DESCRIBED by the BBC as "Possibly the best concert experience you'll ever see", Off The Wall are indeed, as their flyers state, "The Spirit of Pink Floyd".
With six musicians and two backing vocalists from the top drawer, the band have toured Europe to great acclaim and are undertaking a massive 43 date tour of the UK beginning in Gravesend on February 13 and throughout March and April with a couple of dates in May and June. A truly phenomenal feat.
"We're not daunted by the size of the tour," said drummer Dave Cottrell. "We've done so much touring that it's nothing new to have such a large tour. What's really nice about it is that we're going to plenty of new venues that we haven't been to before."
And travel they do, the band has just returned from Russia where they made history as the first tribute band to appear in that country.
The band promises stunning visuals and spectacular lighting in the true spirit of the band they all love, plus of course the outstanding music. "As a band we all appreciate how important the music of Pink Floyd has been over the years. It seems to encapsulate what's been going on in the world and it's even more applicable today. For instance, the materialism on Money'."
The preparation and rehearsal must be stringent, what extent do they try to recreate the exact sound of Pink Floyd? Dave answered: "We go to the fullest extent in our desire to get the right sound. We are constantly listening to the records and striving to get it perfect, BUT we want to leave our own stamp on it. We are all massive fans of the band but we feel that some other tribute bands try to BE Pink Floyd. We aren't like that."
Formed in 2000 by Kevin Fitzpatrick, Stella Fairhead and guitarist Fluff (real name David Fortune), there have been various comings and goings and this particular line up has been stable for two years. "We have a good mix in the band," said Dave, who has been behind the drums since 2004. "We are all multi-instrumentalists."
In this age of backing tracks, Off The Wall are proud of the fact that they play 100 per cent live. There are some pre-recorded elements, but they are just samples triggered on stage by the band members. The band dynamic is also much different from Floyd. In Floyd, guitarist David Gilmour handles most of the lead vocals, whereas in Off The Wall, the lead vocalist is keyboard player Kevin Fitzpatrick who states that the music of Pink Floyd is the classical music of our era. ALL the musicians - except drummer Dave - supply vocals. There are twin guitarists in the shape of Stella Fairhead and Fluff, bass guitar comes courtesy of Neil Fairclough, and the saxophones come from Ben Appleby. The line-up is completed by backing singers Carolyn and Adele Harley.
When asked what numbers will make up the set list, Dave pointed out the difficulties. "We are always chopping and changing the set," he said. "This is so we don't get bored playing the same songs and it keeps the fans guessing. It is hard to pick the songs to play. When we start we have a set list about four weeks long. We want to play the broadest range of numbers to cater for all tastes. We actually go right through the entire history of the band and even play tracks like the very early See Emily Play', Arnold Layne' and Bike'. Quite a bit of Dark Side' is included, and the entire show is over two hours long."
This tour takes the band through to the summer, so what happens then? "We'll be doing more concerts in Europe and possibly back to Russia. Also, we'll be off to Holland, Germany, Belgium and France - and there's a real likelihood that we'll be going around the UK again. Keep an eye on the web site www.go2offthewall.com "
Off The Wall - The Spirit of Pink Floyd return to Bolton's Albert Halls on Wednesday February 27. Tickets are £18 and £16 from the usual outlets or on (01204) 334400. They will also appear at Blackpool's Opera House on Friday March 7. For tickets ring (01253) 292029.
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