The Brook, 466 Portswood Road, Portswood, Southampton SO17 3SD
Box Office Hours - 1.00pm - 7.00pm Mon - Sat (023) 8055 5366
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July 2009 @ The Brook

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"...Cover bands are big business these days, but this quartet are clearly a cut above most with suits, mop-tops and jerking stage manoeuvres all in place as they blast out 'From Me To You', 'Roll Over Beethoven' and 'Please, Please Me' with note-perfect aplomb."

The Daily Telegraph.

There seems to be two different methods employed by tribute bands in copying their heroes. One is to immerse themselves totally in character, become the band. The other is to still do this, but do it with tongue very much in cheek. So how to interpret the greatest pop group of all time? The Silver Beatles go for option B, not taking themselves too seriously and this approach definitely works for them. They indulge in banter among themselves and with the crowd, making the most out of the fact that every Beatle is instantly recognisable. The first half of the gig is the young Beatles, suits and mop tops, covering all the early hits; 'Saw her standing there, Can't buy me love' among others before finishing on 'Twist and Shout'. Then it's a quick break and costume change where they miraculously transform into the older, hippie era Beatles; the period where they wrote some of their finest songs. Just point non-believers to songs like 'In my life' and 'Let it be' which show, more so than the early years, why the Beatles are still held in such esteem. Not that anyone here needed convincing. The 500 plus crowd, arms held aloft, nah-nah-nah-ing during the encore of 'Hey Jude'. Nope, no non-believers were present.

Review by Thomas Christie

Never mind your Wigan Casino, Rufus Stone at the Brook is where it's at.

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Time to dance the night away with the band who make every gig a party night! Those that have followed the band will know that the Rufus Stone Soul Band, based in their home town of Southampton, has been around in many guises since their start in late 1984. After all this time you would expect that some of the sparkle would have gone, not a bit. They still have the same distinctive sound, which ensures that they get the maximum involvement from their audience.

Over the years they have built a loyal following and it is this support that has kept the band not only on the road but still as soulful as when they started. The music is authentic soul with selections from The Blues Brothers and The Commitments, but the bulk of the set comes from the soul greats such as Otis Redding, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex and many others.

During their time together there have been a number of highlights that include support to some of the top soul artists like Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, Curtis Mayfield, Geno Washington, Ben E King, and Gloria Gaynor.

Exceptional Mod Band doing their "Mods & Rockers" Set

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"The best sixties covers band in the world" with a massive tribute to...

"The Who" and nobody plays it better than this band says time out !!! "Small Faces" "The Kinks" "The Yardbirds" "Desmond Dekker" "Spencer Davis" "The Animals" and many more. Up to 2 hours of devastating energy and fun. A truly brilliant unforgettable nights entertainment. Fresh from last years headlining at the isle of wight scooter rally and the small faces convention and Butlins sixties weekenders plus countless gigs the band are eager to meet and play to as many like minded fans of the greatest era of music and bands of the sixties and all heard in one night.

Guitarist Steve Byrd started as a young 18 year old protege in Zzebra in the mid seventies before joining Gillan, Holly Johnstone and Kim Wilde. Still one of the top session guitarists in this country/

Bass guitarist Steve Barnacle has played in Rick Wakemans band, Spear Of Destiny, Visage, Tina Turner, Pete Townsend used him on Face To Face, Fish and probably the biggest band so far apart from Rod Stewart.....Queen in New York at the rock n roll hall of fame depping for John Deacon

Drums Johnny Marter actually met Jimi Hendrix as a very young lad in a band signed to Chas Chandler before joining and having big success with Mr Big, then Voyager, Micky Moody, a spell with Marillion and then tours with Fish and is the resident Sas Band drummer

Keyboards Mickey Simmonds another child virtuoso joined Mike Oldfield's band for almost 10 years, and then successful tours with Joan Armourtrading, Paul Young's band, Camel and most recently md for the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band

Vocals Johnny Warman started the mods 5 years ago to pay homage to the music he grew up through and what turned him onto being a musician. Johnny has worked with Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Ringo Starr, Peter Gabriel, Asia, Cheap Trick, House Of Lords, Humble Pie and has had a very successful solo career making 4 albums. 

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Anyone who has seen this tribute to L.A. based supergroup GUNS N' ROSES will readily agree with their reputation as one of the most exciting tribute bands on the circuit today. The band's ability to combine their heavy metal technique with punk attitude has seen them receiving ecstatic reviews all over Britain, and their raw energy and frighteningly good stage show has led to GUNZ N' ROZES being labelled "THE MOST DANGEROUS TRIBUTE BAND IN THE WORLD"

Gunz N' Rozes are: Frontman GARRY CROWLEY's appearance on T.V.'s "Stars In Their Eyes", won so much acclaim that he was asked back to appear on the show's Christmas Special. He also performed vocals on N-Trance's recording of the Guns N' Roses classic "Paradise City". N.G.P. (Rhythm). NGP's energetic impersonation of IZZY STRADLIN's stage performance and guitar work, makes his physical resemblance a bonus. He also does much of the backing vocals, always spot on. SNAKE (Bass). Snake's hard edged bass style cuts through with punk attitude allowing his impression of DUFF McKAGAN to be uncannily accurate. STEVE HARCOURT (Drums). Recreates MATT SORUM's drumming with unswerving confidence. He is a drummer experienced in many techniques whose love lies in heavier styles. JOE HARCOURT (Lead Guitar). His performance as lead guitarist SLASH is simply superb, all of his classic riffs and solos are recreated note for note, and Joe's physical appearance is remarkably similar to Slash.

All the classic tracks including "Paradise City", "You Could Be Mine", "Sweet Child O' Mine", "Welcome to the Jungle", etc, etc, are performed by the band along with many other songs from the albums, "Appetite for Destruction", "G N' R Lies", and "Use Your Illusion I and II".

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32 years on, and the rush of witnessing a Damned live show is still comparable to that first buzz of energy released at some long forgotten sweat box of youth. A series of inspired, ambitious albums and amazing live shows combining full-on rock energy, stylish sense of performance, and humorous deadpan cool are not necessarily what anyone would have thought when Ray Burns and Chris Millar met in 1974 when both ended up working backstage at the Croydon Fairfield Hall.

Burns and Millar — more famously known in later years as guitarist/singer Captain Sensible and manic drummer Rat Scabies — kept in touch as both struggled in the stultifying mid-'70s London scene. Things picked up when Scabies talked his way into a rehearsal with London SS, the shifting lineup ground zero of U.K. punk that nearly everybody seemed to belong to at one point or another. There he met guitarist Brian James, while in a separate venture overseen by Malcolm McLaren, casting about for his own particular group to oversee, Scabies first met theatrical singer Dave Vanian, still working through his New York Dolls/Alice Cooper obsession. Vanian's own history allegedly included singing "I Love the Dead" and "Dead Babies" while working as a gravedigger, but whatever the background, he proved to be a perfect frontman. Scabies put Sensible in touch with Vanian and James and the Damned were born, with Sensible switching over to bass while James handled guitar and songwriting.

Though the Sex Pistols became the most publicized of all the original London punk groups, forming and playing before everyone else, the Damned actually ended up scoring most of the firsts on its own, notably the first U.K. punk single — "New Rose" — in 1976 and the first album, Damned Damned Damned, the following year. Produced by Nick Lowe, both were clipped, direct explosions of sheer energy, sometimes rude but never less than entertaining. The group ended up sacked from the Pistols' cancellation-plagued full U.K. tour after only one show, but rebounded with a opening slot on the final T. Rex tour, while further tweaking everyone else's noses by being the first U.K. act to take punk back to America via a New York jaunt. Things started to get fairly shaky after that, however, with Lu Edmonds drafted in on second guitar and plans for the group's second album, Music for Pleasure, not succeeding as hoped for. The members wanted legendary rock burnout Syd Barrett to produce, but had to settle for his Pink Floyd bandmate Nick Mason. The indifferent results and other pressures convinced Scabies to call it a day, and while future Culture Club drummer Jon Moss was drafted in to cover, the group wrapped it up in early 1978.

So, 500 shows on from Grave Disorder, and just to prove their doggedness and belief in their own relevance, the band that many wrote off 2 years after inception, have recorded yet another classic collection of tunes entitled " So, Who's Paranoid? " and are stepping out on yet another exhaustive world tour to back it up. From the jangly garage punk opener of A nation fit for heroes to the lush psychedelic tones of album closer Dark Asteroid, the Damned have come up with 13 more reasons, after 32 years, that their trademark brand of dark melodic irony, blended with caustic political satire are more relevant now than ever.

"So, Who's Paranoid?" Certainly not The Damned, who have conjured up yet another collection of genre-defying anthems that sit effortlessly alongside their classic albums, their first since 2001's critically-acclaimed 'Grave Disorder' album. From the catchy, jangly garage rock opener of "A Nation Fit For Heroes" to the lushly psychedelic closing track "Dark Asteroid", The Damned masterfully affirms their legendary status. Thirty-two years on the heart of The Damned that is David Vanian and Captain Sensible beats stronger than ever, proving with "So, Who's Paranoid?" that their trademark dark, melodic beauty, tinged with jagged satire is truly timeless and very much intact. They might be a band with an incredible past but The Damned are very much here and now and the thirteen songs featured here are all the proof you'll need.

Tracklisting:

1)A Nation Fit For Heroes
2)Under The Wheels
3)Dr. Woofenstein
4)Shallow Diamonds
5)Since I Met You
6)A Danger To Yourself
7)Maid For Pleasure
8)Perfect Sunday
9)Nature's Dark Passion
10)Little Miss Disaster
11)Just Hangin'
12)Nothing
13)Dark Asteroid

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So Patrol have been working hard in the studio between their gigs as Razorlike to add more songs to the set. They are currently perfecting new singles that have been released recently. Great renditions of “Crack The Shutters” and “The Planets Bend Between Us” along with others (Look out for our own Marth-a-like!!

New gigs are being added all the time, keep checking the shows page

SO PATROL IS BORN

So Patrol, Tribute to brilliant band Snow Patrol have been working feverishly away in the studios - perfecting the sounds of their idols. The band are now taking bookings and details will be published on this site regularly so why not pop back and have a look.

If you like Floyd and haven't seen them yet then sort it out you crazy diamond!

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Most of you are aware of the psychedelic phenomenon that was born in the late 60's, the inspirational chaos that was to become the typically British and well documented sensation Pink Floyd. They have sold over 210 million albums worldwide with titles such as The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall.

Today with the passing of Rick Wright in 2008 there will sadly never be the reunion that we all hoped for, but the music is timeless and will live on for many more years to come. How many 60's bands today are still attracting new and often young fans 40 years on?

Today, there are many bands trying to emulate this music, the most outstanding by far being Perfect Alibi - the definitive Pink Floyd tribute.

Around 1990, Dave Blake (lead guitar) and Rick Gauntlett (guitar & vocals) formed Perfect Alibi. Back then they were playing covers of classic rock songs by Pink Floyd, Marillion, Eagles, Neil Young and more. Being huge fans themselves and from the reaction of the audiences, more and more Floyd songs crept their way in to the set until it got difficult to mix other material in. Realising this a concert was staged in a theatre as a tester and Perfect Alibi emerged as a totally dedicated Pink Floyd tribute.

With the incredible guitar sounds of Dave Blake, the stunning vocals of Rick Gauntlett, and the excellent musicianship of all members of the band, Perfect Alibi are now widely respected and appreciated in their field, giving the audience a truly authentic reproduction of the music of Pink Floyd. With the emphasis on capturing the live Pink Floyd sound and with well over 40 songs in their repertoire, spectacular lighting/lasers/projections, this is a show not to be missed!

But don't take our word for it... judge for yourselves. You won't be disapppointed!

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According to the sleeve notes for the first Hayseed Dixie album, "A Hillbilly Tribute To AC/DC" their interest in AC/DC started when they found a collection of AC/DC records in the valley of Deer Lick Holler in the Appalachian mountains of the USA, where a stranger had crashed in his car and expired. They could only play the records at 78 rpm on an old Edison Victrola player, but the boys all agreed that it was mighty fine country music. Well, if you believe that, you?ll believe anything!

One thing is true though, Hayseed Dixie have built up a huge reputation as a sensational live act since they formed in 2001. They don?t just to AC/DC covers - after their debut album sold over 100,000 copies worldwide, they went back into the studios to record some of their own songs. The result was "A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love" an inspired exploration of one of the primary reasons for drinking, cheating, killing and going to hell.

The next development in the career of Hayseed Dixie was hearing some songs by the band Kiss and realising they were kindred spirits. So in February 2003 they spent two inspired days in the recording studio to produce their third album "Kiss My Grass - A Hillbilly Tribute To Kiss." There followed a joint tour with Kerosene Brothers followed including over 100 shows all over the USA and Australia which included much heroic drinking.

Feeling the need to plough some fresh fertile fields, the boys began to focus on getting to the UK and Europe. as well. Last year they released of "Let There Be Rockgrass" and the first UK tour took place. According to Hayseed Dixie, the full spectrum of hell was raised and "Rockgrass" became an international phenomena.

Now they're back on tour in the UK again and as lead singer Barley Scotch says: "We ain't even started drinking yet. We've just been on a recon mission so far. Now we know where the party people around the world are, and we're coming back to close the deal! Hayseed Dixie are: Barley Scotch - singer, guitar & fiddle, Don Wayne Reno - banjo, Dale Reno - mandolin and Jason D. Smith - bass.

Preview by Peter Ashton

It has been too long! Them that done The Sopranos theme are a mighty fine live act! Don't miss.

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Alabama 3 know all about being outsiders. They've taken an outlaw approach since the day they first emerged from the free party scene to combine acid house with country and western. Across four deeply infectious, darkly humoured, lysergically charged albums they've made impossible musical collision sound as natural as the swamp, They've cheated death on the road to bring one of the most exhilarating live shows ever to have emerged from rehab. They've dropped subversive politics into sweet country verses and delivered sermons of love to the Godless masses. They've enriched and inspired the chemically charged underground through their counter-cultural, proto-situationist pursuits and, despite of, or perhaps because of all this, they've even provided the theme to the profoundly paranoiac Mafia (outlaw) series "Sopranos". Oh yes, Alabama 3 may come on like Irvine Welsh's house band stalking the gutters of ghetto culture, but they infiltrate the corridors of the mainstream just as easily. Like any good counter-cultural, proto-situationist country and western techno outlaw band from Brixton in fact.

The Alabama 3 script(ure) was conceived by Larry Love (Rob Spragg) and The Very Reverend Dr. D. Wayne Love (Jake Black) in the sweat soaked hedonism of the free party experience of 1988, blueprinted over two twelves for Nottingham's DIY imprint and finally delivered as a fully fledged sermon by the mid-90's in the shape of The First Presleyterian Church Of Elvis The Divine (UK) with its band of misfit disciples – The Mountain of Love (Piers Marsh), Sir Real Congaman Love (Simon Edwards), The Spirit (Orlando Harrison), Rock Freebase (Mark Sams) and L.B. Dope (Jonny Delafons).

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Keeping the spirit and songs of the legendary Zep alive with their unique energy and stage presence , Whole Lotta led play to over 40,000 enthusiastic fans every year.They don't try and reproduce what the Classic Led Zeppelin line up looked like because for these guys it's all about the music, And what music.

With recent 3 page review in the Sunday Express and live footage on the BBC 6 o'clock News this band go from strength to strength. Whether a fan of the original Led Zeppelin or new to the sound come and be astounded by the music of Led Zeppelin .

Given the thumbs-up by no less a guitar god than Jimmy Page himself , Whole Lotta led are THE Led Zeppelin tribute band

Hailing from England Whole Lotta Led are now considered by many to be one of the greatest tributes to Led Zeppelin around. Generally playing two and a half hour sets and over 100 concerts a year their enthusiasm on stage is unequalled, with a stage presence full of magnetism that all audiences feel and share.

They are all exceptional musicians in their own field and without realising it create much the same energy, flair and magic that still holds Led Zeppelin as one of thee largest and most influential bands the world has ever seen. New generations are getting involved in the Zeppelin experience, audiences at Whole Lotta Led gigs span four generations from six to sixty and for most it is the first opportunity of seeing Zeppelin's music performed live. It has been many years now since Zeppelin split up, tributes keep the music alive but when Whole Lotta Led recreate a Zeppelin concert they keep the music fresh. Uniquely for a tribute band they don't have the pretence of trying to look like former members of Zeppelin, their integrity and musicianship comes through in the passion for the music they play. Jimmy Page met them and gave his blessing to what they are achieving. The band also raises funds for The ABC Trust, a charity founded by Jimmy Page's wife to help under privileged children in Brazil. She keeps in touch with the band and informs Jimmy of there progress.

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In late October 2001, the band started the Convention Tour which would see them playing nine gigs in eight different countries. As an added bonus to the tour, NICKO MCBRAIN went along to each show and did a drum clinic. Of course, it's difficult to keep Nicko off the kit. So when HI-ON MAIDEN asked him if he would perform a few songs with them, he willingly obliged, every night of the tour!!!!!

At the Convention in Holland, ADRIAN SMITH was there to do a signing. The band asked if he would guest on a couple of songs and he agreed. Because he had to leave early to catch a flight, he couldn't stay around till show time. So they all agreed to do an inpromptu performance in the afternoon for the fans. Adrian (Smith), Nicko and HI-ON MAIDEN powered their way through THE WICKER MAN and 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. To top it all off, there was a real treat instore at the last show in Portugal……STEVE HARRIS was there!!! He stayed to watch the whole show and even got up in the encore to perform FOUR songs. He allowed Speed to use his checker board bass, and Steve Harris used Speed's. The crowd went mad as STEVE HARRIS, NICKO MCBRAIN and the whole of HI-ON MAIDEN rocked them with THE WICKER MAN, HALLOWED BE THY NAME, WRATHCHILD and 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT.

Expect hit after hit after hit! Funky Disco Kings!

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