Pink Floyd tribute show in Joburg
Crazy Diamond, a Pink Floyd tribute show starring Mel Botes, will be running for 10 shows in April at the Victory Theatre in Johannesburg. The show will take the audience through the band's history and will feature more than 30 songs.
The brainchild of veteran director, Richard H Nosworthy and producer Mel Botes, Crazy Diamond will take audiences on a two-hour journey through the history of Pink Floyd, as seen through the eyes of Roger Keith Barrett - aka Syd to his friends - and paying tribute to him. Barrett was one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, and even though he only stayed with the band for the first two years, his influence continued long after his departure.
Wide spectrum
Crazy Diamond covers a wide spectrum of Pink Floyd's music, from the band's first album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” and continuing the journey through “A Saucer Full of Secrets” to the more “modern” Floyd music of “The Wall” to “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” and the last Pink Floyd album, “The Division Bell”.
Over 30 songs will be performed, including Jugband Blues, Echoes, Speak To Me, Breathe, Happiest Days Of Our lives, Another Brick In The Wall, parts 1, 2 and 3, The Dogs Of War, Shine On You Crazy Diamond and many more.
A big influence
Taking centre stage in this production is undoubtedly one of Africa's most talented guitarists and multi-award-winning songwriter, Mel Botes. Botes has always acknowledged that Pink Floyd has had a big influence on his music career, with their influence being evident in both his writing and style of playing and can be seen in Mel's original works: “David's Confession” and in “Flight of Bird”. He has been in his element while collaborating with Richard Nosworthy to bring Crazy Diamond to the stage. This is a second collaboration between this talented pair, the first being Flight of Bird, which was directed by Nosworthy and starred Botes.
The band
Joining Botes on stage will be Simon Orange (Hammond organ, piano and backing vocals), Theuns Botha (drums) and Barry Pretorius (bass). Backing vocals will be provided by Hannah Erasmus and Elaine Page.
Pink Floyd is known for its elaborate concerts with big budget lighting rigs, visual effects and sound systems, and Crazy Diamond pays tribute to these too. There are specially produced supporting images that are projected onto a screen and a voice-over guides the audience through the years as the music takes them through the time-warp that is Pink Floyd's music.
For more information, go to http://www.victorytheatre.co.za/victory_PinkFloyd.htm.
