Meet the Band - (Click on a member for information)
A BRIEF HISTORY
Formed in early 2007 In The Flesh was the brainchild of
musicians Chris Thomas, Patrick Forbear, Jeff Glover and Steve Loar who
until then had been enjoying a long career in a string of covers bands
playing across the Torbay area of south Devon. The increasing popularity
of the introduction of Pink Floyd songs to their sets eventually became
too overwhelming to ignore and thoughts slowly turned to developing a
Pink Floyd show as a full time prospect.
As musical director of the band Chris set about the monumental challenge of producing an authentic excursion into Pink Floyd's most creative period - from the mid-sixties to the early eighties. The band originally chose not to perform anything from the post-Roger Waters line-up, which can be heard elsewhere, preferring to delve deeper into the band's back catalogue, but pressure from fans now sees the inclusion of tracks from Pink Floyd's most recent albums. And now,with the introduction of backing singers Polly Anna Davies and Fredi Wright plus saxophonists Ross Purves and Harriet Baker the overall sound has become complete.
So why the name? Aside from being the opening track on Pink Floyd's monumental
rock-opera album,
The Wall, the preceding tour in support of their 1977
album, Animals, was dubbed 'Pink Floyd: In The Flesh'. Disenchanted by stadium
touring and the inherent lack of contact with the fans, Pink Floyd's chief
lyricist and bass player, Roger Waters, believed the audience would be
non-the-wiser if a surrogate band appeared on stage instead of them; thus
forming the basis for the track. It seemed a very appropriate name to
give to the show.
2009 was a big year for In The Flesh having made a successful leap
from the club circuit to theatres, made all the more possible by a welcoming
audience and a rapidly growing fan base. The production improved on an
almost daily basis as the band continued to invest in vintage instruments,
old valve amps and more recently a Hammond organ (the exact model that
Richard Wright used, no less), ensuring an accurate recreation of the
original Pink Floyd sound.
As the band performs through 2010, they continue to evolve the sound and light presentation - they now have the best production team available and as the band expands so too does their repertoire. With regular changes to the visuals and the set list, the show is kept fresh and interesting for the fans.
In The Flesh very much enjoy playing the music and keeping the spirit
of Pink Floyd alive and sincerely hope you enjoy the show.
