The Australian Pink Floyd have come a long way since their first public show at a birthday party 20 years ago. Founding member Steve Mac tells Stephanie Fsadni what it is like to be in the tribute business and how a tragic accident brought them to international audiences
After 20 years on the road, guitarist Steve Mac is still in awe of the legendary British rock band that inspired his tribute act and has his feet firmly set on the ground.
It’s great to play to an audience who are on the same wavelength as us. It’s quite an emotional experience and it reminds you of why we do this
“I believe it helps to have a sensible and grounded approach in the tribute business,” Mr Mac said.
“I’m a Pink Floyd fan first and foremost and we are simply trying to give their creation justice and pay a worthy tribute to their genius and talent.”
Aussie Floyd, as they are known, are playing their second concert in Malta next Saturday; their first concert here was in 2005.
The band came into being in 1988 when another founding member, Lee Smith, put an advert in a music store in Adelaide, South Australia, looking for “like-minded musicians to play the music of Pink Floyd”.
Mr Smith had already created a few songs with drummer Grant Ross and bass player Trevor Turton.
Both keyboardist Jason Sawford and Mr Mac answered the ad and they got together the next weekend and bashed out a few more tracks.
“We all clicked from day one and it was a lot of fun,” said Mr Mac.
Their first public show took place in a high school drama room for a birthday party. Ensuing pub gigs eventually turned into club gigs around Australia.
But their big break came due to a strange twist of fate... the death of Mr Mac’s aunt, who lived in the UK.
“Aunt Ruby sadly slipped at a dance and hit her head, which caused her death. I flew to the UK with my mother for the funeral and it was while there that I met up with a guy named Glenn Povey from a Pink Floyd fan club magazine – ironically called Brain Damage.”
Mr Povey was organising a Pink Floyd convention at Wembley the following year and was looking for a band to perform.
“We fit the bill perfectly so he booked us.”
Since then the band has performed in around 35 countries and sold more than three million concert tickets.
Aunt Ruby holds a very special place in Mr Mac’s heart.
“If it weren’t for her, we would have never taken things outside Australia,” he said.
The band also played at the 50th birthday party of Pink Floyd vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour, whom Mr Mac described as “very charming, flattering and funny” and “overtly modest”.
Despite meeting him on a couple of occasions, Mr Mac still finds himself at a loss for words when he meets him: “Sadly I become star-struck and dry up. I guess that’s what happens when you idolise someone.”
Of all the countries he performed at, Mr Mac said he particularly enjoyed his shows in France, Malta and Montreal.
“The people are so passionate about their Floyd and they know every little detail in every song.
“It’s great to play to an audience who are on the same wavelength as us. It’s quite an emotional experience and it reminds you of why we do this.”
Referring to their 2005 Malta concert, he said:“The audience was amazing and they all sang along.
“From the stage we could see that the streets outside were full of thousands of people listening and partying. It was such a festival atmosphere and it’s still one of my all-time favourite memories.”
Despite all the success and worldwide fame, Mr Mac said it is not easy to make a living as a tribute band.
“It costs a fortune to put on a big enough show to satisfy a Pink Floyd fan. I think people would be amazed to discover just how much it costs and just how little we earn from it all.”
As regards merchandise and albums, concert-goers would already own Pink Floyd releases so they only sell the odd Aussie Floyd T-shirt and their live DVDs.
However, the band does have its own fans.
Mr Mac mentioned one particular fan who has several Aussie Floyd tattoos.
“When fans go to that extreme it makes me realise just what a responsibility we have in making sure we all do our best,” he said.
Asked whether any of their songs are particularly close to the real thing, Mr Mac had no definite answer.
“It’s tricky when you do what we do for a living because you end up noticing what isn’t right, rather than what is right...”
But he admitted that sometimes he would be listening to his iPod and would not immediately realise whether a Pink Floyd song would be the original or theirs.
“It’s quite rewarding when you get caught offguard like that and it’s happened with many of the songs we perform.”
Mr Mac had only words of praise for his band-mates and eventually would like to record their own original music as a totally separate project and “tour under our steam”.
“That would be very rewarding for the soul,” he said.
Meanwhile, he is more than happy to keep playing Pink Floyd hits.
“Sometimes I look around on stage and I have to pinch myself to make sure it’s really happening.
“I do feel very fortunate to be doing this and as long as people want to come along and see the show, we’ll keep doing our best to make them happy and to do the music of Pink Floyd justice.”
• The Australian Pink Floyd Show will be playing in Malta on July 14 at the Granaries in Floriana. For more information, visit www.aussiefloyd.com or www.maltaticket.com.