I’m 61 and hurtling towards 62. My brakes don’t seem to be working. My taste in music hasn’t aged as quickly as I have chronologically and that love of music still hankers back to the days of the Sounds and NME magazines, Friday night Rockspeak on Radio 1, Stuart Henry on Radio 1 on a Saturday morning and Radio Caroline’s Schools Out programme every evening 8-10pm on 259AM.
It was during that period, in the early 1970’s (47 years ago to be exact) that my eyes first had sight of Pink Floyd when I saw the film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii in the old East Kilbride cinema.
Up till then I hadn’t been too aware of them, but that night changed that forever. I was blown away by the music I heard that night, by the cinematography and by the strange aroma emanating from the funny looking cigarettes of those sat around me. I was hooked. On Floyd might I
add and not the funny cigarettes.
Sadly, for numerous reasons seeing Floyd play live I never managed. Yes, they haven’t played together since Live8 in 2005 and prior to that was the run of gigs at Earls Court in 1994. So there’s not be much opportunity of late to see them more’s the pity and it’s quite likely they will never play together again.
However it’s not all doom and gloom. Thanks to the proliferation of Floyd Tribute bands such as Brit Floyd, The Scottish Pink Floyd, Mac Floyd, Think Floyd, Just Floyd to name but a few that I have seen.
I have managed to hear and see Pink Floyd’s music delivered to a live audience. None of these gigs with all due respect to the guys in these bands who deliver a great evening’s entertainment come close to what the The Australian Pink Floyd Show serve up year after year after year.
Not many tribute bands can get away with asking between 35 and 90 quid for a show and expect to fill the venue but the TAPFS do and there’s a reason for that. In terms of being as close to the real thing they are fair dinkum.
Or in our own vernacular they are fan dabby dozy. TAPFS have been travelling to the UK since 1993. They first did a 3 hour set at the Pink Floyd
convention at Wembley in that year and they have never looked back since. As with many bands over the years, the line up has changed but what is the constant is the quality of music delivered to an audience who either want to revisit the experiences they had in seeing the real Floyd in the flesh or an audience of fans like me who gladly accepts what they serve up as a more than adequate substitute for the real thing.
Each time I have seen them in the last decade the set list changes and yes…the time honoured songs are served up but there’s always something new to savour just to keep us coming back for more and more and more.
This year’s performance at The Hydro was in my humble opinion the best to date for me. Sound quality was crystal clear and loud too (they must have amps that go up to 11). There’s was not much interaction between band and audience…it’s quite a simple arrangement, we the audience turn up to listen and see and they, the band play for our entertainment.
There’s no political or social messages passed down from the stage. It’s more of a ‘hi there..welcome to the show and enjoy’.
Judging by the audience reaction at the end of each song they and I enjoyed. Very much so. Are they the real thing? No. Are they close to the real thing? Yes. The stark reality is that the real Pink Floyd are not likely to get together on stage ever again. That’s the reality.
If, like me, you’d still like a fix of Floyd music in the flesh then make sure you catch this band of exceptionally talented musicians, the next time they head to our city. They deserve a full house and you deserve a special musical treat. There’s nothing like leaving a concert with a warm glow and having the feeling of experiencing something special.
They’ll be back next year; make sure you are too. Live life, love music and whatever you do don’t become comfortably numb!
