So how did Dr Alibi come about. Totally by chance and, probably, a surprise to most concerned.
Andy had known Plug for decades who had always been in bands of one form or another in the Punk scene, Andy not so much as his back ground was very much the pop/rock pub covers band.
However, Covid made a lot of people re-evaluate things and one of the things that Andy wanted to do was to play some of that music that had coloured his teenage years. Bands like the Ruts, The Damned and the Sex Pistols to name but a few. And the best person he knew for this, was Plug. So he dropped him a line.
Unknown to Andy, Plug was also currently in a pub covers band and, although still playing bass, it wasn’t totally his thing so when he received the casual message of do you fancy getting a rehearsal space and banging out some Punk tunes he was all over it. There were never any expectations of a band coming from this.
The foundation of any band is the drummer. But at the time, we didn’t have one of those. By happy coincidence the drummer in Plugs covers band just happened to be a keen fan of all things Punk and was up for sitting in just for a bit of fun.
So at the beginning of 2021, having sent a few tunes round to have a go at, we all gathered in a room in deepest Wiltshire and made some noise.
The vibe was good, really good. Everyone slotted in to place and before the end of the session there were smiles everywhere. All of a sudden this had gone beyond a bit of a mess about and had just become a band. We needed a name and a few more tunes but it was there. A couple of practices later and we were out gigging as a three piece.
By the end of 2021 we had played a few places but we wanted to delve more in to the Punk and New Wave of the 80’s and 90’s and to do this justice we needed another singer. Handily there was a brilliant singer Andy had worked with that was at a loose end. So Sharon joined the crew.
This opened up a whole new set of opportunities and suddenly Dr Alibi were part of Punk Fest at the Cheese and Grain in Frome. We had a blast. Sharon brought a new approach for the band, some brilliant ideas and some great songs. Then, boom, she had to leave due to circumstances out of her control.
But round every corner is a new opportunity. There was a brilliant young singer in Andover that Andy had worked with before. She had gone on a break but was looking to start again. She came over to Wiltshire to meet the rest of the band and Dr Alibi version 3 was born. Georgie has an amazing range and brings yet another dimension to the sound of Dr Alibi and the sorts of songs we can do. The band had a brilliant 2022 playing pubs across Wiltshire and Hampshire and a number of outside mini festivals.
The start of 2023 brought some new covers to the song book but also the start of writing the first batch of original songs. 2024 brought more gigs in but in April, Dr Alibi parted company with there singer, Georgie.
Her replacement was Carl, an old friend of Plug’s and a member of The Raggedy Men as well as going out solo under the name of Thee Jolly Rotter. Having been thrown in at the deep end, he managed to learn most of the set in about 3 weeks and played his debut on May 3rd at The Foresters Arms in Andover. Dr Alibi v4 was born.