Name a band that was BIG back in the day, but history has forgotten them?

Ratedr69 said:
Im with you on Depeche Mode - For an artist to have number 1 albums in this country and the usa at the same time which only a handful have done, and to still sell out stadiums and arena's they get forgetting about in this country but loved everywhere else. Strange
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Last time they toured in UK they were selling out arena's so many have not forgotten them.
 
jonny_greenings_sock said:
I booked The Darkness for a gig in Newcastle for £120 in September 2003 at the Head of Steam, maybe 70 capacity at best. Their tour bus broke down in Leeds, had to cancel - singer very apologetic on the phone.

Three months later they were Christmas number 1.
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Doubtful

By august/September 2003, they were supporting the Rolling Stones and also Metallica, not to mention a regular at all the major festivals like Leeds and reading. And just had a number 2 single right after supporting Robbie Williams at Knebworth.

So I’m sure they weren’t on their way to Newcastle to play for 150. Even if it was booked well in advance, it would have been cancelled in advance, given the fact they were supporting some of the worlds biggest acts and had a number 2 single in September 2003 a playing at One Big Weekend which was a mainstream pop festival.
 
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B52s, everyone remembers them for their Flintstones affiliation but their output over the years was always consistently good and innovative.
 
HiredGun123 said:
Doubtful

By august/September 2003, they were supporting the Rolling Stones and also Metallica, not to mention a regular at all the major festivals like Leeds and reading. And just had a number 2 single right after supporting Robbie Williams at Knebworth.

So I’m sure they weren’t on their way to Newcastle to play for 150. Even if it was booked well in advance, it would have been cancelled in advance, given the fact they were supporting some of the worlds biggest acts and had a number 2 single in September 2003 a playing at One Big Weekend which was a mainstream pop festival.
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Not doubtful at all, just means they by then had the means to brazenly breech contracts they couldn't be bothered honouring! Had a similar situation myself when I booked the band for a Polytechnic SU Xmas ball in 1983, they reached No1 on the Tuesday, lost their voices on Wednesday, The Rubettes did the Xmas ball on the Thursday, interesting week that! We got our pre-publicity money back, but that was it!
 
Mazzy Star - Brilliant back in the day - last I heard was a comeback album 2015 ish - which was great.
Hope Sandoval had some solo stuff which was also V good
 
INXS

Huge pretty much everywhere, but faded away pretty quickly without Michael Hutchence.
 
JonnyHistory said:
Also Big Star, had some hits in the 70s and their music was used heavily on that 70s Show. Thirteen is still a great track.
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Thirteen is in my top 20 favourite songs ever. Big Star were wonderful there is a lot more to them than that track though. Have loads of great tracks. Thanks for the reminder though I going to play them in the car when I go to Boro today.
 
Thompson Twins

All the crappy Stock Aitken Waterman acts seem thankfully forgotten, but that might be just to me based on the stations I listen to. For all I know they are played regularly on most stations and by people. My impression is they haven’t stood the test of time whereas a lot of the initially rather ignored indie stuff from the 80’s and early 90’s seems more popular and respected with age.
 
Surprised Dire Straits hasn't been mentioned yet. They’re great, but hugely unfashionable and have been for a long time. A huge 80s band, very few bigger.


Dire Straits were called "the biggest British rock band of the 80s" by Classic Rockmagazine;[9] their 1985–1986 world tour, which included a performance at Live Aid in July 1985, set a record in Australasia.[10] Their final world tour from 1991 to 1992 sold 7.1 million tickets.[11] Dire Straits won four Grammy Awards, three Brit Awards (Best British Grouptwice), two MTV Video Music Awards, and various other awards.[12] They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Dire Straits have sold an estimated 100 million units worldwide, including 51.4 million certified units, making them one of the best-selling music artists.
 
Lefty said:
Thompson Twins

All the crappy Stock Aitken Waterman acts seem thankfully forgotten, but that might be just to me based on the stations I listen to. For all I know they are played regularly on most stations and by people. My impression is they haven’t stood the test of time whereas a lot of the initially rather ignored indie stuff from the 80’s and early 90’s seems more popular and respected with age.
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I saw then early '80's when there was about ten of them, they were okay and the time passed agreeably. What then appeared charts wise was completely different and utter pants!
 
RaysLugg2 said:
From across the pond, it has to be one of my all-time faves. The notorious "TUBES".

These ground breaking avant garde musical/theatrical performance artists, were one of the first acts ever - to harness video technology in their live shows.

Following a concerted campaign by Mary Whitehouse, they were banned by many venues and cities on their debut UK tour in the mid-70's (I caught their first ever English gig at the Newcastle City Hall) But a massive music press buzz, along with their outrageous multi-media stage show (featuring simulated sex, bondage, naked dancers and people dressed as giant Marlboro packets!!) combined with their single "White Punks On Dope" entering the lower reaches of the Top 20, caused them to be (I believe) the first band to sell out a full 7 night run at London's Hammersmith Odeon - playing to almost 28,000 people. These shows were recorded for their UK Top 40 live double album, "What Do You Want From Live".

The following year they headlined the second Knebworth festival of the summer, in front of a 45,000 crowd. With the 9 band members arriving on stage in a pink Cadillac, to top a bill featuring Frank Zappa, Peter Gabriel and The Boomtown Rats.

Two more sell out UK tours followed - this time featuring sold-out 5 and 4 night runs respectively at Hammersmith, promoting their "Remote Control" and "Completion Backward Principle" albums.

Interestingly, by the early 80's, although the band had achieved 'monster cult headline status' in Europe - topping bills at arenas across the continent, it was only when they changed record labels and adopted a more streamlined commercial rock approach to their music, that they gained any album sales success - back in their native America.

This resulted in less time spent across here, and sadly, the mighty Tubes eventually fizzled out in the mid 80's

Lead singer Fee Waybill went on to forge a lucrative song writing partnership with AOR pop-rocker Richard Marx.

Like many bands of the era, they reformed with a new line up in the 'Noughties'. Featuring many original members, but with a much scaled down stage production, and have been touring small theatres and clubs across the States and occasionally Europe ever since. I saw them again at the Tyne Theatre about 10 years or so ago.

I read in a recent interview that the now 71 year old singer Waybill - works as a part time plumber in Los Angeles, when he's not touring!

For a band that attracted so much attention and made so much history back in the day, The Tubes would have to be my number one choice, as 'gone and most definitely forgotten' in this day and age.

Here endeth the lesson.

The Tubes - Full Concert 1979
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I remember the word of mouth praise that their first UK tour got. I eventually saw them at Hammersmith Odeon but they were in decline and it was clunky, singing about sushi or something. I've still got 12" 'White Punks' and 'Remote Control' was one of my favourite albums. I've long thought that the 'overture' at the start would be a good choice for 'walk out' music at the Riverside.
71 eh, jeez.
 
NoloBoro said:
Saw ocean colour scene at the town hall. They were tremendous live.
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I've seen them a couple of times and I agree. I also get the feeling that they are about as big as they wish to be. I'm not sure they actually wanted to be among the biggest acts in the world.
Two other bands that I get the same feeling about are Supergrass and The Coral.
 
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