Australian Pink Floyd Shine Bright in Stunning Brighton Performance

November 17, 2024

Personally, I have always held back from reviewing tribute bands, not because I do not think they add value but because my preference has always been to see actual new bands as opposed to a copy. However, after much cajoling and being a big Pink Floyd fan, I agreed to take in the Australian Pink Floyd at Brighton Centre.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show

Brighton Centre – 14 November 2024

Words: Adrian Stonley

Photography: Robert Sutton

Okay, so this is where I have to eat some humble pie. There it is in writing because the Aussie Floyd are something very special indeed.

Everything that you would want from an actual Pink Floyd show is here, albeit with the exception of the actual Floyd members. The musicianship is first class, the show is a direct copy of a Floyd show, right down to the circular lighting rig, inflatables and lasers galore.

As with the real Floyd, this is a very visual show from the opening scenes being shone on the backdrop with a kangaroo or Australian takes on Floyd covers leading up to a shot of Uluru (Ayers Rock) with the actual faces of the original Floyd members ingrained onto it.

Opening with two instrumentals from Obscured By Clouds, the title track and When You’re In, the band does provide the opportunity to hear a couple of songs that the actual Floyd have not played in the live environment for getting on for fifty years or so.

Soundwise, they are note perfect, and it is impossible to fault the musicianship. Unsurprisingly, Floyd fans will know every note and every drum beat and expect to hear them identically performed perfectly. They got that tonight.

With a small dive into later (i.e. non-Roger Walters) Floyd with Learning To Fly, the band then proceeded to entertain with six songs in a row from Dark Side Of The Moon.

Quite simply, this was stunning and made you realise once again the actual musical quality and writing contained in that album. Starting with Time, a brief reprise of Breathe, and then The Great Gig In The Sky, where the three backing singers came into their own, they set a high standard.

Money followed before the ending of the album with the poignant Brain Damage and Eclipse, although the band could not help adding their own line of humour into the visuals with a Teletubby on screen for Brain Damage.

A quick step up to later Floyd with Coming Back To Life was a brief respite before the darkness of The Wall entered, with the first set closing around In The Flesh, The Thin Ice and then the obvious Another Brick In The Wall parts one and two complete with inflatable teacher swaying over the audience.

The second set started with a step back to very early days with early single Arnold Layne before the familiar brooding introduction to Shine On You Crazy Diamond started.

Those familiar with the introduction to the title track of the Wish You Where Here album will know about the scrolling through a radio dial before the familiar introductory guitar works seep in.

Again, the band placed their own inimitable take on this with a quick flash through artists as diverse as Men At Work, Kylie, AC/DC, the Neighbours theme and Waltzing Matilda, ensuring the Australian element was perfectly incorporated.

Following recent events in the U.S., the line in Pigs, “Hey you Whitehouse, ha, ha charade you are,” takes on a completely new meaning. The dark 1984 Big Brother (Pig Brother) imagery is very hard-hitting in its own way, showing that this version of Floyd is as politically identifying and scathing as the real band and is not afraid to show it.

Certainly, the backdrop flashing up ‘Pig Brother Is Watching You’ and ‘Only the pig party will make sheep great again’ has a clear political dig at the recent U.S. election result and outcome and with a swaying boar inflatable, the message was clear to see and hear.

One Of These Days enabled the band to roll back an element of the old psychedelic Floyd with intense visuals before the set closed out with a guitar and laser overload during Run Like Hell. During this, the final inflatable, the obligatory giant kangaroo, appeared towering over the band whilst the audience finally leapt to their feet.

There could only be one encore, and unsurprisingly, Comfortably Numb was it with the band’s visuals going into overdrive. This really was as close to the actual Pink Floyd as you could get with the Brighton Centre cocooned in multi-coloured lasers.

With Pink Floyd pretty much on permanent hiatus as a recording and touring band, this is the next best thing. This is a band who are clearly in touch with the music, and though they have not written it, they still own it in their own way.

Some visual humour during the show does not detract from the strong musical elements and perfect timing shown throughout. This is a band who have a clear love for The Floyd and are very clearly honouring that legacy.