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Tribute bands


Roger2611
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[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1400706608' post='2456360']
I was never a great fan of Queen so that sounds rather good to me. Are they still going as i wouldn't mind seeing them.
[/quote]

I can't remember the name, (un)fortunately. The idea of going to see a bad tribute to a band you don't like is way beyond my comprehension.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1400710130' post='2456402']
We shared the bill with one , went into their dressing room to say hi to find the singer on his knees in front of a Freddie poster. Drummer told us to bugger off while he 'invoked Freddie's spirit'.

What can you do ? !
[/quote]
[quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1400754114' post='2456608']
I stopped reading at singer on his knees and had to go back and read the rest of the post after id finished my sandwich
[/quote]

Yes, I did wonder what was coming.

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[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1400759298' post='2456681']
Everyone I know who tried the tribute band route has failed to make any money at it (too much money spent on production, booking rehearsal rooms etc). Includes 2 Floyd acts tribute who subsequenlty split.

Life's too short ;)
[/quote]
To be fair, I have mates in a couple of tribute bands (Foo Fighters / U2) who do make a living from it. I have also played with a guy who used to lead a Floyd tribute that were massive and played all over the world!

Edited by peteb
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[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1400765088' post='2456770']
funniest tribute I ever saw was in Tenerife, billed as a Karen Carpenter tribute, her voice wasn't bad but she must have been at least 15 stone :blink:
[/quote]
Maybe she ate Mamma cass' sandwich?............


I'll get me coat! :ph34r:


Oh and ....when I lived in Tenerife I knew a Tina Turner tribute ....she was white :rolleyes:

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[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1400765088' post='2456770']
funniest tribute I ever saw was in Tenerife, billed as a Karen Carpenter tribute, her voice wasn't bad but she must have been at least 15 stone :blink:
[/quote]
I think it was a Carpenters tribute band that erected my conservatory. Anyway whoever it was i'm sure that they weren't real Carpenters. :rolleyes:

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As long as you have a Dave Gilmour type gtr... I think the biggest think about a Flloyd tribute act would be the
light show. Dead easy otherwise... unless you take on Pulse or Thunder tours..
You have to get the band out of pubs straight away, but then the band needs to be good enough..
and dressing up isn't enough.

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[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1400759138' post='2456678']
Three words I thought I'd never see in a sentence in 2014...


...."Budgie tribute band"


Please don't take that as a slagging - my current band does "Breadfan" and I love every minute of it. Maybe the time is right to start up that Be Bop Deluxe trib....?
[/quote]

I did a Budgie tribute because I/we love the music, always have. Not lookalikes, or dressed like them etc.... just played their music for the love of it. I did that for about 5 years and had a great time for the most part. My current covers band also play Breadfan. Funnily enough, not at my suggestion! Be bop Deluxe huh? good band, i've met their original bass player, he seemed a nice bloke.

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[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1400773152' post='2456869']
A Be-Bop Deluxe trib is a band I'd go to see or be a member of; what a great band they were.
[/quote]
They were indeed a great band live. I always thought they were far better live than on their studio recordings.

I saw them a few times in the 70s and once in front of maybe less than 100 punters. Still put on a great show though.

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Haven't seen loads, Limehouse Lizzy are excellent though. I think that they do 'pay tribute' to the original band, rather than try and ape them. It's obvious that these guys are real fans of the band in question and talk to the crowd as fellow fans in between songs, not pretending to be the real thing.

The others I've seen where the wigs and slightly shonky costumes come out, do put me on the back foot a bit. Saw a well regarded/known T Rex tribute recently, I think that the 'Marc' may actually believe that he is him re-incarnated. Kept dropping these rock and roll stories in the first person, freaked me out a bit. Good band though, other than the hits material a bit thin.

As regards to the tribute/original/cover debate, they all have their place and I like to sample them all. Always seems a bit self limiting to just say I only like 'such and such', after all you may prefer 'fine dining', but a bag of chips on the way home the pub also sometimes hits the spot. (I'm not saying which is the chips btw ;) )

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[quote name='redbandit599' timestamp='1400774495' post='2456893']
Always seems a bit self limiting to just say I only like 'such and such', after all you may prefer 'fine dining', but a bag of chips on the way home the pub also sometimes hits the spot. (I'm not saying which is the chips btw ;) )
[/quote]
That's true but i always preferred my fish and chips fresh and hot out of the fryer and not something that has been left to cool down and then reconstituted and reheated so that it is resembled little of what it originally was. As for tribute bands.............. :lol:

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Without wishing to sound harsh, to be honest with you, I cannot see a Budgie/ Wishbone Ash/ Judas Priest tribute act packing in the punters. In fact, I am really struggling to think of three bands that would have less appeal to the average punter.

A Judas Priest tribute act could potentially be amazing, but extensive leather gear would be essential, and everything would hinge on getting a good Rob Halford.

I actually saw the real Judas Priest live in around 1980 and Rob Halford came on stage on a Harley clad entirely in tight black leather gear, with a little leather cap and wearing shades . The funny thing is, back in those days , no one thought this was in the least bit camp. It was just "heavy metal" . But then again, Freddie Mercury was straight back then and the world was a different place.

Edited by Dingus
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[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1400776017' post='2456921']
I once saw a Five Star tribute who were nowhere near as good as the real thing. I think they were called 5 Star Unleaded
[/quote]

Five Star tried to sell me an Alembic when they were skint.

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[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1400776017' post='2456921']
I once saw a Five Star tribute who were nowhere near as good as the real thing. I think they were called 5 Star Unleaded
[/quote]

I bet they managed their money better though

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400775049' post='2456907']
Without wishing to sound harsh, to be honest with you, I cannot see a Budgie/ Wishbone Ash/ Judas Priest tribute act packing in the punters. In fact, I am really struggling to think of three bands that would have less appeal to the average punter.
[/quote]

Wishbone Ash themselves are little more than a pub band these days.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400775049' post='2456907']
I actually saw the real Judas Priest live in around 1980 and Rob Halford came on stage on a Harley clad entirely in tight black leather gear, with a little leather cap and wearing shades.
[/quote]

I've seen them quite a few times over the years - an awesome live band.

One time (probably about 1980), in a splendidly Spinal Tap-ish moment, Halford's Harley wouldn't start so he was pushed onstage on it by two roadies. :D

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[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1400780410' post='2456988']
Wishbone Ash themselves are little more than a pub band these days.
[/quote]
Average White Band, Doctor Feelgood, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Kilburn & The High Roads, Brinsley Schwarz, 101ers, Kokomo, Graham Parker, The Stranglers, Chas & Dave, Eddie & The Hot Rods are all bands that i used to regularly see play in pubs. All great pub bands, :)

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Of course - if you can't decide whether to be in a covers band or a tribute band or you want to do something more creative or you don't know other musos into your type of stuff.... you could always do it all at once and try something like this ! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dAO3J5QJ9w[/media]

Edited by Dr.Dave
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[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1400780410' post='2456988']
Wishbone Ash themselves are little more than a pub band these days.
[/quote]Martin Turner's version are pretty much a tribute of the 70s version of the band it has to be said. Some friends of mine had a WA trib and very good they were too, the bass player (a BCer) even depped for Bob Skeat.

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400775049' post='2456907']
Without wishing to sound harsh, to be honest with you, I cannot see a Budgie/ Wishbone Ash/ Judas Priest tribute act packing in the punters. In fact, I am really struggling to think of three bands that would have less appeal to the average punter.

A Judas Priest tribute act could potentially be amazing, but extensive leather gear would be essential, and everything would hinge on getting a good Rob Halford.

I actually saw the real Judas Priest live in around 1980 and Rob Halford came on stage on a Harley clad entirely in tight black leather gear, with a little leather cap and wearing shades . The funny thing is, back in those days , no one thought this was in the least bit camp. It was just "heavy metal" . But then again, Freddie Mercury was straight back then and the world was a different place.
[/quote]

Quite true, but we wasn't doing it for the money. If it was just a money making exercise then we would have picked much bigger bands. Almost all the gigs I did was free entry anyway, apart from the Budgie fan club gig (Bandolier), or shared gigs. Again, the current Priest tribute i'm rehearsing with just loves playing the music. The amount of punters we got in at gigs was hit and miss TBH. You are right though, there's not as much interest in those bands as they once were, but a Priest tribute band played locally (free admission) and it was rammed apparently.......so there you go.

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That would probably be [url="http://www.facebook.com/hellbentforever"]'Hell bent Forever'[/url]? I didn't see them when they last played the Greyhound (never was a big JP fan tbh) but I'm reliably informed they packed the place so the demand seems to be there at least for the time being. Hope it comes together Tony. Some of the biggest crowds I've seen there in the last couple of years have been for rock tributes.

Edited by KevB
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Thing with Tribute bands is that if you want regular well paid gigs then you are gonna have to do a take on one of the big band names (Queen, U2, The Goombay Dance Band, etc, etc) as most venues want to sell tickets to these events.

A friend of mine played in a Toto & Journey tribute band performing all the live sets.... sounded great.... think they managed to sell one show.

I've gone down the route of a tribute to a genre.... which works really well.

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Of course you don't have to be in a trib exclusively, as Tony C pointed out he was doing other projects at the same time as the Budgie trib so if you happen to pick a more obscure band that you mainly do for th elove of it then with the right logistics the various band members can still do other covers or originals bands and maintain a full diary. I think some people might actually prefer this, I would. The thought of doing just 1 trib act all the time and nothing else wouldn't keep me interested for very long, probably go a bit mental actually.

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