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I'm not sure where lamp posts come in the list of most effective advertising media but an A3 poster tied to one in Derry made me aware that Mumford and Sons were coming to a small bar in Donegal. Sorry, Mumford and Sons tribute band. Don't get too excited. Not that Mumford (or his sons) are my cup of meat. But the poster did make me think. Whatever happened to coming up with witty names to call your tribute band ? No Way Sis, Bjorn Again, Hayseed Dixie - there was at least some mental effort involved there. Just adding the words 'band' and 'tribute' shows a lack of effort, chaps. What really struck me, though, was the realisation that Mumford and Sons haven't been around long enough to warrant a tribute. Their first LP only came out last October, with twelve songs on it. So its not as if this tribute band has a huge list of songs to learn, either. The early pioneers, Bjorn Again and the Bootleg Beatles, filled a need as Abba and The Beatles weren't likely to be appearing at your nearest large stadium any time soon.
In Australia, they made up for the lack of international acts by coming up with their own. But there's no excuse for a Mumford And Sons tribute act. Not yet, anyway.
By the way, Derry can claim to have the first tribute act in the world. In the middle 1970s, there was a band called Quo 2. They played Status Quo songs. Never heard them, never saw them, don't know their names, I just read the ad in the Derry Journal. I didn't realise then that what I thought was a lack of imagination would actually be a genius move in the world of live music. Shows what I know, doesn't it ?