The rising popularity of tribute acts: is it time we gave credit where it’s due?
Historically, tribute acts have always been viewed as somewhere between a fun and fleeting gimmick to a serious and respectable profession. Looking back over the last 60 years, tribute acts emerged first and foremost as a way of expressing appreciation for artists, with stars like Elvis Presley becoming the ultimate muse.
At this time, such acts weren’t so much tributes but impersonators, with musicians mimicking recognisable mannerisms and the singing styles of their subjects. In the late 1950s, a musician named Bobby Ocha gained recognition as the original Presley impersonator, who became so popular that he actually befriended Presley some years later.
Then, the 1960s gave rise to an influx of tribute acts following the success of The Beatles. This was the first time that bands would effectively take up the role of each member of the band and find enjoyment in representing one of either John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, or George Harrison.
With festivals like Woodstock and Isle of Wight towards the end of the ’60s, the increasing number of tribute acts was a testament to the shift in the musical zeitgeist that was burgeoning. The 1970s, meanwhile, was a time of significant cultural change, with many musicians looking to their influences of the past and searching for a way to replicate or pay homage to familiar, beloved sounds. During this period, the idea of becoming a tribute act was attractive not only for its promise of easy, ready-to-go music but in the way that it provided a path to relive old favourites and a space for others to enjoy it too.
Tribute acts became a way to live your dream, but many of them didn’t go very far due to issues like band break-ups, legal troubles, financial difficulties, or, most commonly – they just weren’t good enough. Fast forward, and today you’ve got more tribute acts than ever: not just those of Presley and The Beatles, but we can also now enjoy secondhand versions of ABBA, Britney Spears, Madonna, The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys, Fleetwood Mac, and many, many more.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not too prone to the harsh words of bystanders, though. In fact, today’s tribute act landscape is home to some of the most talented musicians, but every day they have to grapple with dated stigmas attached to the ‘tribute’ label. “There’s a vulnerability you constantly have to stave off,” says Graham Sampson of The Smyths. Adding: “Any tribute artist who steps out on stage has this awareness where, even if you’ve got some familiar faces, you’re thinking, ‘these people are ready for me to fall on my face’. And so you’re always having to prove that you’re not silly, and it can never be anything less than excellent every single time.”
Sampson is no stranger to the music scene. Being a musician in his own right, he understands the landscape and knows what it’s like to make it on your own at the same time as representing one of the biggest bands in music, The Smiths. “It was born out of passion,” he says. “We rehearsed for nine months, and we expected we might get about 50 people, but it sold out and we realised we’ve created something here – and then because of the success of the first show, people started approaching us.” The enduring legacy of The Smyths is as much a testament to the heritage of the original band as it is to the tribute band’s sheer talent. Sampson is fully aware that you can’t just go on stage on a whim and to be successful, you have to be good at what you do.
Being a ‘good’ tribute act obviously goes a long way, but the lasting appeal also lies in providing something unique, something that the ‘real’ thing can’t: affordability. In the current cost of living crisis, tribute acts are becoming more appealing as they offer a much cheaper, more accessible experience. “It’s very expensive to buy tickets nowadays,” says Lisa Oliver, Stevie Nicks connoisseur and lead vocalist of The Fleetwood Mac Songbook. “Once you factor in your transport, accommodation, food and drink, and merchandise, you’re looking at the best part of £1000 in some cases.”
Witnessing The Fleetwood Mac Songbook live in action is like capturing a little sprinkling of stardust: if you close your eyes, Oliver could easily be Nicks. It’s also difficult to decipher whether it’s actually Lindsey Buckingham on stage or Nick Filby, and Claire-Fox ‘Christine McVie’ Thomas has a vocal powerful enough to raise goosebumps. Their venues are often small and intimate, in a way that’s decidedly more enjoyable in a lot of ways than seeing the real thing. Oliver recognises this, claiming it to be a big reason why more and more people are opting for tributes over their source acts: “Once venues were allowed to re-open [after the Covid-19 pandemic] and audiences felt safe enough to venture out again, it was understandable to want to play it ‘safe’ and offer people what they were already familiar with. Tributes filled that remit perfectly.”
Arctic Monkeys’ esteemed tribute band, the aptly named Antarctic Monkeys, recognises the same pattern: “Since Covid and the lockdown, there has been an increasing popularity in live entertainment in general, not just tribute bands,” says lead vocalist Dean Reynolds. “People want to get out, and venues are selling out shows all over now.” When performing live, Reynolds captures the essence of Alex Turner perfectly, opting for a rendition of the rock star’s style emblematic of the AM album era.
Despite garnering significant post-Covid demand, appreciation for tribute acts has undeniably been slowly but steadily on the rise since way before the pandemic. “I think there has always been demand there for tribute acts,” says Reynolds. “I was watching tribute bands regularly over 25 years ago. At that time, though, it was mostly bands who’d since retired, such as the Beatles and Zeppelin or were well within their careers, such as Oasis and U2. We were one of the first to jump straight onto a new current band within weeks of the first Arctic Monkeys album being released. I think what followed was a wave of other tribute bands hitting the scene in our path, performing as other bands of the present day, such as the Kings of Leon, Killers and Kasabian, to name a few.”
There were a number of years when tribute acts were seen as something to be laughed at, with many going into shows with a preconceived idea about how good – or bad – they were going to be. However, lately, there’s been a noticeable shift whereby tribute acts are being recognised for what they really are. “We see many familiar faces coming to our gigs. They are fans of the original band and know they are in for a good night based on our reputation and what they’ve seen before,” says Reynolds.
“I know from our audiences that they enjoy the ‘closeness’ of being in a music venue or theatre rather than a huge, anonymous stadium,” says Oliver. The truth is; tribute acts do deliver instant gratification, and often they’re playing loved songs exactly the way fans want them to – sometimes better. For Sampson, tribute acts offer something that their sources can’t, and that’s consistency. “A tribute band can’t afford to [be bad],” he says. “[They] have got to be trusted and seen as a respectable genre.”
Being centre stage as a tribute act proves to be equally as enjoyable, according to Sampson. For Oliver, it’s the same story: not much compares to the feeling of when someone comes up to you after your performance and tells you how much it means to them. “The best feeling is knowing that we’ve given people a really great evening of entertainment. To me, that’s ‘job done’,” says Oliver. For Reynolds, bringing people together is a big plus – being an Arctic Monkeys tribute band means they constantly play to diverse audiences, and that’s all part of the fun.
But tribute acts haven’t caught their well-earned break just yet. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad ones that could have a negative impact on the tribute scene,” Reynolds adds. But a lack of talent isn’t all that’s holding them back. There still exists a level of negativity at the mention of a ‘tribute’ that needs to be disbanded. Recently, Rick Astley performed on the Main Stage at Glastonbury with Blossoms and performed a set consisting exclusively of The Smiths songs. While it accrued renewed interest from a new generation of music lovers, its potential to represent nothing more than a fleeting fad might be a cause for concern. For Sampson, responses were mixed, especially considering Johnny Marr’s unease about the whole thing. But, at the same time, if it exposes a new audience to such iconic music, does it do more good than bad?
Ultimately, we’ve reached a point where more and more people are not only recognising the artistry at the centre of tribute bands but are experiencing them too. There’ll always be that handful that give the movement a bad name and don’t take it very seriously, but those who stand firmly at the fore – such as The Smyths, Antarctic Monkeys, and The Fleetwood Mac Songbook – will no doubt spearhead its legacy as a genuine contender in the space.
“There is room for both [tributes and artists],” says Reynolds. “It’s all entertainment. Something for everyone.”
