HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — The Deloreans, an 80s tribute band that frequently performs in the Hampton Roads region, is in the middle of a battle with Facebook, which has told them to “beat it” from the platform.
The Deloreans told 10 On Your Side they wish they could turn back time to when they had a functioning Facebook page with nearly 35,000 followers.
It was how fans connected to them and each other, and it was the way businesses tagged them to get the word out about future concerts.
That all changed in November when the band’s Facebook page was flagged and taken down. The reason? Impersonation.
When you go to the band’s official Facebook page, it states “this content isn’t available right now.”
“Ironic also that we’ve been a band for, you know, 18 years,” said band owner “Melanie Delorean.” We’ve had … a Facebook page for 18 years and that page in particular for probably 15 and haven’t had any of these issues.”
The first couple of times it happened, the resolution was simple.
“A couple times, it was just as easy as clicking a button, I think the first one or two times,” she said. “And then I had to go to the Meta support page, in Messenger, and start a dialog with them, and that was a process because they were like, ‘Oh, our team’s working on it, and we’ll get back to you.’”
That led to a phone call, telling them to wait a few weeks this time. But after waiting, they were told it was never being restored.
“It was very it was very difficult because I’m asking them, ‘Hey, can you point me in the direction of how this happened? What happened? Where did we go wrong? How can we rectify this,’” she said.
They have a website and Instagram, but the true “power of love” from fans is driven by Facebook. They hope to find some way to keep that community involvement going and continue doing what they love.
It’s obvious these musicians are passionate about not only performing, but their connection to their fans.
“We get on stage and it’s like, there’s there’s so much energy,” said The Deloreans’ drummer Cary “G Roth” Greco. “And it also, we feed off the crowd, which makes us play better, which makes the crowd more interactive. And it just builds. And it just by time we’re done, it’s an explosion of entertainment and fun.”
Guitarist “Tommy Hagar” said it’s “the coolest thing ever to put a smile on somebody’s face. It’s worth more than any amount of money, you know.”