From testing cows for TB to performing as Cher

If Trisha McCluney could turn back time she might have swapped her white lab coat for long black wigs years ago.

The former lab technician who tested for TB in cows now spends her time on stage impersonating Cher.

"On stage I just really enjoy it – I get so much enjoyment and fulfilment from it and the audience reaction that we are able to generate," Trisha said.

"It just makes people happy - they go away having had a great night."

She started out performing as herself before trying her hand at impersonations.

Her hair, make up and costume before a concert takes about two hours.

"I absolutely feel I'm more confident performing as somebody else rather than myself," she said.

"You are basically playing a role – so it's a little bit of acting in a way.

"You take on the persona and you can say things you wouldn't normally say on stage."

Trisha said becoming Cher on stage was "so much fun".

"Especially with the guys in the band - we get on really well – the audience reaction is pretty special, you feel that from them," she said.

Music promoter Joe Gallagher said the tribute act industry was growing all the time and more people were turning it into a career.

He said there were a couple of reasons people go to see tribute shows.

"Sometimes the ticket price for the original artist is sky high – and sometimes it's about nostalgia – certain bands have broken up and people will come and see a tribute act – which is as close to the real thing as they can get," he said.

"You have to sound like the artists - people appreciate the music more so than the appearance – but if you do dress up it adds to the authenticity."

James Huish is originally from England, and regularly performs as Michael Bublé.

He said he fell into the role by accident.

"I'd been swing singing for years before Michael Bublé came out," he said.

"Then Bublé hit the scene and everyone started saying to me – you sound like Michael Bublé."

James said he never tried to sound like Michael Bublé, "so I don't actually classify myself as a tribute act – I've kind of fallen into it".

"I'm James Huish – I'm not Michael Bublé – and I'll never be Michael Bublé," he said.

"When I go and see him myself I'm totally jealous of the size of his orchestra."

James said people often come to see him as a more affordable option.

"Lots of people came to see me when Michael was playing in Belfast because they couldn't afford for the whole family to go to his concert," he said.

"I think if you love the music I think maybe you get just as good an experience with a tribute act.

"If you really want the whole experience and the big production and the famous person themselves then you can't beat going to the act themselves."

James said the industry was still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We still haven't got back to the same level of gigs – I was out three/four nights a week before Covid and now it's like maybe two," he said.

"A lot of venues have just still not recovered financially.

"They still want the show but everything is paired back – everybody's budgets are not as big.

"A band needs £4,500-5,000 to go out and perform a gig and a lot of people can't afford it now."

James said a good tribute act was all about doing your homework.

"I've seen some tribute acts and they've been really awful and it damages the industry," he said.

"It's about staying professional and staying current with everything the artist you are impersonating is doing - and being as authentic to them as possible – and that's not just by the way they look."