Let me get this straight. I really don’t get tribute bands – apart from the fact that they are so much fun, and sometimes (tonight?) a bit better than the real thing. And fascinating for someone like my now 18-year-old son, who with great bravura strides past the friendly Half Moon bouncers to the bar and buys us all vats of their very good London beer. But the place is packed – and obviously, and somewhat alarmingly, even tribute bands have stalker fans, a bit like a supermarket own label malt having a Maniac I suppose. But everyone is here to have a good time and the band do not disappoint. Against a dark and vaguely Moroccan backdrop they took the stage promptly at nine, Charlie, Keith, Mick (Taylor), Bill, and Mick (and Nicky on the keyboards). All wearing preposterous wigs, Bill with a pair of groupie-girl panties hanging from his base, Keith smokin’ and ready to go, and (Sir) Mick pouting for England. They cracked into – I think – ‘Start me up’, but I’m no Stones fan so don’t ask me, and then played ferociously for two hours ‘till the Half Moon’s 11.00pm curfew. And what we got was for the most part classic Stones from about 1965 to 1975, with a respectful amount of humour. And of course we couldn’t have that without Brian, who joined after about half an hour, apparently dropping in from heaven with wings, sparklers, gaspers, champagne and all. I don’t need to give you a set list, just make it up for yourself. It was a gas, gas, gas. And according to the Photographer (who IS a fan) better than the Christmas ‘Hot Licks’ thirty DVD set compilation of their last tour (and believe me I can agree, having had to watch all of it, at least three times). But ‘though I had a great time I couldn’t help wondering, “what do these people do for a day job?”.

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