Biography
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The story starts in 1995, when a show was put together to perform in a special production of “All You Need Is Love” at the Ecos Amphitheatre, Frome, Somerset. Such was the success of the show that from it emerged an eight piece band with five musicians and three ‘front men’ vocalists, known as “Sgt Pepper’s Only Dart Board Band”. This ensemble enjoyed successful gigs round local pubs and clubs performing material from the Sgt Pepper album and songs from the psychedelic era. Audiences were fascinated by this rather unusual Beatles tribute line-up with three vocalists – but the music was good and so was the humour! After a couple of years the eight piece became five. With all five having a more active full-on role, they soon became an in-demand band and now have a stunning set list that runs from the early 60’s rock numbers right through to the later more complex songs of the late 60’s/1970. Since those early heady days (the mid 90’s!) the band has gone from strength to strength to become one of the most well known Beatles tribute acts in Europe and has been described as “probably the most entertaining Beatles band in the UK”. This comes from a combination of fab-tastic live music on the one hand and self-deprecating humour and wicked one-liners that flow from their two front men, yes – John and Paul! With Scouse accents that even fooled regulars at the Cavern Club they are able to mix it with the best an audience can throw at them! The live music is pretty sensational with storming versions of the songs of the Fab Four, many of which, including the later more complex material, were never performed live by the originals. The band has performed at festivals and events in the USA, throughout Europe and across the UK. Performances include Glastonbury Festival, supporting Robert Plant at the Orange Ashton Court Festival and appearing at National Trust venues. European tours have taken in shows in Germany, Belgium, The Czech Republic, Austria, Poland and Slovakia. European highlights include headlining at the Homberg Festival in front of several thousand people and performing in Prague’s biggest night clubs. In the UK the band has packed out Liverpool’s Cavern Club on several visits to the legendary venue and has also had the honour of performing at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool on the 20th anniversary of John Lennon’s death in December 2000 with a choir and string section from Liverpool University. In 2008 the band were invited to perform at The Alabama Shakespeare Festival venue at Montgomery, USA with all equipment for the show being transported in from Nashville, Tennessee, in itself no mean accomplishment! With television and radio appearances the band has a wide range of exposure and experience to their credit. During 2004 and 2005 the band toured venues in the UK performing the final Fab Four album Abbey Road, and during 2007 toured with their version of the 40th Anniversary of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, with both tours being a great success. The band pride themselves on not using backing or click tracks during performances and can reproduce an album such as Abbey Road with their usual instrumentation of guitars, keyboards and drums. The emphasis, as always, is to keep the music LIVE! THE BOOK. With a name like "Sgt Pepper's Only Dart Board Band" this band just has to be good and they are Getting Better all the time! Updated 30th November 2008 |
