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‘We can’t all retire because someone died’: the new bands honouring the spirit of old ones, from Talk Talk to Thin Lizzy

Unlike tribute acts or bands still going with no original members, the likes of Held By Trees and House of All are leveraging time spent in their former groups to make music that looks forward as well as back

As beloved musicians die – and AI creates crude and ethically compromised reconstructions – Held By Trees are one of a number of bands offering an alternative to the straightforward hat-doffing of tribute acts; or to venerable groups such as Gong and Yes that continue to use the name when few original members are involved. From Black Star Riders (featuring Thin Lizzy alumni) to House of All (members of which were previously in the Fall), these bands have resolved to carry on the spirit of an old group in a new one, playing all-new material. Held By Trees … (left to right) Chris Pedley, Paul Beavis, Jonnie Walker, David Joseph, Robbie McIntosh and Charlie Hollis.Contributors to Held By Trees include veteran Talk Talk session musicians such as Robbie McIntosh and Martin Ditcham, as well as Laurence Pendrous, who played piano on Mark Hollis’s 1998 solo album and whose day job is teaching music at Hall School in Wimbledon, where he tutored a preteen Charlie Hollis.

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