(Art Rock, Prog-Rock, Album Rock, Pink Floyd Tribute Band) The Australian Pink Floyd Show - Exposed In The Light - 2012, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

HISTORY

Having sold over three million tickets in concerts that have taken place in 35 countries, The Australian Pink Floyd Show is rightfully hailed as one of the most in demand touring entities currently operating, The Times described them as “The Gold Standard”. This act is so good they were even engaged by David Gilmour to perform at his 50th birthday celebration!

The band has spent a long time getting to this level; the years have been invested in getting things right: the sound, the feel, the experience. Whilst the Daily Telegraph rightly described them as being at “the top of the tribute band tree”, the journey has been a long one and began in 1988 in Adelaide. Lee Smith, a local guitarist obsessed with Pink Floyd, and needing to augment his band [featuring drummer Grant Ross and bassist Trevor Turton] placed an ad in Allan’s Music store. It read: “Vocalist and Keyboardist required for band. Professional attitude expected. We only play Pink Floyd”. Steve Mac and Jason Sawford each saw the ad and soon the now five-piece band commenced regular weekly practice. Whilst learning and practicing the songs they constantly referred to Lee's extensive collection of Pink Floyd albums and bootleg recordings. They also started to create the sounds necessary to perform Pink Floyd correctly, and this became, and still is, one of the most important aspects of the band.

The first live show was performed to a select group of family and friends – including Richard Guest and Greg 'Bear' Sutton, both of whom would serve time in the band’s road crew. Having settled on the name ‘Think Floyd’, the quintet soon secured their first paying gig at the Alma Hotel. More gigs followed – the band banking $600AU for a show at the Tivoli witnessed by Colin Wilson who would later join the band. Though the reaction was positive, it seemed hard to find a regular audience, and the line-up drifted apart, until 1992 saw a refocusing and a redoubling of efforts.

Peter Whitely replaced Trevor Turton and the band aimed for bigger and better, often using a quadraphonic sound system that they ended up lugging to venues themselves. ’92 saw the band back on track, but also their first big break. On a trip to the UK to visit family, Steve Mac made contact with the publishers of 'Brain Damage' magazine, the biggest Pink Floyd fanzine at that time. Glenn Povey, the owner of the magazine was planning a Pink Floyd fan convention at Wembley in August 93, and decided that 'Think Floyd' should perform.

In order to raise money for the trip, the band began gigging furiously in Australia, clocking up serious miles but honing what they did ever more. Colin Wilson was drafted in to replace Peter Whitely who could not make the trip to the UK. The five band members plus long time 'roadies' Richard Guest and 'Bear' Sutton, boarded their BA flight to Heathrow on August 8, 1993. Upon arrival, British customs impounded all their equipment! Not a good start but everything was back on track for the warm up show on Friday 13th... The band by this time had changed their name to 'The Australian Pink Floyd Show'.

At the convention TAPFS put on a three hour spectacular that is talked about to this day. Glenn Povey was so enthused that he started booking the band more shows, and would continue to do so for three years. ’93 had been an incredible year but it ended with the departure of homesick founder Lee Smith, and also ‘Bear’ Smith.

By the time the band performed at Belfast’s The Limelight in January 1994, Damian Darlington had come in to fill the gap. The audience for the band was beginning to grow - not just in the UK but also in Europe - but in September 94 came a show that changed everything. David Gilmour visited the band backstage after a show in Croydon - pointing out that he’d never had the chance to see Pink Floyd perform. He was very complimentary, posed for pictures and invited the band to perform at Pink Floyd’s party to mark the end of their ‘Division Bell’ tour. Due to curfew restraints at the venue, this plan fell through but, when the phone rang not long after, the band found themselves asked to perform a handpicked set at an event marking Gilmour’s 50th birthday.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show topped the bill at the evening’s festivities at the Fulham Town Hall, performing Pink Floyd to the members of Pink Floyd amongst others. Toward the end of the performance Pink Floyd bassist Guy Pratt joined the band on stage along with Rick Wright for a rendition of 'Comfortably Numb'. This was followed by David Gilmour, Gary Wallis, Tim Renwick and Claudia Fontaine along with Guy and Rick, performing a number of edited versions of Floyd songs including 'Money' and 'What Do You Want From Me'. It was an incredible ending to an unbelievable night.

Following that was always going to be hard, but it gave the band impetus to push forward even harder and deliver amazing shows for their fans. In 1997, the band performed a show at Battersea Power Station - the iconic building known to all Pink Floyd fans as the 'Animals' album cover, and the scene of the famous floating pig. The Australian Pink Floyd Show’s similar image of a floating kangaroo had been used to promote the band since the early days.

1998 saw the band perform at Glastonbury Festival. TAPFS were confident of drawing a good crowd but the fact that they had been added to the Acoustic stage – which had a roof – meant that there was standing room only in this year famous for rain and, of course, mud. The band will always treasure the memory of Rolf Harris, fellow Aussie, helping to push their truck out of the muck! This was the year too that founder member Grant Ross decided to return to Australia, as did Richard Guest. Though the losses would be keenly felt, the band regrouped and Salford lad Paul Bonney and his two drum kits were welcomed into the show.

The band’s touring schedule continued on an upward trajectory over the next three years with the band getting tighter and the venues getting bigger. In 2003, the band were faced with a choice: to keep doing the same as they had for the past 10 years, or to step up a gear. TAPFS made a big decision and embarked on their most ambitious period to date. 2003 was the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s landmark album 'The Darkside of the Moon'; there was no better time for TAPFS to perform this album in its entirety. Backing vocalists and saxophone were added to the line up and new improved animations were produced by American animator, Bryan Kolupski for the new circular screen. The band toured 'TDSOTM' throughout 2003 and into 2004, taking the whole show to North America for their first full tour, and continuing in Europe. Everywhere the band played they received incredible reviews and it seemed the world had now fully embraced TAPFS. The tour continued well into the next year and a DVD of the show was recorded in Liverpool at the ‘Summer Pop’s show.

The 30th anniversary of the legendary 'Wish You Were Here' album fell in 2005 and was marked by a slew of UK dates, a tour in South America and a show in Malta that drew 10,000 fans – including the Maltese Prime Minister – and was acclaimed as the nation’s largest ever paying concert crowd. The annual Liverpool ‘Summer Pops’ in July 2005 gave the opportunity for TAPFS to make another first. On July 15th the band performed and recorded 'Wish You Were Here' and, on the following night, performed 'Animals' in its entirety for the first time. The end of 2005 saw TAPFS back in North America for a 35 date tour.

The 2011 dates saw the debut of an unbelievable 3D element created by a respected Hollywood animator. The next incarnation of the live show will take another route, watch this space!

Continuing to wow the crowds globally, TAPFS have constantly striven to seek out new audiences and turn in jaw-dropping performances to reconnect people with the music that they love. This year, Prog magazine raved, “For the record, TAPFS are a phenomenon to be witnessed live… It’s almost enough to make you forget you haven’t been watching Pink Floyd, but a surrogate band”.

In 2008 the band celebrated its twentieth year but the shows keep rolling and the band keep doing what they love. So now the story is bang up to date. 2011 is another year of innovation, hard work, great crowds and great music. It is still all about the music - Pink Floyd - and delivering the absolute best performance each and every night.

BAND and CREW

Steve Mac - Guitar / Vocals
Steve was one of the original founding band members when it formed in 1988 in Adelaide, South Australia. Steve has performed on guitar and vocals continuously through to the present day. He has enjoyed seeing the band grow from the early days through to headlining at the Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena in 2009 and the London O2 Arena at this years sold out critically acclaimed arena tour in 2010.
He is a huge fan of Pink Floyd and is passionate about the authenticity of the band's sound. Commenting he said “Pink Floyd created their own universe of sound, no other band has ever sounded the same. It’s so important to capture not just the sound but also the feel and the emotion of their amazing music”. Steve is a perfectionist and has carefully built up an elaborate replica guitar rig that incorporates much of the same equipment that David Gilmour uses. Steve's favourite guitar is his late 70’s blue Fender Stratocaster which David Gilmour has actually played! He’s endorsed by Hiwatt, Fender, Ernie Ball, Jim Dunlop, MXR pedals and AKG microphones.
Steve has also written for music magazines worldwide on David Gilmour's technique and playing including 'Guitarist' magazine. He cites playing David Gilmour’s 50th birthday party as one of his career highlights and has also played with other Pink Floyd band members including Guy Pratt.

Colin Wilson - Bass / Vocals
Colin joined the Aussie Floyd in 1992 after playing in many bands in Australia cutting his teeth on the live circuit. As the bass player in the band he has to cover two very different styles of playing in order to recreate the sound of Roger Waters and Guy Pratt on Pink Floyd's whole catalogue of recordings.
When interviewed for this biog Colin said "we take the music deadly seriously, but take ourselves not so seriously" and by way of example cites some of the Australian imagery included in the show such as the inflatable kangaroo. In fact Colin started out as a graphic designer and is responsible for a lot of the artwork used by the band.
Colin shares the same passion as the other band members for ensuring they get a note perfect performance, sticking to playing exactly what's on the record and also drawing parts from live recordings and bootlegs.
He also plays and writes in an original blues-rock band called El Vato with fellow Aussie Floyd drummer Paul Bonney and have released a debut album called 'Loaded Dice'
Colin uses a selection of Fender precision basses ( fretted and fretless ) through Ashdown Amps and cabs, and Boss effects on stage.

Jason Sawford - Keyboards
Jason is an original founding member of the band started back in 1988. Prior to joining the band his studied a science degree in Australia and later went onto study a music degree subsequently leaving half way through to join the Aussie Floyd.
Programming the keyboards to get the right authentic Floyd sound is an on-going part of Jason’s role in the band. He uses a complex set-up on four keyboards, sound units, samplers and digital desk, which involves week’s/ even months of preparation ahead of major tours.
After playing in the band for over 22 years, Jason has many stories of funny, strange and amazing things that have happened on the road. Playing Comfortably Numb alongside Rick Wright at Dave Gilmour’s birthday party comes high up on Jason’s list of career highlights.

Paul Bonney - Drums
Paul (AKA Bonney) joined the Aussie Floyd in 1998 and flies the flag for the UK as the Manc in the band. He studied music at Salford University and went on to become an established session musician in the Manchester area working with New Order and Peter Hook and playing in several originals band including Ellwood and Hanky Park..
As an avid Pink Floyd fan, Bonney studied in depth Nick Mason’s playing and says that every night he gets into the zone of playing like Nick. In fact he has to cover two drumming parts as Pink Floyd for many years have had Gary Wallis on stage with them and he has to incorporate this into his playing.

Mike Kidson - Saxophonist
Mike started out in musical theatre and has also played in a number of bands including the highly respected Zappa tribute band the Muffin Men, where he worked alongside many original Zappa musicians during the 1990s.
Since 2003 Mike has been a regular with The Australian Pink Floyd, which brings the challenge of replicating exactly, yet also in Mike’s own style, the saxophone parts on Floyd’s classic 1970s albums. This has taken him around the world to the USA, South America, Canada and throughout Europe and led to Mike appearing with Dream Theater in Amsterdam in October 2005 courtesy of original Pink Floyd sax player Dick Parry.

Dave Domminney Fowler - Guitar / Vacals
Guitarist and vocalist David Domminney Fowler has been playing Pink Floyd songs since he started his first band at the age of 13. He worked out all the chords and solos from the albums he bought and then forced the rest of his band to play the songs at their shows. David went on to sign a record deal and tour Europe with his own band Juice, a highlight being a Festival appearance alongside Feeder and Coldplay. He went on to form a band with ex-T'Pau man Dean Howard and toured UK Arenas with Thunder, Peter Frampton and Deep Purple. Purple's front man Ian Gillan even invited David down to his home so that he could lay down vocals on one of David's tracks.
David actually saw TAPFS play many years ago - he remembers saying at the time that he would love to be up on stage - and in recent years became friendly with the band. He saw many European tours, swapped music with the guys and, when an opening became available was invited to audition. He was the first and only person they saw. David remains a huge Pink Floyd fan and has fantastic memories of seeing David Gilmour and Roger Waters on tour.

Alex McNamara - Vocalist
Vocalist and percussionist Alex McNamara joins TAPFS this year, having already appeared in the West End's biggest Rock musical, "We Will Rock You" at the Dominion Theatre for several years. After initially auditioning for Queen legends Brian May and Roger Taylor he went on to perform with them onstage in the show on several occasions, as well as appearing with them live on ITV's "The Al Murray Show" amongst other engagements.
During his career, Alex has appeared in numerous theatre productions and various commercials, and in 2008 he shared a stage with high profile artists such as Alice Cooper, Blondie and Deep Purple for the British International Motor Show at London Excel. Having always been a huge fan of Rock Music, he has a huge respect for Pink Floyd and is incredibly excited to be coming on board with TAPFS.

Emily Lynn - Backing Vocals
Joining TAPFS this year Emily Lynn is a hugely talented and enthusiastic vocalist who loves to perform and has worked with recording artists, choirs, gospel groups and orchestras. Emily’s love of Floyd’s music – “so easy to get lost in, so atmospheric” – has truly been rekindled and she can’t wait to start.
Whilst she is looking forward to being able to take the lead on Great Gig one day, her current favourite is What Do You Want From Me? “I’m so lucky to be involved with this show, really fortunate – I’m sure they’ll look after me!” Come and see Emily play!

Lara Smiles - Backing Vocals is a singer and songwriter with over eight years' experience as a performer, working on many different projects with bands and solo artists alike.
Her sound reputation is built on her unique voice and her ability to adapt to a diverse range of music styles, from rock and pop to disco, soul and dance. With her all girl rock band The Berettas she has sung and played guitar at top London venues, supported artists such as Pete Doherty and Jesse Wood and performed at the launch of "Guitar Hero, Metallica".
Lara has long been a fan of Pink Floyd, particularly the Dark Side Of The Moon album and is really enjoying performing with TAPFS. "It's a fantastic experience", she says. "I love the songs that we're performing, especially "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" - I just love singing on that, it's so strong".

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Lorelei McBroom PINK FLOYD (the Godfathers of Psychedelia) gave Lorelei her first exposure to the road on their "Momentary Lapse of Reason "and "Delicate Sound of Thunder" tours.

Colin Norfield has been one of the most in demand sound engineers in the world for over four decades. Colin brings a wealth of experience with him and a trained ear for all things Pink Floyd. Colin was FOH engineer on Pink Floyd’s final world tour; Division Bell.

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IN MEMORY
Scott Johnson (1979 - 2012) On Saturday 16th June 2012 we sadly lost out great mate Scott Johnson.
Scott has been working with the TAPFS family now on and off since 2000 as the Drum Technician for Bonney. Scott always put a smile on everyone's face and was a reliable, dependable man on our work-force. It was an honour to have had him on our team!!!
Our thoughts go out to his family, friends and all the other bands and crew members to whom he worked for.
God bless and rest in peace Scotty lad, you will be deeply missed. - TAPFS.

Described in 2011 by The Times in London as “Setting the gold standard”, The Australian Pink Floyd Show is a live touring sensation which has now sold over three million tickets worldwide, and the band have created an incredible show for the “Exposed In The Light” 2012 dates. Taking its title from the lyrics of the Floyd classic “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, the 2012 “Exposed In The Light” tour will be a true Pink Floyd ‘immersion’, bolstered by new lasers, new lights and even more jaw-dropping video effects. The 2012 tour is going to be a truly multi-media sensory experience. TAPFS is known for pushing the boundaries and taking the concert experience to a new level but the 2012 show sets the bar even higher; set the controls for the heart of the sun…. We are also delighted to confirm that Pink Floyd veteran Lorelei McBroom will be appearing on this tour. Lorelei’s credentials are staggering; she toured with Pink Floyd on the “Momentary Lapse of Reason” and “Delicate Sound of Thunder” tours, appeared in the videos for “The Dogs of War”, “On The Turning Away” and the “Pink Floyd Live In Venice” TV broadcast. She also performed “The Great Gig In The Sky” with Pink Floyd; a song she will now perform with TAPFS.
Emerging back in 1988, the original and credible Floyd act TAPFS has been getting bigger and better ever since. The band were described by Floyd drummer Nick Mason on BBC 5 Live as “Very good, probably better than we are,” and even engaged by David Gilmour to perform at his 50th birthday celebration! The Mirror hailed the act quite simply as, “The kings of the genre”.

The Australian Pink Floyds 2012 'Exposed In The Light' tour was a resounding worldwide success - and the band's most ambitious tour to date. Recorded on location during the 76 European shows, this brand new CD captures the essence of the tour.