Bands who made it in the UK, but not the USA

**Shaun Ponsonby** · 08-13-2005, 02:53 PM

There are bands I have heard very little from because their material isn't very widely available in the UK, and their are probably bands you've never heard of because their material isn't very widely available in the USA. I'd like to know which bands I should be checking out from over there, and then I'll try and think of some that I don't think are well known in the USA.

I'm also interested in which "classic" bands did/didn't make it in the USA.

From what I've read, T-Rex wern't as popular in the USA as they were in the UK. In the UK, there are several adverts that pop up every year with "Children of t he Revolution" or "Metal Guru" or something on it. Same with Slade.

**FORD** · 08-13-2005, 03:02 PM

Slade was basically a 2 hit wonder here, as far as I remember. Obviously, the original "Cum On Feel the Noise" was a hit, or that asshole DuBrow wouldn't have heard it.

And then around the mid-80's, once Americans knew who Slade were again (thanks to Quiet Riot ironically enough) they had another hit with that song "Runaway" (or "Chameleon" or whatever it was called)

As for T.Rex, the only thing that ever gets airplay over here is "Bang a Gong" but "20th Century Boy" was in a commercial not long ago.

**Coyote** · 08-13-2005, 03:15 PM

Budgie had gold records in the UK, but they never actually "made it" in the US. Even though they reissued their discography a while back...

**Alex Mogilny** · 08-13-2005, 03:52 PM

Originally posted by FORD
that asshole DuBrow

Hey now! Watch it!

**blueturk** · 08-13-2005, 04:03 PM

THIN LIZZY! I'll never understand why the USA didn't catch on to one of the most underrated bands in rock history. For God's sake, in 1978 the BBC was showing a Thin Lizzy concert in prime time! And America was watching the fucking Bee Gees....

**Mr. Vengeance** · 08-13-2005, 04:34 PM

Thin Lizzy did pretty well in North America. Jailbreak still gets good airplay on rock radio.

**Unchainme** · 08-13-2005, 04:58 PM

What about the reverse Def Lep, was never heard of in The U.K. until Hysteria.

**blueturk** · 08-13-2005, 04:58 PM

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Thin Lizzy did pretty well in North America. Jailbreak still gets good airplay on rock radio.

Thin Lizzy only had two albums that charted over here. "Jailbreak" made it to # 18 in 1976, and in 1977 "Bad Reputation" barely cracked the Top 40 at #39.

**Mr. Vengeance** · 08-13-2005, 05:06 PM

Regardless of chart positions, Lizzy was a mainstay of rock radio and still gets airplay today. Rock fans listen to them and respect them. Thunder and Lightning is considered a classic by music fans, even though it never sold. To me that's more important than chart positions.

**blueturk** · 08-13-2005, 05:16 PM

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Regardless of chart positions, Lizzy was a mainstay of rock radio and still gets airplay today. Rock fans listen to them and respect them. Thunder and Lightning is considered a classic by music fans, even though it never sold. To me that's more important than chart positions.

Airplay doesn't neccesarily mean that that band is making any real money, which I assume is one way many bands define "making it." You'll hear "Radar Love" a lot on classic rock stations, but Golden Earring probably aren't getting rich from US royalties.

**Mr. Vengeance** · 08-13-2005, 05:32 PM

Well, Phil isn't making any money these days, obviously, but Lizzy probably still sell albums. They didn't have huge chart success, but sold out concerts. Hell, they are touring now even without Phil, which is blasphemous, but they still draw crowds.

Grateful Dead didn't sell albums either, but they were popular. Ramones never sold albums, but how many Ramones t-shirts do you see?

**blueturk** · 08-13-2005, 05:43 PM

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Well, Phil isn't making any money these days, obviously, but Lizzy probably still sell albums. They didn't have huge chart success, but sold out concerts. Hell, they are touring now even without Phil, which is blasphemous, but they still draw crowds.

Grateful Dead didn't sell albums either, but they were popular. Ramones never sold albums, but how many Ramones t-shirts do you see?

Thin Lizzy didn't do very much live business over here in the '70's ( although I have to admit Phil getting hepatitis all the time and Brian Robertson getting in trouble all the time has a lot to do with that). I saw them in Nashville in 1977 and the place was only half-full. Great for the crowd, but bad for the band.
The Dead inexplicably have always had an enormous live fan base, which is actually how they've always made a living for the most part.
The Ramones got cheated financially, in my opinion.
You're right about the current "Thin Lizzy" being blasphemous, but I suspect most of their money is made in Europe.The real Thin Lizzy were huge over there. I guess it's the European "Lynyrd Skynyrd".

**Mr. Vengeance** · 08-13-2005, 06:00 PM

Lizzy always played to sold out crowds in Canada. Must be the same as Nazareth who always had big success in Canada but not as much in the U.S.

**Frodo** · 08-13-2005, 06:24 PM

A british band that I like that never made it was Be Bop Deluxe. Bill Nelson the guitarist was a little eccentric but could play a mean guitar.

**Alex Mogilny** · 08-13-2005, 07:27 PM

God damn, Thin Lizzy is one of the shittiest bands I have ever heard.
They are so bad...the boy's are back in town....the boys should fucking go back where they came from.

fuck thin lizzy

**Reverberator** · 08-13-2005, 08:23 PM

Originally posted by Unchainme
What about the reverse Def Lep, was never heard of in The U.K. until Hysteria.

No , I have to say that is a little bit wrong .

Def Leppard were always popular in the UK , only thing is that after Hysteria they completely fucked up their music by being too Americanised , could have had something to to with the grate Steve Clarke's demise .

I saw them on Pyromania and Hysteria tours and just recently at a small venue in middle England .

Not the crowed pullers they once were .

**FORD** · 08-13-2005, 09:19 PM

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Lizzy always played to sold out crowds in Canada. Must be the same as Nazareth who always had big success in Canada but not as much in the U.S.

"Love Hurts" was a huge hit. "Hair of the Dog" would have been, but in the 70's hit status was still counted in AM radio airplay, and AM wasn't going to play a song that said "son of a bitch" repeatedly in the chorus.

Then there was that other song some time in the early 80's "Holiday" or something like that. Which didn't remotely sound like Nazareth to me.

**blueturk** · 08-13-2005, 09:22 PM

Originally posted by Alex Mogilny
God damn, Thin Lizzy is one of the shittiest bands I have ever heard.
They are so bad...the boy's are back in town....the boys should fucking go back where they came from.

fuck thin lizzy

Have you ever heard anything by Thin Lizzy besides "The Boys Are Back In Town"? It sure as hell doesn't sound like it. I agree that the song is burnt out, but judging Thin Lizzy based on "The Boys Are Back In Town" is like judging CVH based on "Jump".

**Mr. Vengeance** · 08-13-2005, 10:13 PM

Originally posted by FORD
"Love Hurts" was a huge hit. "Hair of the Dog" would have been, but in the 70's hit status was still counted in AM radio airplay, and AM wasn't going to play a song that said "son of a bitch" repeatedly in the chorus.

Then there was that other song some time in the early 80's "Holiday" or something like that. Which didn't remotely sound like Nazareth to me.

The last Nazareth song that got any airplay, at least in Canada, was "Our Love Leads to Madness" which came out in 1985 or something.

Hair of the Dog still gets regular airplay on your rock stations....Others that would be heard a lot when I was a teen in the early 80's, "Razamanazz", "Love Hurts", "Woke Up This Morning", 'This Flight Tonight"

**Mr. Vengeance** · 08-13-2005, 10:17 PM

A band I always liked that never really hit it huge here, but is still drawing crowds in Europe is Krokus. They had a few albums that got a bit of airplay, one in particular Headhunter, but just kind of was a fringe metal act.

**Mr Badguy** · 08-14-2005, 05:16 PM

Magnum.

Excellent pomp-rock, kinda like Styx or Angel only with a British flavour.

Amazing consistancy.

Too "uncool" looking to crack America.

Recommended listening : "Magnum II", "Chase the dragon", "On a storyteller`s night"

**ThrillsNSpills** · 08-14-2005, 05:30 PM

Wasn't Sweet huge in Europe but just a few hits in the US ??

**Mr. Vengeance** · 08-14-2005, 06:02 PM

No....Sweet had some major hits in the North America. Desolation Boulevard was a huge album, but even after that they had some major hits. Even if they were pop-fart hits like "Little Willy" and "Love is Like Oxygen".

**Shaun Ponsonby** · 08-17-2005, 01:04 PM

Originally posted by Reverberator
No , I have to say that is a little bit wrong .

Def Leppard were always popular in the UK , only thing is that after Hysteria they completely fucked up their music by being too Americanised , could have had something to to with the grate Steve Clarke's demise .

I saw them on Pyromania and Hysteria tours and just recently at a small venue in middle England .

Not the crowed pullers they once were .

I was about to say that. America made Def Leppard hated by fans in the UK.

As for the recent "Thin Lizzy" tours, I don't have much of a problem with it, because the majority of the current members were in the band at some point. Although, unlike the recently reformed Queen and the recently reformed Doors, Phil Lynott was 100% the most important thing in tha band. I'm not saying Freddie and Jim wern't important, to suggest that you would have to be fucking stupid, but the remainding members of the bands were very much part of the soul of the band in question. Without Manzerek and Krieger, there would be much missed from The Doors, and Brian May and Roger Taylor wrote some of Queen's biggest hits. However, Lizzy had a shitload of line-up changes and Lynott actually wrote the majority (if not all) of the material.

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
Magnum.

Excellent pomp-rock, kinda like Styx or Angel only with a British flavour.

Amazing consistancy.

Too "uncool" looking to crack America.

Recommended listening : "Magnum II", "Chase the dragon", "On a storyteller`s night"

I have a Magnum album somewhere. Not sure which one, though.

**Jack68** · 08-19-2005, 07:25 PM

Status Quo never got even recognized here in the USA and in Europe they are legendery.

**Dave's Bitch** · 09-09-2005, 01:45 PM

probably been mentioned already but i dont feel like reading the posts.

Slade didnt do too well in the states did they?

**Shaun Ponsonby** · 09-09-2005, 02:07 PM

Actually, they did better than they are made out to have done. I've got a recent interview with Noddy Holder somewhere, I'll post it if you like.

**Dave's Bitch** · 09-09-2005, 02:41 PM

yea please do post it.i like slade

**Vinnie Velvet** · 09-09-2005, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by Dave's Bitch
probably been mentioned already but i dont feel like reading the posts.

Slade didnt do too well in the states did they?

I don't think they ever did.

I always found it funny in terms of bands popularity in the UK vs the US.

Queen comes to mind.

As soon as Freddie grew that moustache in the early 80s, that was it as far as them being huge in the States.

But they got even bigger in the UK and the rest of Europe throughout the 80s.

**Soul Reaper** · 09-09-2005, 02:47 PM

Clive Dunn?

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