Echo & the Bunnymen star surprises tribute band

Will Sergeant said he originally went to the gig "for a laugh"

A member of the rock band, Echo & the Bunnymen, surprised a Bunnymen tribute band by attending a gig in their home town.

Echoes of The Bunnymen are a tribute act made up of Preston trio the Amber List - Mick Shepherd, Tony Cornwell and Simon Dewhurst - joined by bass player Scott Carey.

Unbeknownst to the band, the guitarist from the real Echo & The Bunnymen, Will Sergeant, was in the crowd at The Continental in Preston on Saturday night.

The Liverpool-born rocker, who now lives in Lancashire, posted on social media afterwards to say they did a great job and sounded "pretty authentic".

Will Sergeant said Tony Cornwell's guitar playing was "brilliant"

Echoes of The Bunnymen are Preston trio the Amber List joined by bass player Scott Carey

"It was a great gig, he told BBC Radio Lancashire. "I thought they were really good, really accurate and authentic sounding."

"When you're on stage you don't get the full mix, so it was nice to hear the whole thing, really balanced sound."

"I didn't go there just to have a laugh," the 66-year-old said.

"One of my mates spotted the gig a while ago and he said, 'oh look there's a Bunnymen tribute band' and we'd been to the Continental a few times so he said he'd get us a ticket and a loads of us went, lots of Bunnymen fans, and we all thought it was great.

"It was quite a surreal experience."

Guitarist Tony Cornwell said he was relieved he did not know about the surprise audience member until he came off stage.

Echo & the Bunnymen formed in 1978

"I got on stage and my jack plug for the guitar fell apart, so I had to go to second guitar before we'd even played a song," he said.

"So it's a good job I wasn't told Will was there."

He said: "As soon as we came off someone said, 'what do you think having the man himself here' and I said, 'get out of here'. And there he was."

The tribute band said: "We love the Bunnymen, they've been a part of our musical journey since we first started playing.

"We're absolutely made up with Will's support and everything he's said about us."

Formed in 1978, Echo & The Bunnymen were one of the most acclaimed alternative groups of the 1980s, with hits including The Killing Moon, Bring On The Dancing Horses and The Cutter.