Incoming long statement (from Steve) – read if interested:
This Saturday 14th Oct 2023 at The Beaverwood in Chislehurst it will be our last show (we will continue to exist for certain events and festivals so you may see us at the odd show in the future – anyone wishing to book us please enquire using the usual methods) – and with that being the case I’d like to say a few words and a few thank you’s and mentions. It is 8-9 years since I first started to form a Who tribute – I’d played in lots of bands before, as a drummer or lead vocalist – continuously since I was 16 – and The Who and Roger had always been my favourites so it seemed the logical next thing to do – with the whole tribute scene becoming so popular. So I’ve had The Who on the brain for some time now and as much as I have loved doing it and am very proud of my band and what we have achieved, I just needed it to end and to do/think about something else. Quit while we are ahead as they say. My intention was to form the best Who tribute band there has ever been anywhere and I will take some convincing that we didn’t achieve that. It took a little while to get things off the ground and to get it all the way it needed to be – and many people helped us along the way.
For starters we had a few different guitar players in the beginning – so I’d like to thank Gary and Paul for those first few gigs, and even Perry who never actually ended up gigging with us but was about long enough for us to be very fond of him.
A quick mention to Jacob who was about for a little while and in that short time helped us in a few crucial ways not least with an extremely professional show video/photos – which at the time really helped with our progression. All the best to you fella.
Andy Rimmer was the first guy to help us on the Pete/guitar front and was invaluable to us when we were trying to get started and continued to fill in on occasions when we needed him – thanks so much for that mate.
Big shout out to the wonderful Jono Johnson – who has filled in for us on bass on a few occasions – seamlessly slotting in with no fuss and sounding absolutely fantastic when he has. A top fun bloke too. All the best buddy.
And then there is Dante Di Carlo from Who’s Next who helped us on our very first gig as Gary was on holiday and has done so ever since on the quite numerous times we have needed his services. A top man – a lovely fella, a fantastic guitar player and a real rock star. We truly would not have been able to exist, keep going or thrive without you mate – you have been crucial to us over the years – we thank you so much and we wish you all the best with your band.
Another crucial figure for us has been Ross and his dad Martin who have been our sound engineers/PA providers on many many occasions right from the beginning and we have seen him grow from a small pub set up to being one of the best and most easy/efficient sound guys around. Every time we play with him people comment on how good the sound is. Thank you so much for your efforts over the years – we hope you have enjoyed engineering us and also wish you all the best for your future projects.
On the same subject of sound guys/PA providers I must mention Colin at Triple A Events – again another guy who really made a difference for us at a crucial time – providing absolutely first class engineers and equipment on certain occasions we have needed it – all at mates rates – I will be eternally grateful to you for doing this. I sincerely hope you do ultimately fully recover from the immense problems caused to the industry by the pandemic – you deserve to get things back to how they were – as hard as that may have been for you and I expect many others in your game.
And following on from Colin I have to mention his friend and mine Mr Steve Norton who again was with us and crucial at the very start – dragging his (far too big for him but amazing) sound and lighting rig around the smallish venues we played to start with. Having someone you know, who knows what a twat I am – but knows I’m a good decent twat – knows what you want and need at the start – and who you can trust is invaluable. We go back a long way and you have always been there for me. Love you mate.
I’d like to make a big mention to all the guys in The Konks – The Kinks tribute band we have been playing double header shows with over the last couple of years – Jerry, Paul, Alan and Fred. We all get on famously and have become good friends. I knew the dynamic of the show and the 2 bands would work and was why I got it all together and it has been great fun having these guys around for the shows we have done. Keep checking them out in they’re various guises.
And so on to my band mates. And I will start with Mike. If, like I said, you want to form the best Who tribute band around – then you are going to need some pretty amazing players – and not least a pretty amazing Pete/guitar player. Before we bagged Mike I’d got to realise that finding that amazing Pete was nigh on impossible – for lots of reasons. It is no exaggeration, as it was proved, that I have more fingers on my left hand than there are capable Pete Townshend impersonators in the UK. And had we not eventually found Mike when we did – already 3 years into it – then we would have almost certainly packed it in – it wasn’t working. And then at the last minute we were saved by one of the UK’s best guitarist/singer/musicians – who just so happened to be a Who nut. And we finally had proper lift off. Everyone who knows of Mike will be aware of his effortless natural ability. It has been an honour to perform alongside such a talent. Keep checking him out folks in all that he does in the future – mikewiltonmusic.co.uk
Next I will talk about our drummer Brian. When me and Tel started the band we specifically said we did not want a ‘Keith Moon’ type drummer. We’d seen some in similar bands and thought that realistically it over powers and drowns out the amazing Who songs – we didn’t want that – we wanted a drive and a groove and an overall sound that made the songs shine through – not just the drums. There is only one Keith Moon – there has never been anyone like him since and he left the building a long time ago. It didn’t take long for us to find Brian and straight away we knew he was perfect. He is a Who/Keith nut too – but knows when to play it straight and when to Moon it up (on the drums that is). Perfect. He is without doubt the best drummer I have ever played with – an absolute gent – and I am so glad that the band provided him the opportunity to finally live out his Who fantasies (as it were). We all love you Bri.
And finally I come on to our bass player, our John Entwistle, our Terry. Tel was the first and only person to answer my ad for a bass player and it was pretty much straight away. How lucky was I. As mentioned before – if you want to be a good Who band then you need someone who can play like the best bass player of all time. Simple as that. So its been me and Tel from the very start trying to get this thing off the ground. And he has been there with me every step of the way and has backed me up at every turn. We became great mates instantly – who wouldn’t with Tel – he’s one of the loveliest people on the planet. Again I’m glad that the band has given him the chance to live out some lifelong musical ambitions – for someone who has clearly lived and breathed classic rock music all his life.
So to everyone who has come to see us over the years and supported us – and all the mostly lovely people that work at the venues and shows we have played – a massive thank you – we hope you have – along with us – enjoyed living and re-living those amazing Who songs and performances. At the end of the day a tribute band shouldn’t and hasn’t been about any of us individually – its about us all together – the band and the audience – enjoying the music of the greatest rock band of all time – The Who. So ultimately it’s a big thanks to them. Pete, John, Roger and Keith – we salute you.
All the best to you all – on behalf of Mike, Brian, Terry and myself – thank you and goodbye.
Steve
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