The Commitments

The Commitments - or, to name them more precisely, The Stars from The Commitments, are technically speaking a tribute band; like Spinal Tap, for instance, they were formed out of a film of the same name, the 1991 adaptation of the Roddy Doyle novel of the same name. Cast members Dick Massey and Kenneth McCluskey were the founders of the real-life live act, after performing in the band in the film; the movie saw a disgruntled Irish musician put together a stunningly effective soul band that, despite their brilliance on stage, were often at loggerheads off of it. The soundtrack to the movie featured classic soul songs like Otis Redding’s ‘Try a Little Tenderness’, Al Green’s ‘Take Me to the River’, Aretha Franklin’s ‘I Never Loved a Man’ and Wilson Pickett’s ‘In the Midnight Hour’, and it was those tracks that the live band, bolstered by the critical and commercial success of the movie, would go on to play. In an enthralling case of life imitating art, they’d go on to perform live with the likes of B.B. King, Sam Moore, Pickett himself, Ben E. King, and even the Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown; I think we can call that mission accomplished.