Bookings treble for Dolly tribute after singer dies

A Dolly Parton tribute act says her bookings have trebled and the audience went from being "silent to animalistic" at her first gig since the country singer's death.

Lucy Floyd, from Swadlincote in Derbyshire, performed in Bath on Friday and Christchurch on Saturday, as part of the Country Roads tribute tour.

She said she broke character for the first time during her show in Bath, and told the audience "she hoped to do Dolly proud in her performance".

"At the end of the night, the audience went almost animalistic. They were banging on the stage, jumping up and screaming," she said, in what she described as an emotional show.

Dolly Parton, the much-loved US singer-songwriter, passed away on 25 August at the age of 80.

Floyd said she was in shock at the passing of her hero, despite suspecting that she had been unwell for a number of years.

The impersonator gained international attention when she sang to terminally ill, lifelong Dolly Parton fan, Chris Barker, on his driveway in Peterborough during the 2020 Covid lockdown.

She was then scheduled to appear on the Kelly Clarkson Show alongside the star she portrayed.

"Kelly's team said 'Dolly's not coming'. I thought she wasn't well because Dolly never cancels anything," said Floyd.

The part-time teacher of children with special educational needs has performed as Dolly in theatres across the UK, Ireland, France and Cyprus since 2019, and said there was a lot of love expressed by Dolly Parton's huge following.

"She's a comedian, as well as a prolific songwriter. Her heart is very gold and she's very, very clever. She's a businesswoman who really thinks before she speaks," said Floyd.

Floyd said she was more nervous than usual ahead of her shows at the weekend and the audience members were initially unusually quiet.

"You could hear a pin drop. It was really silent and everyone was really serious," she said, before the crowd went wild with appreciation.

Floyd said there had been "overwhelming interest" in her shows since Parton's passing, with increased ticket sales and more events scheduled.

"I've got triple the amount of bookings I had last year, for January and February," she said.

"It's a lot of pressure, there's a lot of emotion and the songs are so emotional," she added.

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