. June 23rd 2012. Damian Darlington at the Salisbury City Hall. Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by L.S. Media. June 23rd 2012.

L.S. Media Rating *****

There is nothing quite like nostalgia; especially when it’s done to with an inch of perfection, a decent sized crowd have enjoyed it immensely and the songs have been as near perfect as you can imagine.

Brit Floyd arrived in Salisbury for their debut show in the city full of hope and aspirations to make some of the small Wiltshire city relive some of the best music to have come out of these islands by one of the most popular bands to ever grace a stage. It is more than fair to say that they easily beat those aims.

The group may not have the kudos or pull of Progressive Rock legends Pink Floyd, but their heart and soul goes into every single note, every saxophone rendition and every anguished surreal moment that gets captured by camera or downloaded straight onto the net. The reason they have become so popular is that they really do capture the aesthetic quality that Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Syd Barrett and Rick Wright achieved all those years ago.

The band; made up of Damian Darlington on guitars and vocals, Ian Cattell on bass and vocals, Bobby Harrison on guitars and vocals, Arran Ahmun on drums, Carl Brunsdon on saxophone and percussion and Rob Stringer and Rick Benbow on keyboards, came on stage and with little fuss but with huge intent opened the show with Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Learning To Fly.

If the applause was loud and generous after just two songs then by the end of the evening there would be no doubting the high esteem the band would be held in. With the night broken into two halves there would be something for everybody in the audience from Salisbury. The first half of the evening saw See Emily Play, Money, the astounding High Hopes and the behemoth, the elegant and deep down and dirty Pigs all being played to a very responsive crowd.

For anyone in the audience who may have wondered what the score was in the Germany V Greece game going on during the European Championships, there was very little point even trying to find out the score as the band soon came out for the second half of the incredible show. Any football allegiances or faint interest were soon banished to the streets of Salisbury as the faint piano sound of the exceptional Echoes warmed up the crowd once more before the group went into old favourites Time and Great Gig in the Sky from Dark Side of the Moon and the phenomenal and utterly heart-wrenching Wish You Were Here. All of these songs on the night highlighted what an incredible set of musicians Damian Darlington had recruited to be in the talented group.

As a final treat, Brit Floyd performed a huge segment of the World Wide hit album The Wall. With songs such as Hey You, Anybody out There and the majestic Comfortably Numb being played in their entirety, this was a night of huge reminisces, of arguably one of the finest bands to have been captured in their prime and being played note for note by one of the best ac11ts to cover the timeless, and still very much popular, music.

Excellent!

Ian D. Hall