In this piece
A tribute band plays the music of one artist. Wikipedia keeps it to that single sentence: a group that specifically plays the music of a well-known act. In practice it means you know beforehand what you will hear. Book a Queen tribute and you get Bohemian Rhapsody, not Dancing Queen.
Tribute band and cover band side by side
| Tribute band | Cover band | |
|---|---|---|
| Repertoire | One band or artist | Songs by all sorts of artists |
| Aim | As close to the original as possible | A full dance floor, with its own versions |
| Audience | Fans and anyone who knows that music | A broad party crowd |
| Clothes and show | Sometimes copied, sometimes not | Its own style |
| When to choose it | You want one mood, one era | You want a bit of everything |
In practice the two overlap. Some cover bands have a tribute set in their repertoire, and a tribute band at a party can play a few songs by other artists if you ask. Check when you book.
What a tribute band is not
A tribute band is not an official band of the artist. It has no link with the artist's management and should not present itself as if it did. We say so on our own site too: De Peppers play the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a tribute and are not the band itself.
Nor is a tribute band a miming act. The musicians play live, and that is where the craft lies. Cesar Zuiderwijk, as a judge on The Tribute – Battle of the Bands on SBS6, named the way a band plays together as the first thing he hears:
Ik vind het ook belangrijk of een band echt samenspeelt. Je ziet meteen of de muzikanten met elkaar kunnen opschieten.
(Translated: "I also think it matters whether a band truly plays together. You can see straight away whether the musicians get on with each other.")
Imitation or interpretation
Tribute bands differ in how far they go. Zuiderwijk thinks the look has to be right as well: an ABBA tribute, in his view, needs spectacular outfits. The Dutch Beatles tribute The Analogues went to the other extreme. They played the albums from 1966 to 1970, the records The Beatles themselves never played live, and left the wigs and suits at home. Singer Felix Maginn told SuperDeluxeEdition in 2022:
We really shy away from that. For us, it's really about the music.
Both routes can work. Why we think a good tribute band never only copies is set out in our column.
Where it began
According to music researcher Colin Outhwaite, the tribute scene began more than sixty years ago with Elvis Presley impersonators. Elvis was still alive at the time. The Bootleg Beatles played their first show on 26 March 1980 in Tiverton, England. The members came from the musical Beatlemania and carried on when the production closed. In 1982 they toured the Soviet Union.
In Melbourne the ABBA tribute Björn Again started in 1988. In 1997 the British journalist Tony Barrell called Australia the "main cradle of the tribute band" in The Sunday Times: big acts often skipped the country, so Australians played them themselves.
Sometimes a tribute leads to the real thing. The American singer Tim Owens sang in the Judas Priest tribute British Steel. A video of his last show found its way to Judas Priest, and in 1996 he became their singer.
And De Peppers?
We are a tribute band in the strict sense: we play only the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Each of us takes the part of one Pepper. Daan sings Anthony Kiedis, Mark plays John Frusciante, Tom plays Flea, Jan plays Chad Smith. The solos and bass lines sound the way you know them. Where the Chili Peppers jam live, we jam too. More about the band and our repertoire.
Live: De Peppers
Soos Plock
Volkel
Doors 8.30pm · Band on 9.15pm
€10 presale · €12.50 on the door
Tickets 12 DecBooking
De Peppers at your party
Wedding, company party, festival or bar: ask about a date, no strings attached.
Book De PeppersFurther reading
Want to book one yourself? Start with Hiring a tribute band: step by step. Curious which tribute bands the Netherlands has produced? Read The best-known tribute bands in the Netherlands. Everything about a Chili Peppers night is on book a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Tribute act,
- The Bootleg Beatles — History,
- Björn Again — About Björn Again,
- The Conversation — Why tribute acts can no longer be considered just cheap copies,
- TV Gids — Golden Earring-drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk over The Tribute,
- SuperDeluxeEdition — Like The Beatles? Meet The Analogues,
- Blabbermouth — Tim 'Ripper' Owens on landing Judas Priest gig,
- Wikipedia — Tim 'Ripper' Owens,
De Peppers editorial team
Written by the editors at De Peppers, the Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band from Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands. Every fact is sourced at the bottom of the piece. Spotted a mistake? Email info@mia-automation.com and we will check it.
