Send in the Clones aims to redress the lack of ‘serious research’ into the phenomenon of tribute bands. The author should be congratulated for writing a highly readable and engaging book which deserves to be read beyond a purely academic audience. Georgina Gregory's enthusiasm for the subject is clear from the start and the book is generally structured well. However, while readers may be familiar with Shane Homan's (edited) Reference Homan2006 book, Access All Eras, which is also about the tribute band phenomenon, it elicits only the occasional mention. To Gregory's credit, however, she has produced the first monograph on the subject, and has examined the issue using a variety of perspectives and methods. The main thesis of the book is that tribute bands are part of the significant – but academically neglected – live music sector and should garner more interest (and less snobbery) than is currently afforded; tribute acts help ‘keep music live’ and membership can provide meaningful (and potentially lucrative) work for musicians (and audiences for venues, although this point is not covered).

Following the Introduction, the first full chapter puts tribute bands into context and attempts to determine why the first recognisable tribute bands first appeared in the late 1970s. Gregory puts this down to technological and cultural developments; the former being access to video (and hence the ability for close study of musical, visual and performative elements), the latter being a postmodernist nostalgic turn towards an idealised past and an increased idolisation of youth. The third chapter then explores musical tribute in a historical – although apparently un-unified – trajectory, starting from the classical performance movement of the early 20th century, through jazz ‘ghost bands’ and cover bands, through disco and pop impersonators to the arrival of the ‘first’ tribute band (Gregory opts for The White, a Led Zeppelin tribute band).

Chapter 4 establishes a typology of tribute bands, and shows just how varied such acts can be, from look- and sound-alikes to transgender bands and the ‘tribute scene's avant garde’ (p. 75). I particularly enjoyed the discussion as to why some artists (such as ABBA and Queen) are more ‘tribute-able’ while others (Cliff Richard, for example) are less popular, Gregory's theory being that a ‘distinctive look’ counts as much as memorable songs (and that premature death also helps!). This chapter includes an interesting and well-argued discussion on transgender bands and is one of the only places in the book where women merit much of a mention (apart from one female interviewee), something most likely reflective of the male dominance of the popular music world – and hence the tribute band scene – as a whole. The fifth chapter is based on interviews and emails from tribute band members to examine the day-to-day realities associated with making a career out of being in a tribute band, from starting out in a band to the sometimes tiresome mundanities of life on the road.

Chapter 6 is a more theoretically based discussion as to the value of tribute acts, or rather why they are not more highly regarded within the industry, media or the academy (although such critiques appear to be taken as a given). One of Gregory's arguments is that tribute artists are ignored by the music industries because the vast majority have no original product to sell and because live performance is inherently more difficult to mass produce. (Gregory herself offers the example of Bjorn Again, however, who in 2007 were so successful that five versions of the act were simultaneously on tour in different parts of the world, p. 106). The final chapter examines the audiences for tribute acts and draws on participant observation and audience interviews. The book ends a little abruptly and I would have appreciated a sentence or two wrapping up the book and its main arguments rather than a slightly incongruous case study.

One major flaw throughout the book is that Gregory switches between examples from both the US and the UK, but never defines her geographical parameters, leaving the reader slightly unclear as to whether the tribute band phenomenon is ‘growing’ solely in the West, or whether this is a global phenomenon; phrases such as ‘most major international cities’ (p. 37), for instance, are vague and unhelpful. I would expect that such fascinating topics as tribute band naming conventions – and whether groan-worthy puns for tribute band names are a peculiarly British trait – and where bands fit on a serious–comedy continuum would be acutely culturally specific, but these gain scant, if any, mention within the book. On this note, I would also have appreciated some more discussion about the comedic element of tribute bands, which the author does touch on, for instance, when talking of the Counterfeit Stone's deliberately comedic caricaturing of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (p. 58). Another criticism is that the text is littered with references to things ‘increasing’ or ‘growing’ – dissatisfaction with recorded medium (p. 4), for example, or ‘burgeoning legion of Beatles tributes’ (p. 15) – but there is very little evidence to back this up, and the words ring somewhat hollow after yet another repetition.

Overall, however, Gregory fights valiantly on behalf of the tribute artist and draws attention to what is indeed an interesting phenomenon. Many of the questions I had going through the book – such as issues around copyright and performing rights, and what happens when the original artist is discredited – were addressed. I would have appreciated, however, a little more discussion of the types of venues and towns frequented by tributes and the circuits in which they perform. On a broader level, what I also wonder – and which goes unmentioned by Gregory – is whether tribute musicians could be considered actors above or as well as musicians.