It doesn’t matter how many times you do it. Recreating Pink Floyd must be a daunting experience. A band – a movement? – that shifted progressive rock music forever. There are plenty that relish this challenge – just look at the plethora of tribute acts attaching the Floyd mantra to their name.
Brit Floyd are one of the newer super-tribs, having only been playing together for a few years now. How can they call themselves The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Show? Admittedly, they are heavily backed with an extensive aesthetic of fascinating visuals and a hugely impressive light show, but can they deliver anything unique to the hordes of Floyd-obsessives across the world ready to snap up anything related in the absence of the men themselves?
The set moves along from one album to the next, illustrated on the big stage-screen by a fan searching through their LP collection
Large empty spots were dotted all across Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall as Brit Floyd kick things off with Shine On You Crazy Diamond, with many punters likely unaware that the band strike the first note at 8pm on the dot with no support act. It’s all a little tame at first – the lights still only dimmed slightly as dozens still try to find their seats several songs in – but that doesn’t last for long.
The set moves along from one album to the next – illustrated on the big stage-screen by a fan searching through their LP collecting, a relatable experience for most – starting off with a handful of numbers from Wish You Were Here and Animals before Dark Side of the Moon really lights the torch paper. Money and Us and Them, in particular, are performed with exceptional skill and gusto.
The short break midway threatened to disrupt the flow just as it had got going, but if anything the second half raised the bar even further, bringing out the finest of The Division Bell and Wish You Were Here albums, before a sensational finale of The Great Gig In The Sky – featuring an outstanding vocal harmony from Ola Bienkowska – Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb and Run For Your Life.
Two and a half hours later, it almost doesn’t feel right to call something like this a tribute performance. It’s as close as fans are going to get to some sort of greatest hits live experience, and while Roger Waters, Nick Mason and David Gilmour might not agree on much these days, you’d safely bet that they would be bowled over by the Brits. The world’s greatest Pink Floyd show? It might just be.
