It started with an advert placed on a website which was striving to bring different musicians together in Aberdeen in October 2013.
And, more than a decade later, the members of Wish you were Floyd are still in unison, relishing the buzz they derive from bringing rock giants Pink Floyd’s biggest hits to life for a new generation of music fans.
Those with long memories will be aware of the impact the original 1960s and 70s group had on the international charts with The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall, the last of which featured the No 1 hit, Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, which started with a group of children chanting: “We don’t need no education…”
And, though hell will freeze over before David Gilmour and Roger Waters ever appear on the same concert stage again, there’s a north-east collective who are looking forward to celebrating their 1oth anniversary in the Granite City.
The band comprises Brian Black on bass guitar, Lawrie Turnball on drums and percussion, Liam Creedon on guitar and lapsteel, Alastair Thomson on saxophone, Laith Samarai on keyboards and Paul Emerson on lead vocals and guitar.
And this ensemble have become experts at re-creating the mesmerising sound and disparate elements which turned Pink Floyd into multi-millionaires, to the stage where their lifestyle began to resemble the spoof documentary This is Spinal Tap.
Hard to keep the show on the road
Yet, while big budgets and exotic venues, whether using Battersea Power Station on an album cover or playing live amid the ruins of Pompeii, were part and parcel of the Pink project, the Scots in Wish you were Floyd have to work in a different environment.
And, as Liam Creedon spelled out, the pandemic didn’t exactly help matters.
He told the Press & Journal this week: “Life for people in the entertainment and music scene has certainly been tougher after Covid. The cost-of-living crisis has also had a big impact on turnout because the public wants to try and save every penny they can to make sure their daily needs are catered for.
“For the artist or artists, it means that the cost of actually putting on a performance is higher. Which, in turn, means that it has a massive effect on trying to raise more awareness for the event.”
But the show is going on
The band haven’t been fazed by these problems. On the contrary, they’ve toured all over Scotland, including in the central belt and in Fife and Moray as well as Aberdeen.
And next week, on December 8, they are expecting a big crowd for the 10th anniversary concert and an appropriately fiery reception at Krakatoa.
As Liam said: “It’s been really heartwarming to see other musicians and the general public come together in unison to get behind what we are doing and truly enjoy themselves for two and a half hours.
“Every gig has had fantastic feedback and always ends with a great atmosphere.”
Further infornmation is available from:
facebook.com/Wishyouwerefloyduk/?locale=hi_IN
