Tribute shows take centre stage

Freddie Mercury has been gone for well over 30 years. And yet, every night of the week, in nearly every continent on Earth, countless bands and singers will take to the stage to perform his and Queen’s hits, often to sold-out crowds.

The same is true of tributes to Abba and Michael Jackson. And, to a slightly lesser extent, tributes to a vast range of chart-topping artists, both old and new – everyone from Simon and Garfunkel to Taylor Swift.

Some of these might be in sticky-floored high street bars, but many are in theatres of over 1,000 seats, some even selling out 10,000-seat arenas. The days of sneering at tribute shows as low-value knockoffs are well and truly over. We’re talking big crowds and big…

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