feelings on them aside, they were good. Great players and good sound. I enjoyed them.
It’s when the wigs get put on I have a problem. Look, you’re not Robert Plant/David Coverdale/Ian Gillan. You don’t need to play dress up. It’s just silly. You’re not actually Mark Knopfler so leave the headband in Sports Direct. He only wore the bloody thing because the vast arrays of stage lights of that era melted him. There isn’t the same problem at the local arts centre. Just play the music.
It’s a good point, @Beezer. At the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, a band recently played the whole of the White Album. No wigs; no Beatle banter…just a lot of excellent music played by fab musicians.
Have you seen Cheap Trick do Sergeant Pepper? Nice work.
Are we a tribute website? (;
I get to see quite a few for nothing as I frequently interview members for my Gig Guide radio show, and they range from the dire to the excellent.
Top of the range..
Think Floyd – utterly superb
The Rozzers – the singer does a brilliantly spot on Sting, and the band are terrific. They are all music teachers apparently.
Bookends – lovely Simon and Garfunkle tribute
Bootleg Beatles – peerless.
I’ve warmed to tribute bands over the years. I’ve seen The Smythes three times, playing all the songs I’d never get to hear live. The singer does a good Morrissey’s and the musicians are good enough to carry it off.
Last year I saw The Mood Lifters, a Rush tribute who were incredibly good. Three hours spanning their career. Difficult stuff to play and they did it really well. The singer managed to match her voice to whatever era she was singing from, no mean feat given the shrillness of those early songs.
The XTC band The Scarecrow People are always fun to see.
The Clone Roses supported by Noasis are due to pay Brisbane a visit next year. I’m tempted.
I should ‘fess up that I played bass in the island’s premier Status Quo tribute band for a few gigs, when their regular “Lancaster” was unavailable. Strictly Lancaster-era, one or two obscure album tracks – the gigs were always packed and they always went down a storm. From my point of view, it was just great fun.
Sounds great fun. I’m not sure I could “be” someone else.
I just played his lines – no costumes or wigs were involved, although I might have shaved my beard off.
Happy New Year, by the way…
Cool! I could have joined you for ‘Blue Eyed Lady’ and ‘Softer Ride’. The only Quo tunes I can manage.
Did both of those ! Huzzah!
Excellent!
I’m not a massive Oasis fan, but I saw a tribute group in St. Helen’s in the summer…they were brilliant. A key component of any tribute group is capturing a moment in a band’s history. Given that Liam now sneers, as opposed to singing, these chaps were brilliant (circa 1995).
I’m not sure if they count, but I once saw Dread Zeppelin by accident. They were playing at midday on the UCLA campus in 1991. I was passing through on the way to the Film School. They were terrific. I had bought their debut (not sure if there were more) a year or so earlier, enjoyed it, got the joke, and admired the playing. I must still have it somewhere.
A friend of mine loves tribute bands and recently invited me to see a Led Zeppelin tribute. I did check them out on YouTube, and they could certainly play. But the disconnect between the music and how they actually looked (not like Led Zep at any stage of their career) was too much. I passed. I’d much rather see a genuine band – a new one starting out, or a slightly faded one at a later stage than a tribute.
When Dread Zep released a second album, I saw a review, possibly in Q, titled The Joke Remains The Same
There are quite a few videos on YouTube from this lot of musicians who’ve done Donald Fagen’s ‘The Nightfly’. Many of them did a version of Steely Dan’s lost ‘The Second Arrangement’.
Including ‘New Frontier’, with Larry Carlton on guitar.
Not strictly a tribute band, I know, and neither are ‘Leonid and friends’ who do a lot of ‘Chicago’, but also Steely Dan and Earth, Wind and Fire.
I saw Sons of Cream last year, are they a tribute band? Sons of Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker with Ginger Baker’s great nephew on guitar. They don’t play straight covers but extend the songs further.
I think they’re allowed to.
There’s a Cream tribute band in New Zealand called Mock Cream. The drummer is a wild looking redhead. They’re probably allowed to too.
Here’s my thoughts about tribute bands, from a musician’s POV.
I realise lots of people, like everyone who’s commented so far, likes them, albeit with reservations. And some of them are excellent. That band above who play “Nightfly” – truly excellent.
But just imagine for a moment you’ve started a band, or you’re in a band that plays original songs. You try to book a gig at a local venue but you’re told that no-one wants to hear new bands, they just want to hear tribute bands, or “cover” bands as we call them here in Australia. And if the venue does give you a spot, YOU are responsible for promoting the gig, getting an audience to pay $ to come and hear a band that no-one’s heard of, apart from your families and diehard fans. Plus you have to pay for the sound mixer.
Meanwhile every other night of the week it’s “The Sultans – The Dire Straits Experience” or “The Beatles B-Sides Band”.
I don’t want to deny other people’s pleasure in hearing familiar music. But it’s a sad situation for musicians who actually have something new and interesting to say, and can’t get a look-in.
How did it come to this?
You’re describing our gig at The George Robey in 1989.
And most of my recent gigs, unless they include a “star” performer
I can’t recall the name of the band now but there was a very competent rock guitar covers band that completely dominated the scene here some years back*. They played everywhere and seemed to be constantly on the road. They were very popular amongst the bozo rock fan demographic.
A musician friend (bassist) expressed his outrage that on one occasion Wilko Johnson’s excellent trio, featuring his bass hero Norman Watt-Roy, were the support to “that f***ing jumped-up covers band. The c**ts are everywhere and no-one else gets a f***ing look-in!”
Mind you, about 10 years after that my pal was playing bass in a covers band on the local pub circuit. “It’s 50 quid cash each, every gig, and we only play what we like.”
*Someone else here might remember their name.
They used to alternate between mixed rock and Hendrix-specific gigs. In clubs and small venues rather than pubs. The guitarist/singer/leader used to wander among the punters playing on an extra long lead and had his guitar fitted with flashing coloured lights.
They stopped performing some years back.
The Hamsters.
Their bassist died recently.
Yes, it was The Hamsters. I saw them a couple of times here at the local arts centre. Very loud. Lots of overplaying but a good noise given they were playing Hendrix and ZZ Top material.
In fairness to them, I think your pal may be referring to a tour they did with Wilko and John Otway. I didn’t go but the gist was that each of them headline on rotation, so they’d all play support at some point. This was some while before ‘Oil City Confidential’ deservedly pushed Wilko back up the pecking order in general terms..
The Hamsters were a small part of the Southend pub rock scene. Wilko was a pal and their sets often included a good swathe of Mickey Jupp covers.
Saw The Hamsters twice and that was enough for me. Entertaining the first time but a bit of a bore when repeated, especially as the set they played was pretty much the same.
I’ve seen a few. The Small Fakers do the lookalike thing, which put me off a little bit before I saw them but they are brilliant live. However the best tribute band I have seen are Echoes Of The Bunnymen, who don’t do a visual impression at all but who do a fantastic job of recreating the sound of those fab first 4 Bunnymen albums. If like me you believe the Bunnymen lost something when Mac stopped playing guitar live, or you feel short changed by whichever hired hands Mac employs for touring these days, you will love Echoes. They aren’t afraid of a deep dive either as they do album tracks and b-sides, something you’re unlikely to get with the original b(r)and these days. Will Sergeant highly recommends them and has apparently been to see them more than once.
I should have mentioned Voodoo Room – a tribute to Hendrix, Cream and Clapton. A proper power trio, they are a great night out. They do the odd deep cut, like Third Rock from the Sun, as well as the obvious hits. They even did Toad last time I saw them….no, come back! It was great!!
Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy (plus various other alt luminaries) covering 80s REM catalogue. Extremely good and fun.