A quick Google search will show that there are quite a few Pink Floyd tribute bands. After all, this psychedelic group was one of the top acts to come out of London after its formation in the ‘60s. With hit albums like 1973’s The Dark Side of the Moon and 1979’s The Wall, there’s still a demand for Pink Floyd’s music. And these tribute ensembles are helping to meet it.
Still, not all of these acts were invited to perform at David Gilmour’s 50th birthday celebration. Nor were they all hailed by co-founder Nick Mason as being “probably better” than his own band. These impressive feats were only achieved by The Australian Pink Floyd Show, which is celebrating 33 years.
On Sept. 24, TAPFS is bringing its “All That’s To Come” tour to Parx Casino’s Xcite Center. Ahead of the show, The Times caught up with Lorelei McBroom, one of the group’s backing vocalists, who assured audiences that much time, effort and care went into everything they’ll hear on stage later this month.
“Musically, the band is very true to the recorded versions, which are what most people know,” said McBroom. “We take great care in preserving the beauty of what Pink Floyd did. We’re not trying to reinterpret it in our idea of how it should be. I’ve sung with other Pink Floyd tribute bands that are not as careful. Make sure you do it the way Pink Floyd did. People are coming to hear the way Gilmour played his solo, not you. If it’s about you, then do your own band.”
TAPFS has come a long way since its humble beginnings in Adelaide, Australia. To date, it has sold over 4 million tickets to concerts spanning 35 countries. For each tour, it not only crafts a setlist that’s inclusive of Pink Floyd’s entire body of work, it includes the band’s iconic lights and lasers.
“They [the lighting crew] improve every year. They do something a little bit different,” said McBroom. “We have a lot of fans that see us every year, so that way they get something fresh.”
McBroom joined TAPFS in 2011 in a serendipitous series of events. The Los Angeles, California native had previously performed with Pink Floyd on its “Momentary Lapse of Reason” and “Delicate Sound of Thunder” tours. So did her sister, who actually toured with Pink Floyd for a longer duration of time. When TAPFS approached her sister about singing at a few shows, she was unavailable and suggested they hire McBroom.
“And the rest is history,” she said with pride.
The singer and her bandmates have been on the North American leg of the “All That’s To Come” tour since August, and they’ve been enjoying every moment of it. According to McBroom, U.S. crowds are just a little different than those in Europe and Asia, where concert-goers tend to be more reserved.
“We love coming here because the audiences are so expressive. They will scream out if they hear a solo that they like, or if something happens in the light show that they get excited about,” she said.
Still, fans all over the world have something in common — a love of Pink Floyd’s music.
“Somehow, it pulls everybody together,” said McBroom. “It doesn’t matter if they don’t speak the language. You understand the language of great music.”
In her opinion, there’s a reason why TAPFS crowds consist of original Pink Floyd fans who are now in their 70s, young adults and children. In fact, McBroom was pleased to learn from her niece and nephew, who are in their early 20s and saw TAPFS perform in Texas, that Pink Floyd’s songs are popular on TikTok.
“The music is that good. The quality of it transcends from one generation to the next. There are few bands that can do that,” said McBroom, who also placed the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder in this elite category. “It just lives on because there’s such good writing.”
She explained how, in the ‘80s, there was a shift in the recording industry. Instead of producing the quality, original content heard the decade prior, a focus was placed on signing cookie cutter artists who could sell a lot of albums.
“Something would be successful and the labels would go, ‘Oh, we need one of those,’ and they’d sign something that was very similar to something that was already out there,” said McBroom. “But Pink Floyd was really creating their own sound, their own style. I feel like the younger generation deserves to be exposed to the quality of what their parents might’ve been teenagers listening to. My hope is that some of the younger artists will listen to this music and it will influence what they’re doing.”
As TAPFS prepares to wrap up its “All That’s To Come” tour in early October, it’s gearing up for the “#DarkSide50” tour, which kicks off in France in February 2023 and will feature The Dark Side of the Moon played in its entirety in honor of the album’s 50th anniversary.
If you go: The Australian Pink Floyd Show is coming to Parx Casino’s Xcite Center, 2999 Street Road in Bensalem, on Saturday, Sept. 24. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Visit parxcasino.com/bensalem/xcitecenter for tickets. All shows at Parx Casino are for ages 21 and older. Visit aussiefloyd.com for more information on the band.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
