10:40am Sunday 31st January 2010
By Lucie Richards
THE MEMBERS of a David Bowie tribute band are looking forward to performing for the first time in Basingstoke – but for Dave Cull, born-and-bred locally, it should be a particular night to remember.
A suited salesman during the day, Cull (pictured) revels in his night-time transformation into the Thin White Duke – one of Bowie’s alter egos.
The eponymous five-piece tribute band gig across the south east of England, and on February 6 they are performing at Central Studio, their first gig on 44-year-old Cull’s home turf.
The singer, from Silchester Road, Tadley, joined the band in October 2008 and performed his first gig in February last year.
A digital development manager for Fujifilm during the day, Cull said: “It’s fantastic and great fun. Bowie had several characters throughout his career and the Thin White Duke was from the 1976 period, for his Station to Station tour when he took on this persona.”
Cull has had a replica suit specially made for him by a London tailor and is growing his hair to emulate Bowie’s look of the time.
He said: “Bowie produced some of his best music around that time, but we play songs right from Space Oddity in 1969 to 1983 including album tracks, and we are adding tracks to our list all the time. We have around 35 tracks that we cover.”
Cull, who went to Bishopswood Junior School and The Hurst Community College, in Tadley and Baughurst respectively, used to be in a band in his 20s, called Sweet Revenge.
He said: “We were all from Tadley and played our own material, which was a cross between Led Zeppelin and Killing Joke.”
He thought he had left that part of his life behind him, but when his wife passed away in April 2008, he decided he needed something to focus on.
Cull said: “I went to an REM concert with friends and after-wards I said ‘I’m going to get into a band’. I did some search-ing on the internet and six weeks later I was in one.
“I have always loved David Bowie – I’m from that era – and couldn’t believe it when I found this tribute band looking for a David Bowie.”
The rest of the band, who come from across the south east, have been gigging together for five years and their reputa-tion is growing.
Cull added: “We all do it bec-ause we love the music of David Bowie – that’s the most impor-tant part of it – and we get a real mixture of fans.
“We introduce his music to new audiences. It refreshes existing fans and we also have diehard Bowie fans who I see singing along word-for-word. Sales are going well and I’m confident the Central Studio gig will sell out.”
Tickets for the Central Studio gig are available from the box office, on 01256 418318, or online at centralstudio.co.uk.
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