A mere three weeks after the release of their debut single, Hear'Say have already inspired two tribute acts. The arrival of Near'Say or the optimistically-named Hear To Stay at a corporate function near you is the latest evidence that the tribute band phenomenon is expanding at an alarming rate.
Ten years ago, the concept was virtually unknown in the UK. Today, virtually anyone who has ever released a record has a doppelganger act hawking the clubs.
And on this night, before an audience of giggling girls in deely boppers and soberly besuited fortysomethings which looks disturbingly like a hen night has gatecrashed the Tory party conference, the Albert Hall hosted a veritable Live Aid of tribute acts.
This Lord's Taverners charity event featured an Elvis impersonator whose voice between songs lurches from Memphis to Mile End, neatly demonstrating the schizophrenia of his profession, a terrible Abba tribute called Fabba, the Counterfeit Stones and the Bootleg Beatles.
The latter are particularly impressive. The point is not physical similarity (behind the suits and wigs, they look no more like the Beatles than they do Bob Marley and the Wailers) but, bolstered by a brass section and 19 years' stage experience, their sound is a skilful, uncanny imitation.
The Bootleg Beatles are ruthlessly professional, but the Counterfeit Stones best illustrate the mass appeal of the tribute band. Music journalists and obsessive record collectors like to think rock music is a challenging, provocative art. The average music buyer thinks rock music is a form of light entertainment, as challenging and provocative as Blind Date or Heat magazine.
With their parodic moves and risque patter about Bill Wyman's relationship with Mandy Smith, the Counterfeit Stones represent the ultimate in low-risk, high-return rock-as-light-entertainment. Why go to a Rolling Stones concert when you can enjoy the Counterfeit Stones for half the price, confident you won't have to sit through 10 new album tracks before they play Satisfaction?
Indeed, at a time when real rock artists are edging closer to light entertainment - witness Robbie Williams's onstage pantomime of self-deprecating winks and grimaces - the Counterfeit Stones may even capture the spirit of the age as accurately as their subjects once did.
