The acclaimed, international, ‘note-perfect’ tribute to Pink Floyd returns to Meijer Gardens this week. The Local Spins interview with guitarist Dave Fowler.
Spanning the Globe: The Australian Pink Floyd Show has played 35 countries and returns this week to Meijer Gardens. (Courtesy Photo)
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These days, tribute bands abound for nearly every artist that achieved some measure of success in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s or ’90s.
The music of Genesis, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Nirvana, Chicago, and of course, The Beatles refuses to die, and various bands have sprung up to pay homage to them and delight nostalgic fans of such landmark bands.
Enter The Australian Pink Floyd Show, or “Aussie Floyd,” for short.
The group formed in 1988 in Adelaide, after Floyd-obsessed guitarist Lee Smith placed an ad that read: “Vocalist and keyboardist required for band. Professional attitude expected. We only play Pink Floyd.”
The “we” included drummer Grant Ross and bassist Trevor Turton, and soon guitarist-vocalist Steve Mac and keyboardist Jason Sawford joined the nascent Floydian experience.
A ‘Privilege’ to Play Pink Floyd’s Music: Dave Fowler (Photo/Mark Gibson)
When young British guitarist Dave Fowler saw the band perform in his home country, he excitedly told one of his friends his goal was to join the show.
“I’m gonna join this band,” he told his friend. He even gave himself a deadline: He would do so by age 30.
“I saw the band at 17. I joined the band just before my 31st birthday. I just made it,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a weird, weird thing.”
Since its founding, The Australian Pink Floyd Show has performed in 35 countries and sold moore than 5 million tickets.
It topped the bill at David Gilmour’s 50th birthday festivities at Fulham Town Hall, performing to the members of Pink Floyd themselves. Toward the end of the band’s performance, members of Pink Floyd joined them, including bassist Guy Pratt, keyboardist Rick Wright and others, even Gilmour himself.
Pink Floyd released 15 studio recordings between 1967 and 2014. That includes a quartet in the ’70s often called the Big Four: “Dark Side of the Moon,” “Animals,” “Wish You Were Here” and “The Wall.”
When The Australian Pink Floyd Show performs Thursday (July 31) at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park as part of its 2025 U.S. tour, it will include material from across Floyd’s career. Tickets for the 6:45 p.m. show, $68-$70, are available online here.
Given fans’ familiarity with the core four, it will play material from all those albums, concentrating in particular on “Wish You Were Here” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that album’s release.
In the first half of the show Aussie Floyd will perform all of “Wish You Were Here” and some of “The Wall,” and the second half includes material from “Dark Side of the Moon,” “The Division Bell,” “Meddle,” even a song by founder Syd Barrett, whose mental illness led to him leaving the band prior to recording its second album.
‘IT’S NEVER BORING’ THANKS TO ‘AN EMOTIONAL EXCHANGE’ WITH FANS
Fowler says the band’s reputation across the globe is nearly unmatched, and fans worldwide know music from the Big Four albums. In Great Britain, anything from Floyd is fair game.
“Anything from those goes down brilliantly anywhere in the world. Everything is known in the U.K. In America, not as many people know the early, pre-“Dark Side” material,” he says.
Fowler’s contributions extend beyond the sounds emanating from his guitar.
Dave Fowler on stage. (Photo/Mark Gibson)
“We’ve got all the lasers you’d expect, a light show with all the toys, film and animation,” says Fowler. He’s particularly fond of the animations, with good reason: He’s the one who created them. “Computers is my non-music hobby. I love making videos. I’m very proud of my animations for this show,” says Fowler.
What music besides Pink Floyd has inspired and influenced him? “I’m a massive Queen fan,” he says, pointing as one might expect to Brian May’s solos. “Hank Marvin and the Shadows when I was very young. Blur – I was a 90s kid, a teen in the 90s. Blur was my favorite.”
That makes sense as Blur was influenced by early Floyd; that band’s guitarist, Graham Coxon, has cited original Pink Floyd guitarist Barrett as a major inspiration.
Fowler says the band is now based in Great Britain and most of its members now hail from the U.K. The Australian founders still steer the ship, but have retired from performance.
He says that actually gives them a different view of the show than they experienced for years on stage, enabling them to experience it as the audience does. They can tweak and change things as needed. “It was all Australians in the band. Now they’re watching out front,” says Fowler. “They see what’s going on, see the shape of the show.”
He says he still gets a thrill performing the music he listened to as a kid and has been playing onstage since joining the band in 2010.
“It’s never boring,” he says, despite the fact he’s playing the same licks in the same songs night after night. “You see the audience get into it. It’s an emotional exchange with the audiences.” And when the band is also at the top of its game, he says it makes for a magical experience. “The Royal Albert Hall last year – all of us felt that was special.
“It’s been a privilege,” he continues. “Not every night is like the Royal Albert Hall, but all of them are a privilege. I’m lucky to make a living playing Pink Floyd to people that want to listen to it.”
VIDEO: “The Dark Side of the Moon,” The Austrialian Pink Floyd Show
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