What bands 'should' have been bigger?

What bands 'should' have been bigger?

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Discussion

irocfan

Original Poster:

40,349 posts

190 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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I was just listening to Y&T and Dokken on YouTube and it did get me to thinking why on earth were they not as big as Bon Jovi (for instance)? Going on to these shores and the standout groups were (I guess) Iron Maiden and Def Leppard but I think it's fair to say that they weren't streets ahead of their competition (if at all). Why did Magnum and Diamond Head never hit the same popularity?

What other "West Ham" (too good for the 1st div not good enough for the premier) groups are there out there? Why didn't they make it?

hepy

1,266 posts

140 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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The Real People - late 80's early 90's Liverpool band. Allegedly taught Noel Gallagher how to write songs.

Two of them ended up writing songs for other groups, but the band should have been massive - think of the sort of music they play on Abolute Radio, they fit in to that type of mould but more meoldic.

popeyewhite

19,766 posts

120 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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UFO

No idea why they didn't make it bigger (though for a short time in the late 70s they were massive), though I suspect it was something to do with American tastes... .

Jockinthebox

149 posts

99 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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The La’s

Unfortunately they only managed to get one album out, Lee Mavers is/was an unbelievable talent.

irocfan

Original Poster:

40,349 posts

190 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
quotequote all
popeyewhite said:
UFO

No idea why they didn't make it bigger (though for a short time in the late 70s they were massive), though I suspect it was something to do with American tastes... .
now they are a perfect example - some tracks that every rocker knows and yet....

bern

1,262 posts

220 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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Milburn.

Sheffield band, around just before the Arctic Monkeys came on the scene. Very similar music. AM went stratospheric and Milburn just sort of petered out. Joe Carnell kept going doing Christmas gigs at local venues, i went to the first one at The Greystones pub, ended up filling the O2 academy a few years later and then they reunited on stage at the end of one of the Christmas gigs, that was incredible!. Did a big gig at the Don Valley Bowl released another album but appear to have gone quiet again.

Great band, who I prefer to the Arctic Monkeys, especially considering they disappeared up their own arse with the last album.



DocJock

8,349 posts

240 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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When the NWOBHM guys were making it big, I never understood why Trespass didn't get along for the ride.

More recently, Logan. Very good live.

andySC

1,190 posts

158 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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Manchester band Puressence. Their first album was really very good (1995ish) They looked like a bunch of Burberry bedecked wide boys but sounded nothing like....

The Blue Aeroplanes. Best live band I’ve ever seen. Toured with REM, released 2 great albums that didn’t really catch light so the band fizzled out.

Doves. Consistently great but somehow I always thought the were in Elbows shadow.

See also Strangelove, Levitation & The Family Cat.

paulguitar

23,244 posts

113 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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Del Amitri.

Ridiculously good band, never got anywhere near where they should have been.




Honk

1,985 posts

203 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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Pale Fountains
Prefab Sprout

anonymous-user

54 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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Thunder - their first two albums went gold, but their singles never really troubled the charts. I always thought they had a really commercial sound and could have been massive, but despite still going after 30 years and releasing god knows how many albums, everyone I mention them to just says 'who?'

StevieBee

12,846 posts

255 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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The Big Dish

Love and Money

The Blue Nile (though I think they never wanted to be big)

All class acts deserving of greater recognition than they achieved.


popeyewhite

19,766 posts

120 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
quotequote all
doesthiswork said:
Thunder - their first two albums went gold, but their singles never really troubled the charts. I always thought they had a really commercial sound and could have been massive, but despite still going after 30 years and releasing god knows how many albums, everyone I mention them to just says 'who?'
Saw them live at the Thunder Christmas Show last year (Manchester Academy). The first half of the set was acoustic, second half all the heavy stuff. A really good night.

Teddy Lop

8,294 posts

67 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
quotequote all
doesthiswork said:
Thunder - their first two albums went gold, but their singles never really troubled the charts. I always thought they had a really commercial sound and could have been massive, but despite still going after 30 years and releasing god knows how many albums, everyone I mention them to just says 'who?'
I used to listen to them.

I think a lot of the British heavy rock/metal scene of the 90s - wildhearts, therapy?, pitchshifter and so on was a gem that was largely ignored for whatever reason, I guess grunge was alt rocks "big thing" that the industry was behind, then it was the nu-metal thing, and I guess the industry and most of the listening public just don't care for more variety!

V8covin

7,279 posts

193 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
quotequote all
DocJock said:
When the NWOBHM guys were making it big, I never understood why Trespass didn't get along for the ride.

More recently, Logan. Very good live.
I had an album of up and coming nwobhm bands playing 1 track each and Trespass were the stand out band.

Edit. Google tells me it was Metal for Muthas 2

White Spirit were another band who should have been bigger

Edited by V8covin on Thursday 6th August 18:34


Edited by V8covin on Thursday 6th August 18:40

Trophy Husband

3,924 posts

107 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
quotequote all
hepy said:
The Real People - late 80's early 90's Liverpool band. Allegedly taught Noel Gallagher how to write songs.

Two of them ended up writing songs for other groups, but the band should have been massive - think of the sort of music they play on Abolute Radio, they fit in to that type of mould but more meoldic.
I concur.
The Real People were great. They used to hang out in Parr Street when I was knocking about there many years ago. Talented bunch.

V8mate

45,899 posts

189 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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From the 80s...

The Bolshoi
A Certain Ratio

The latter are still making records and touring regularly, but completely missed out on the big time whilst their stablemates all 'made it'.

bigandclever

13,767 posts

238 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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I’ve often thought Puressence deserved to be bigger.

hepy

1,266 posts

140 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
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Jockinthebox said:
The La’s

Unfortunately they only managed to get one album out, Lee Mavers is/was an unbelievable talent.
Lack of success probably partly due to heroin problems.

Trophy Husband

3,924 posts

107 months

Thursday 6th August 2020
quotequote all
hepy said:
Jockinthebox said:
The La’s

Unfortunately they only managed to get one album out, Lee Mavers is/was an unbelievable talent.
Lack of success probably partly due to heroin problems.
Supply or demand?