Now usually
I’m not one to go and see a tribute band, after all why see a cheap tribute
when you can pay decent money and go see the real thing in a big arena packed
full of people and that has a great atmosphere. Tributes are made up of
musicians that try to act like the band member from the official band and
usually do a very poor job trying pulling it off, they can’t sing like the
original band can nor can they pull of some of the crazy solos that their
guitar heroes can pull off. Tributes are just awful. Enter Brit Floyd, the
number one tribute to Pink Floyd. These guys have been all the way round the
world and have actually played the
big arenas playing everything from ‘Money’ to ‘Comfortably numb’ and in front of
thousands. They have the looks, the
personality and the feel that Pink Floyd had back in the 70’s and 80’s and if
you shut your eyes you would not be able to tell the two bands apart. Pink
Floyd was once one of the biggest bands in the world and still to this day sell
millions of records and have the 2nd best ever selling album titled
‘Dark Side of The Moon’. To become a Pink Floyd tribute you have to get it
right 100% and have no room for error.
I had seen adverts
for this band all over the internet and through posters in Sheffield and with
each one was attached a snippet of a review and a 5 star rating attached to every
one of them. Well I can tell you the band was a 5 star tribute; they had
brought everything with them that you would expect a true Pink Floyd band to
bring including Pink Floyd’s light show and the projections that shine down
onto the stage and the backdrop, I was shocked at the supreme quality this band
had managed to deliver to us, the audience. They had the effects and stage
production of Pink Floyd down to a tee and I was blown away. The only thing
they were missing, only because they were playing such a small venue, was the
inflatable pig and school teacher otherwise their stage production was
fantastic!
The band
itself was made up of guitarist/singer Damian Darlington, bassist/singer Ian
Cattell, lead guitar Bobby Harrison, drummer Arran Ahmun, keyboard player Rick
Benbow, sax player Carl Brunsdon and backing singers Emily Jollands, Rosaleen O'Connell, Jacquie Williams and
Ola Bienkowska. The 4 female singers did a great job at singing the backing
vocals to all the songs and when singer Ola Bienkowska stepped up on her own to
sing the powerful Great Gig in The Sky she blew the audience away. I’ve heard
people try to sing this song but I have heard no one with a voice powerful
enough to sing it and reach them high notes without being out of tune and it
sounding like a cat getting run over. She had it and it was raw and energetic
and was topped off with a standing ovation from the whole of Sheffield city
hall. The rest of the band too were fantastic and bassist and singer Ian
Cattell, who I presume was meant to be the Roger Waters of the group, did a
terrific job at playing his part. What stood out mostly for me was when Ian
sang ‘Comfortably numb’ dressed in a doctors outfit and dealing with a patient
sat in a chair on stage, it was the song I thought really brought out the
band’s stage production. Damian took over Gilmour’s part at the vocals and the
two together were like the last two pieces of a jigsaw, they fit perfectly! At
the point where it was time for Gilmour’s solo in the song Damian was ready and
pulled it off note for note, it could have been the real thing up there playing
this but no it was someone who had literally just mastered it and didn’t go
wrong once. This was accompanied by the whole hall lighting up and a disco ball
hanging from the ceiling that added to the already therapeutic atmosphere that
was inside the hall, I couldn’t have been more relaxed if I wanted to be.
The set-list
that these guys played was based on the new Pink Floyd hits album named “A Foot
in The Door” which was released back in November 2011 and features mostly the
hits from “Dark Side of The Moon”, “The Wall” and “Wish You Were Here” albums. The
album also contains hits from other Pink Floyd albums such as ‘High Hopes’ from
“The Division Bell” and ‘Learning to Fly’ from “A Momentary Lapse of Reason”. The
set-list included the obvious hits such as ‘money’, ‘Another Brick in The
wall’, ‘Pigs’ and ‘Run Like Hell’ which was the band’s closing song and was the
song that got people on their feet clapping and cheering on the band. This 45
date UK tour also concentrated on another one of Pink Floyd’s hits albums named
“Echoes” which was released November 2001 and features a wider variety of Pink
Floyd hits unlike the “A Foot in The Door” album which is a more condensed
compilation album. They got the set-list just right, taking a mix of songs from
both these albums. They enjoyed playing it and most importantly the crowd loved
watching it!
Overall this
band were jaw dropping to say the least, they were very authentic and came with
the whole package. The show and the stage production were outstanding and the
lighting was unbelievably great!! If you are going to become a tribute band to
really pay respects to a world class band especially one as successful as Pink
Floyd, then you need to do it right and I can say with all honesty... Brit
Floyd you did just that! What an unforgettable night and a breathtaking
experience 11/10 for all you guys!
