The Alter Eagles are a six-piece tribute band working throughout the south of England. Their aim is to deliver the most authentic tribute to the Eagles to fans in the UK.
Garreth Hicklin: lead vocals, guitars,
mandolin, percussion
Garreth played his first gig aged 10
and is an absolute lover of the Eagles.
He's worked with top artists and many
great rock bands including Stroke The
Toad, OTR, Nightshift, LongDog and
enjoys playing good old rockabilly and
rock n' roll with outfits like Jukebox
and Nostalgia. He lists his influences
as Clapton, John Mayer, Phil Collins
and Dream Theatre's Mike Portnoy, but
there's a special place for the man
himself, Don Henley. Says Garreth:
"There's nothing quite like standing on
a stage in front of a crowd under the
spotlight. A song becomes its own and
you really start to believe. The
experience is great and other than
loved ones, nothing comes closer than
the meaning of music to me."
Colin Moore: guitars, pedal steel,
banjo, vocals
Irish/country music has always rung
Colin's bell and that's where he
started, supporting big-time show
bands, performing at every Irish centre
in the country. After that he gigged
incessantly with Funkidori, a highly
successful rock and pop outfit which
finished its musical run in 2004.
Influenced by Gary Moore, Albert Lee
and Francis Dunnery (what a mixture)
he's at home with every aspect of the
Eagles' repertoire - lyrical ballads,
gentle country tunes and hard-hitting
rock.
Jay Stezaker: guitars, vocals
A key player in the Brighton music
scene with bands like Merlin, Purple
Worm, Atombuzz, Picasso Trigger and
Black Friday, with a reputation for
ferocious Yngwie Malmsteen-esque speed
work and Clapton-style guitar wailing.
Signed to the Stones' Beggars Banquet
label with the highly rated Some Weird
Sin, he did a two year stint with Indie
band August (favourites at Camden's
Dublin Castle) and released two albums
and a single - Big Time, Big Talk -
which charted in the US. His blistering
guitar work and extraordinary vocal
range are an integral part of the Alter
Eagles' sound. A founding member of the
band along with Alan Tomkins.
Alan Tomkins: keyboards, acoustic
guitar, vocals
Played his first paid gig at 16 (not
long after which he supported the great
Brian Poole) and has been in bands ever
since, covering other peoples' material
but also writing and performing his
own. Famously played to a breathless
audience of 34,000 people, though not
all at the same time - his band was a
regular and much-admired part of London
Marathon day. One of the founders of
the Alter Eagles, his lifelong love
affair with the piano is evident in
masterful interpretations of key
Eagles' ballads like Desperado and
Wasted Time.
Rob Beattie: bass, lead vocals,
acoustic guitar
Started playing bass 30 years ago, yet
still considers himself a
finger-picking acoustic guitarist.
Spent most of the 70s in folk clubs,
and most of the 80s in the midst of
London's folk-rock scene, supporting
the likes of Maddy Prior, Martin
Simpson, Michael Chapman, Happy Traum
(Dylan's banjo player) and once
memorably, Richard and Linda Thompson.
An occasional songwriter - one of his
best, Red Tide was covered by Fairport
Convention - he's a big admirer of
Timothy B. Schmidt's solid, no-frills
bass guitar style.
Paul Sampson: drums and percussion
Paul started playing drums in a school
rock band and hasn't stopped gigging
since. He plays all styles - pop, rock,
soul, rock n' roll - but his firm
favoruites are rock and country. Toured
Europe backing American soul acts in
the late 70s, including The Crystals,
Shirelles and Percy Sledge and was a
member of chart band White Plains for
several years. He hooked up with the
Alter Eagles' Colin Moore in The Colour
Of Money and spent the last 10 years
touring and recording with country rock
band and mainstays of the Americana
Festival, Lazy Dog.



