Tribute Band Keeps the Memory of Jacko Alive

Written by WhosBad on Jun 04, 2010 at 9:20 am

Links:

1. http://www.westsussextoday.co.uk

Credits

1. Phil Hewitt

West Sussex Gazette, Wednesday, February 17, 2010 www.westsussextoday.co.uk

THEY’RE riding high now, but it hasn’t always been plain sailing for US-based Michael Jackson tribute band Who’s Bad who play Worthing’s Assembly Hall on Thursday, February 25 at 8pm.

But then again, as band founder Vamsi Tadepalli freely admits, 2003/2004 probably wasn’t the best time to be launching.

The US was deep in the scandal of the molestation accusations against Jackson, and Jackson’s stock was pretty low.

“A lot of people didn’t want us to play, or if we put up posters saying Who’s Bad - Michael Jackson tribute band, people would write ‘don’t bring the kids’. Even
now that he has passed away, there are still people that say crazy things, but much more often than not you get positive feedback.

“But you would get people making snide comments at shows or shouting out things between the songs, or promoters would say ‘Where do you guys keep your little boys?’” Tough times - but Vamsi takes the firm policy that he
separates himself from what Jackson may or may not have done: “It does not really concern me. I look at what he did as an entertainer.

“And when he died, it amazes me that a lot of people had forgotten just how great a performer he was. “When I first started this group, it never even crossed
my mind to wonder what would happen if Michael Jackson died while we were still performing.

“We thought we would be done before he was. “It was such a shock when he died. It was sad. It was so hard to process. But as soon as he passed, our telephones were blowing up. Our booking agent was on the phone all day.

“All we have ever wanted to do is to go out and play, and a lot of the people who had said no when we first asked them were now actually asking us.

“We were laughing. It was like ‘We have been wanting to play your venue for ever, and now he has died you want us!’” As Vamsi says, it takes nothing away from the sadness of his death, but it certainly adds to the responsibility
that the band now feels: “We just want to carry on playing his music.”

And now they get the chance on their first tour to the UK - a place which, as Vamsi suspects, as with Europe, didn’t feel the extremes of protest which were
directed at Jackson at the time of his trial.

Over here, we’re more inclined - Vamsi suspects - to judge Jackson as a musician. “And he was remarkable. He lived for 50 years and for more than 40 he was world famous.

“He became a superstar when he was in his early 20s. But even as a child, he was a phenomenally-soulful singer. Smokey Robinson would comment that when he was singing it would sound like he had passed through all his
experiences, of life and love, - even though he was only eight or nine!”

Tickets on 01903 206206.

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