When is a band not a band

By Andy Hughes

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ROXY Music are re-forming for one last tour. Strictly speaking, Roxy Music never actually broke up, but the point is, will the concert-going public actually be seeing the band Roxy Music The answer is yes they will.

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Roxy Music reform

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Founder members Bryan Ferry, saxophonist Andy McKay and guitarist Phil Manzanera will be there.�Only the real die-hards would complain that the moral copyright is being infringed because erstwhile keyboardist turned academic and U2 producer Brian Eno is not on board.

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'A dog is still a dog, even when it's got three legs.' reckoned REM singer Michael Stipe when asked if�his band would still be the same after the departure of original drummer Bill Berry. Fair comment, the essence of REM can still be found in its three surviving members, but it begs the question, when does a band cease to be a band and become a group of musicians using the name

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John Lennon always refused invitations to re-form The Beatles. As he put it, it wouldn't be The Beatles: 'It would be four old guys who used to be The Beatles.'

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That's a strong argument. The Rolling Stones are still The Rolling Stones even without Bill Wyman, because they simply carried on when he left. They have a replacement bass player, he just never appears in group photos, and his name, it's Darryl Jones for the record, well the tours anyway, never seems to get mentioned.

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Elsewhere, the rights of an audience to see a band bearing their hero's name can suffer more serious infringement. Favourites are the nostalgia and cabaret acts, still wheeling out the some what mature original or two, alongside suspiciously youthful and vigorous backing musicians. It may be that such audiences don't really care if Mud have only Les Gray left from their glory days. A night out with Eurovision winners Bucks Fizz may offer you two alternatives each claiming the rights to be called the 'original', even though neither line-up can legitimately claim such a title.

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Rock bands are far from immune�- Thin Lizzy continue to tour with none of the acknowledged classic line-up in place, charismatic lead singer Phil Lynott having passed away fifteen years ago. Similarly, Doctor Feelgood, stalwarts of the 70s' r 'n' b revival, spluttered to a halt with none of the original members left in the band.

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When does a group cease to be able to use a reputation and fan-base to play before a paying audience Do you know of any more examples of one or two musicians touting for business with a combo that shouldn't really be wearing an illustrious name from their distant past �Click here to fill us in.