Since 2003, Brisbane-based band KillerQueen have paid homage to Britain's regal rock quartet, Queen. At Caboolture Sports Club on September 2, the band will debut a new act which pays tribute to another of Britain's best-selling music artists of all time, the late great David Bowie. KillerQueen bass player turned Bowie impersonator, Wayne Vitale, took time out of rehearsals to talk to Feature Magazine about The David Bowie Show.
What made you decide to put together a David Bowie tribute show? “We’ve been thinking about putting together a Bowie show for a few years, and then earlier this year we put it to our manager and he said, ‘Well, why don’t you put it together and we’ll take it from there?’ I’ve been working on it since February, and it’s taken up to now to get it to its final stages.”
How did you land being frontman for The David Bowie Show? “I’ve been the bass player in the Queen show for nearly 12 years, and for a few years now I have been singing the David Bowie part in ‘Under Pressure’. Everyone always says that I sound great, so I’m excited to do it.”
What challenges have you faced putting together a Bowie tribute show? “The image is hard, because Bowie had so many looks. He went from one image to another. He was a chameleon.”
So we can expect to see some of Bowie’s personas like Ziggy Stardust and Alladin Sane? “Absolutely. It’s not just someone singing the songs, it’s a show. There are four or five costume and makeup changes. I’ve got some custom-made platform red boots from China and suits for The Thin White Duke and eighties looks. I also play a 12-string guitar in the show because that’s what Bowie played.”
Bowie was a large figure in popular music for over five decades. What material will feature in the show? “In the first set we’ll cover his hits from 1972 to 1975, and then in the second set we’ll start in the later seventies and go to the mid-eighties almost. That era is his biggest selling point. Between the early seventies and the mid-eighties is when he broke into the mainstream.”
What is your favourite Bowie song to perform? “’Let’s Dance’ is a good song to sing because it’s got the low notes and it also goes high. ‘Space Oddity’ is another great song to sing, but really they’re all great songs to perform.”
Saturday, September 2 From 8.30pm FREE