It will be a show 30 years in the making.

Syl Thompson鈥檚 A Night of Bowie featuring Ground Control is set to touch down at Fort 91原创鈥檚 Chief Sepass Theatre on Friday, March 28.

And among the musicians hitting the stage that night will be a pair of familiar faces 鈥� one, audiences may connect with because of its similarity to British pop icon David Bowie; the other, because it belongs to a long-time neighbour 鈥� Fort 91原创鈥檚 John Gilliat.

Gilliat, who plays lead guitar for Ground Control, is one of three original members of the band, which started out in the early 1980s under the name Major Tom.

Soon after he graduated from high school, Gilliat joined Thompson, bassist Rob Begg 鈥� and the rest of the band as it existed back then 鈥�  and began touring across Canada and into the U.S.

鈥淏ack in the 鈥�80s, club bands were spectacular.

鈥淚t was a real production,鈥� said Gilliat.

Everyone hauled tons of gear from town to town and fancy lighting and pyrotechnics were a staple.

He laughs as he recalls racing around on stage with his wireless electric guitar.

They had a lot of fun in those days 鈥� rocking out to the same songs the Thin White Duke himself was performing at the time 鈥� but, unlike Bowie, they definitely weren鈥檛 getting rich, Gilliat chuckles.

鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 a lot of money in tribute bands unless you were in Vegas,鈥� he said.

After a couple years, the band members went their separate ways.

Gilliat traded his electric guitar for an acoustic model and began to perform at corporate events, honing his trademark 鈥渇iery rumba flamenco鈥� style while earning a relatively steady paycheque.

When it comes to music, 鈥淚鈥檓 sort of a hired gun,鈥� said Gilliat.

In addition to his live performances, over the past 30 years, Gilliat鈥檚 music has been used in radio, documentaries, television and films. He鈥檚 also given lessons and still has an online guitar school.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the thing about being a musician 鈥� you have to do everything,鈥� he said.

But with the proliferation of casinos in Canada 鈥� particularly in B.C. and Alberta 鈥� over the past several years, the musicians saw an opportunity to reunite and hit the road once again.

In fact, Begg had been bugging Thompson for about a year to put the band back together, said Gilliat. Finally, the singer relented.

With Thompson, Begg and Gilliat on board, the search was on for four more musicians to round out the new tribute band.

Ground Control features Graham Howell on saxophone, Mark Gawthrop, keyboards, Rob Gawthrop, synthesizer and Sean Lang on drums.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e all 鈥�80s guys, except the drummer,鈥� said Gilliat.

It takes a younger guy to be able to pound away on the drums for a couple of hours at a time, he laughed.

The Fort 91原创 show will be the second of the band鈥檚 upcoming tour, based on Bowie鈥檚 Serious Moonlight show from 1983.

鈥淢ost of the music (we play) are the classics everyone knows 鈥� like Space Oddity and Rebel Rebel,鈥� he said.

鈥淭he nice thing about this show that we didn鈥檛 do before is we have a VJ.

鈥淭here are videos playing on massive screens behind us and it adds another dimension.鈥�

It doesn鈥檛 hurt that Bowie is back in the public eye, with a new album 鈥� The Next Day 鈥� released last year, said Gilliat.

鈥淚t works well for a tribute band because it creates buzz, the songs are playing on the radio. It鈥檚 good timing for us.鈥�

Gilliat鈥檚 timing was right on the mark last year, too, when he actually met David Bowie at a Vancouver restaurant where Gilliat often played.

He was called over to the singer鈥檚 table at Francesco鈥檚 where he鈥檇 been performing his flamenco act.

鈥淎 waiter told me, 鈥榯here鈥檚 a guitar player here and he鈥檇 like to meet you,鈥欌�� said Gilliat.

He approached the table and was greeted by a man in a dark, curly wig and a hat.

鈥淗e said, 鈥楬i, I鈥檓 David Bowie鈥� and shook my hand. 鈥業 like your guitar playing,鈥欌�� Gilliat recalled.

The men chatted for about 25 minutes, but Gilliat wasn鈥檛 sure whether he was actually in the presence of the famous musician or if someone was having a laugh at his expense.

鈥淭he next day, I Googled him and realized it really was him.鈥�

As it turned out, Bowie was, in fact, in Vancouver at the time,  said Gilliat.

The guitarist never mentioned the tribute band during the conversation, but added he might have if he鈥檇 known for certain it was Bowie.

Ground Control may cross the Brit鈥檚 radar yet.

鈥淲henever we play Bowie鈥檚 music, we fill out a form and the royalties go to Bowie,鈥� said Gilliat.

鈥淗e makes money every time we play.鈥�

A Night of Bowie hits the stage at Chief Sepass Theatre, 9096 Trattle St. on Friday, March 28 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $30 in advance; $35 at the door.  They鈥檙e available online at www.anightofbowie.com or in person at Long & McQuade Music in 91原创 and Abbotsford, Vivid Hair Boutique, #190-8700 200 St. 91原创 or Wendel鈥檚 Bookstore and Caf茅, 9233 Glover Rd. Fort 91原创