A new survey on tribute acts by the online gaming company Slingo has thrown up some interesting stats.
Using data harvested between July 2023 and July 2024 Slingo has worked out that the world’s most ‘wanted’ tribute band is Brit Floyd. The UK Floyd tribute act were searched 481,100 times in that twelve month period, putting them clear of second place Cubensis, an LA-based Grateful Dead tribute act. More established names like the Bootleg Beatles and Bjorn Again were nowhere in the survey.
Abba top the poll with some 25 tributes around the world
In terms of the most impersonated band, Abba top the poll with some 25 tributes around the world. Surprisingly, Oasis (who never really broke through in the US) are in second place with 17. You’d think that the world would not be short of Elvis impersonators but somewhat bafflingly the survey says that there are only 11 (!?) around the globe – the same number as fake Michael Bubles and fake Robbie Williamses.
The most in-demand type of tribute act are Bee Gees impersonators with some 137,500 searches for an (alleged) single tribute act. So… there’s a gap in the market there for three hirsute toothsome guys who can harmonise.
The survey also looked at sampling and found that far and away the most sampled act on the planet are the Beatles. Nearly 12,000 songs have swiped from their back catalogue (though the survey neglects to say how many have actually paid for the privilege). Frank Sinatra came in a distant second with 2392 samples but can we really believe that the fifth most sampled artist is... Bing Crosby? The pre-war crooner apparently came out above Abba, Bob Dylan and the Stones.
The survey is probably on safer ground when it comes to the world’s most sampled song. It’s Amen, Brother by The Winstons. The drum solo in the middle of this obscure late 60s funk track is the so-called Amen break which laid the foundation for an entire genre: drum n’ bass.
As for the most successful cover version, it’s a song most people don’t even know is a cover: Girls Just Want To Have Fun. Cyndi Lauper’s version has now accumulated almost 1.2 billion streams, earning some £4.1million (and that’s ignoring the millions it accrued as a physical release). In contrast the 1979 original by the Philadelphian singer songwriter Robert Hazard has to date earned a meagre £205 on Spotify.
But don’t shed any tears for Robert Hazard. He wrote the song, so he spent the rest of his days (he died in 2008) counting his royalties.
