Criminally commercially unsuccessful bands

[MVE]

Fanny...

Or.... Fannypack?

 

[GregC]

Nice! Things sure turned out ok for Davey Faragher though, great player.

You are correct sir. John Hiatt ain't no slouch.

I played a few gigs with these guys many moons ago. Fun band and had that "blue eyed soul" thing going on.

And beyond Hiatt, Davey was in an early incarnation of Cracker (I think he cowrote "Low", the closest thing they had to a hit) and has played with Elvis Costello since 2002!

 

[MVE]

13 pages....
2 bandmember suicides and no one mentioned Badfinger.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Most prog bands except Yes and ELP.
UFO and Thin Lizzy in tbe USA.

 

[bearhart74]

Fabulous Rhinestones

Deep Banana Blackout

Storyville

Here Come The Mummies

 

[Michedelic]

13 pages....
2 bandmember suicides and no one mentioned Badfinger.

They weren’t unsuccessful. They were a hit machine in the early 70’s for a number of years, had Beatle patronage to get them going, and so on, but got caught up in bad circumstances. Still, one of the saddest stories.

 

[SteveHeissner]

Talent is no guarantee of commercial success. Commercial success is not always tied to talent. Beer commercials like mine are a perfect example. Stay thirsty, my bass playing friends.

 

[Richland123]

DecembeRadio

This band put out a few great rock albums and got some attention coming out of the gate. They were nominated for several awards and won some awards but never got the backing they needed to get big. They had all the elements for a solid band with the right players and catchy songs.

 

[Bassmaticmatt]

I didn't see them on the first page so I'll say it.
Anvil
those guys rock and just didn't catch on when hair metal was huge.

 

[lbbc]

They play pretty much in the SE US. I just saw where they are doing vocals in the studio now. Hopefully something new in the not too distant future.

That would be awesome!

 

[Michedelic]

king crimson was plenty big in their day..

It’s still their day. Every decade, practically.

 

[Rojd]

Paw

Similar mold as Brother Came in the early 90's. They a had a song/video, Jessie, about a favorite dog when growing up.

 

[Michedelic]

this thread has opened my eyes.
I didn't realize I was so spoon-fed by what was on radio over the years.

The radio is the last place to hear music. Has been for at least 40 years, if not longer.

 

[lbbc]

Uriah Heep
Camel
Kings X

Uriah Heep is another band I listen to every week.... something about the Wonderworld album that keeps me coming back!!

 

[313]

Wrathchild America
Legs Diamond
Seduce

 

[Michedelic]

Rockpile (Dave Edmonds and Nick Lowe) Late 70s early 80s.

Fantastic pop/rock!

This album is actually a "must have".

An anti-obesity song.



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It would have helped if they had put out an album earlier in their existence, and not broken up right after this only one. “Teacher Teacher” was something of a hit.

 

[higain617]

Rockpile: Dave Edmunds (guitar, vocals), Nick Lowe (bass, vocals), Billy Bremner (guitar, vocals), and Terry Williams (drums). Rockpile released only one album under their own name (Seconds of Pleasure, 1980) because until 1980 Lowe and Edmunds had contracts with different record labels. However, the Dave Edmunds albums Tracks on Wax 4 (1978) and Repeat When Necessary (1979), and Nick Lowe’s album Labour of Lust (1979) were all essentially Rockpile albums. Repeat When Necessary and Labour of Lust were even recorded and released concurrently. Rockpile were also the band on Mickey Jupp’s album Juppanese (1978) and Carlene Carter’s album Musical Shapes (1980). An amazingly prolific and sadly under-appreciated group.

Lee Harvey Oswald Band did a great cover of "Brontosaurus."

 

[heatheroo1]

Automatic Man
Renaissance

 

[micguy]

Big Wreck were huge in Canada in the '90s. "That Song", "The Oaf" and "Blown Wide Open" got heavy air play.

Tragically Hip. Huge in Canada, but not elsewhere unfortunately.

Conquering Canada counts as being a good regional band. All of Canada is bigger than Texas (population wise), but smaller than California. So, they were good on their home turf, but not elsewhere. In Illinois, we have Cheap Trick, who is the opposite - big in other places in the world, not so big at home.

 

[Richland123]

Extreme