Lee Harris, guitarist and the man who proposed the idea behind Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets, has recently announced a new project, Lee Harris’s Album Sessions. The concept sees albums played in full by artists he loves, alongside musicians of the same calibre whom he considers friends.
The first edition, Pink Floyd’s Meddle, was recently announced and will be performed by Lee’s new band, dubbed “A Surrogate Band.” The lineup includes fellow Saucerful member Dom Beken (keyboards), Ged Lynch (drums), and Yaron Stavi (bass). Tickets for two shows went on sale this past Friday and sold out within a matter of hours, and at the time of this publishing, a third show has been added!
AFG: Lee, were you surprised by the enthusiasm for your new venture?
LH: I actually was and VERY happy that it has resonated with so many. It gives you more possibilities, which is what a new venture needs!
AFG: Was choosing the band for ‘Surrogate’ as easy as how the Saucers came together? Did you instantly know who would fit the material you wanted to play?
LH: Well, firstly, let me explain what A Surrogate Band actually is.
The easiest way to describe it is as a spinoff of the Saucers, in that we’ll take the same approach to the music but apply it across the entire Pink Floyd songbook — and I include the various band members’ solo work in that.
We’ll honour the iconic moments we all love while allowing the music to evolve live, just as Pink Floyd themselves did on stage. This isn’t about reproducing a recording note-for-note. It’s four musicians with a genuine connection to the music playing it together and seeing where it can go in the moment.
If you’re looking for note-for-note recreations, a round screen, lasers and a massively impressive light show, then I implore you to seek out the Australian Pink Floyd — that’s your fix right there. On paper, of course, we’re a tribute band. But what we’ll actually be doing is very much at odds with the conventional idea of one.
Ok so that out of the way… was it easy choosing the band? It was very easy yes.
Dom and I love playing Pink Floyd music and we love playing it together and in the way that the Saucers afforded us to. Reinterpretation not recreation is how Nick best described it.
Since the Saucers started I referred to Dom as our secret weapon. So I’m obviously very happy that we are continuing our musical partnership.
Yaron and I have known each other for around 20 years, and he stood in for Norman Watt-Roy on bass at various Blockheads shows over the years – as Guy did too.
In fact, Yaron and Guy were the bass players in the band at my wife’s and my wedding! Yaron has a formidable musical pedigree. He is very well versed in so many styles. Jazz, rock, classical. He has played in orchestras and jazz trio’s. His resumé includes Phil Manzanera, Robert Wyatt, Nigel Kennedy and David Gilmour.
Ged is a phenomenal drummer. You only have to look at the people he’s played with, particularly Peter Gabriel, to know the calibre of musician he is. He has an exceptional sense of groove and feel, and I’m very excited to hear him and Yaron playing together.
The fact that they’ve both played with David Gilmour was an interesting connection and certainly wasn’t lost on me.
AFG: You recently had a blues gig at the Half Moon, which went over extremely well. How was it stepping back onto the Half Moon stage?
LH: It really was fantastic. When the Saucers played there in 2018 due to the sheer amount of gear we had my speakers were in front of me pointing across the stage and I couldn’t hear anything I was playing. Consequently those three shows were the least enjoyable gigs I’ve played! So I was very looking forward to correcting that experience. Sonny Flint is a great drummer and Norman and I have played so many times together that we have a chemistry and our friendship goes back 25 years. The rest of the band that night- Norbert Varga, Chris Rand and Laine Hines were totally on point.
There were a lot of the Saucers audience who hadn’t seen me play blues before so it was great to show people what I do away from what had become the day job as it were. And it was so special that Guy and Gary came along to support me. It was wonderful to be so close to the audience and even swap quips in between songs with some of them. A wonderful night in a great venue!
AFG: You have just announced “Eclipse” for May 2027 at the Half Moon. Fans will know this as the early version of The Dark Side of the Moon that Pink Floyd workshopped on the road in 1972. What inspired you to choose this version rather than the finished album itself?
LH: It’s something that I raised doing in the Saucers back in 2019. I remember Nick saying that it should perhaps be the final thing the Saucers do. If we would have done who knows. I suppose time just ran out.
Dom says “The Eclipse version of DSOTM is ripe for bringing back to the stage. I’m an unashamed fan of the final studio recording but taking it out properly live without bells and whistles has so much potential to be a great show and the new toys available these days means we can be more sonically creative than PF ever managed in the 70s and still not tie Ged to a click and the dreaded playback.”
I’ll add that obviously there are the Travel and Mortality sequences and room for the band to improvise more freely which should work very well in an intimate space.
AFG: Is the goal to eventually build this into a bigger, more theatrical show, or do you want to keep it strictly about the music?
LH: Definitely not theatrical. We are deliberately offering something different to the big tributes out there and because of that we are probably going to be appealing to a different audience who would appreciate more of a concert than a show… if that distinction makes sense.
AFG: What else can fans expect to hear from the Pink Floyd catalogue?
LH: Absolutely everything is up for grabs – although I cannot imagine playing songs like Brick In The Wall Part 2. There are lots of underperformed songs from the catalogue. It would be interesting to have a go at something from DG’s first album and something like Three Wishes from Roger’s Amused To Death. What is important is that there is a good balance of music to vocals and that we have a beginning, middle and end. We aren’t necessarily going to play from all eras on the first tour but we’ll see.
AFG: Does playing Pink Floyd music in a small room or theatre make you approach the music differently compared to playing in larger venues?
LH: Whatever music it is I approach it the same everywhere but often the size of the room dictates the audience appreciates it more or less given how big the place is.
AFG: Are you looking to keep A Surrogate Band focused on very specific types of venues, such as smaller theatres and similar spaces?
LH: We are a new band so yes I assume those are the type of spaces that we’ll be starting in.
AFG: What songs are you most looking forward to playing?
LH: I am definitely looking forward to finally giving Embryo an outing!
AFG: As we’ve said before, you are part of the legacy of Pink Floyd. Could you ever have imagined having anything to do with Pink Floyd at any point in your life? And what do you think you would be doing if you hadn’t ended up playing Pink Floyd music?
LH: Pink Floyd’s music has always been important to me. I just happen to have had this strange and very rare experience where something that was a huge part of my life eventually became something I was a small part of myself. I certainly never imagined that happening. You never know what’s around the corner. When I had the idea for the Saucers I had no other music project on the horizon so I have no idea what may have happened. Maybe I’d have eventually become the new drummer in Rush.
AFG: Have you told Nick and David about A Surrogate Band? Do you think we could ever see them join you on stage for a song or two?
LH: Nick and David both know about it.
David has been absolutely amazing with his time with me over the years. I’d often ask him questions about what pedals or setups he used in the old days, and he always took the time to answer – and let’s face it, he certainly didn’t have to. But that’s the measure of the man. He’s a gent! He does know about the project, but it’s not as though we’re deeply rooted musical partners, so I wouldn’t even dream of asking him to play.
Nick has taken an interest in the project, and I filled him in on the latest plans only last week. He’s happy that we’re continuing the reinterpreting ethos that we had with the Saucers.
I’d love to play with Nick again. He and I had lunch a couple of months ago and he said, in the dry manner we’ve all come to expect from him, that he’d do something if it meant not having to rehearse! Haha.
Actually, the fact that the Saucers’ Instagram and Facebook accounts allowed me to advertise these preliminary Half Moon shows is down to the Saucers’ management and Nick, which we’re obviously very grateful for.
AFG: Thanks for your time, Lee, and all the best with A Surrogate Band!
Follow A Surrogate Band on Facebook and Instagram.
