TRIBUTE shows are now so good that they are starting to sound better than the originals, according to their promoters and we will have plenty of opportunity to find out during the next few weeks.

First up are Fleetwood Bac who share an uncanny likeness to the original Macs.

The band first performed live at the British Grand Prix last summer and their current tour takes in the Manchester Boardwalk on Wednesday next week and the Limelight Club in Crewe next Friday.

A new version of The Blues Brothers arrives at the Palace in Manchester on April 14 - complete with the blessing of Judi Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. The show switches to the Southport Theatre in May.

GAGA don't attempt to look like Queen but certainly try to re-create all the electric atmosphere of their shows. They are appearing at the Parr Hall in Warrington on April 19 and at the Southport Theatre on May 8.

Merseyside's Voulez Vous, otherwise the Ultimate Abba Experience, return to the Neptune in Liverpool to give their interpretation of the Spandex songsters on April 17 and 18.

Currently running at the Chester Gateway before undertaking a second national tour is David Cosgrove's musical play Three Steps to Heaven in which Tim Barron, Paul Besterman and Matt Hodgson play Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

The special atmosphere of a Glenn Miller concert can be re-lived at Warrington Parr Hall on May 3. The Herb Miller Orchestra are directed by the great man's nephew, John.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.