Venue:
Roundhouse
Date: 01/11/2025
A tale of 2 bands tonight. The Stranglers supported by the Buzzcocks
Both bands down to 1 original member, JJ Burnel and Diggle
Buzzcocks were quite frankly, tuneless and dreadful. Most songs incomprehensible. Even the ones I recognised butchered. Honestly just knock it on the head
The Stranglers were better, but in my opinion they aren’t the band with 1 original member. The tunes are reproduced faithfully enough and JJB is still a charismatic and great bass player, but the whole thing seemed soulless.
I know they’ve been going a long time without Hugh but now Dave and Jet are dead its really flogging a dead horse
What other bands would be in this position of ever decreasing returns?
The audience:
Obviously the older generation. I felt positively youthful
It made me think..
Bands with few original members should quit
The Four Tops. All original members dead, but still touring with replacements of varying vintage.
The Eagles. Don Henley the only original member. So many breakups, comebacks, farewells and returns to be laughable.
Lynard Skynard of course have been in this position for a long time…
I suppose the Eagles do at least have a couple of members involved when they were really big, but agree that it’s a bit pointless now
Dr Feelgood – no originals, but still turn in top show.
3 of the band have been there for 30 years, with another returning 5 years ago after an earlier 7 year stint.
I noticed recently that Ric Lee (drums) has started a whole new version of Ten Years After this year. Up till last year TYA was four people including Ric and original organist Chick Churchill (plus legendary Back Door alumnus Colin Hodgkinson on bass). I’ve not followed the story, whatever it is but maybe this is a TYA too far?
Original TYA bassist Leo Lyons and Joe Gooch (who was the ‘Alvin Lee replacement’ in the revived TYA in the early 2000s) have been running the oddly named Hundred Seventy Split since 2010. They do a fine version of Bert Jansch’s 1969 classic ‘Poison’:
Do Two-and-a-Half Years After do a version of
Goin’ (to the Old Folks) Home?
Going to the Garden Centre?
Theresa Bazar has been making a comeback lately with her version of Dollar, with some other guy.
Momentarily, one thinks, ‘David Van Day – is it time for a reappraisal?’ But then one thinks, ‘No’.
Suppose as he was half of Dollar, Mr Van Day could legitimately call himself 50 Cent.
David Van Day now fronts Bucks Fizz. Again, with no originals. The originals, or some of them, exist, but aren’t allowed to use the name.
I believe they call themselves ‘The Fizz’. Not great, is it?
‘The Manfreds’ (the continuing touring version of Manfred Mann featuring everyone EXCEPT Manfred Mann) had a rather better option!
Actually just Paul Jones and Tom McGuinness these days. There was a version going around a few years ago with more originals, including Mike D’abo, so you got the later hits as well. Manfred Mann has never been tempted, although I understand relations are perfectly amicable.
Are Manfred Mann’s Earth band still going, I see them live fairly recently…. (Checks diary) 2011
@nigelt They’re actually about to go on tour as The Manfreds with latter day Earth Band vocalist Noel Mcalla. So the full range of Mr Mann’s oeuvre will be on show.
No, ‘The Fizz’ were actually Jay, Cheryl and Mike from the genuine Bucks Fizz. I think Mike has taken a step back now for health reasons.
They’re not allowed to use the full title because Bobby G, The Other One, has copyright or whatever on the name. I think he tours on the continent with hired hands.
@Colin-H I have a funny story about Dollar and when they first ‘broke’. I was working for a freight forwarding company whose MD was something of a flash Harry who hung around with Football stars and other celebs. He had a share in a record label called Acrobat Records. Their first release was the Dollar single and corresponding album the name of which escapes me. The freight forwarding company had 4 offices at the time nationwide and probably around 70 employees. Each employee was asked to go and buy 3 or 4 copies of the single in shops that counted for chart sales and claim reimbursement off the company. Well the single charted so it obviously worked and I can claim I inadvertently contributed to their success.
Therese and David came to our Christmas party held at the Albany Hotel in Birmingham.
Strange bedfellows.
I suspect the singles went to landfill.
A splendid tale!
If it is the main songwriter, the charismatic front man then they get cut more slack.
Chris Bailey toured a band of young Swedes under the Saints banner, I think, and they were great.
“Foreigner” played Ottawa last week. No original members
Never “original”, anyway. It sounded derivative and formulaic in 1977. And I like derivative and formulaic.
I’ve seen the Skids four times in recent years. Richard Jobson is the only original member. It doesn’t matter – he’s a fine show-man: the voice is just about there and he still dances like he’s hearing a different beat. Connor White is a fine replacement for Stuart Adamson.
The Drifters – there are thousands of them, drifting around the planet.
Then we have the UB40 conundrum…which version is the more authentic?
Slade, going out on a final tour at C H R I S T M A S !!!!! – last man standing is Dave Hill
Aren’t all the original members of Slade still alive? It’d be great if they could even just do a short set for charity. Come on, Nod!
They certainly are, but Don Powell isn’t well I believe.
The guitarist with the Don Powell Band died recently but DP is fine.
Well, if he is, he’s being remarkably prolific. He seems to be in several bands including this reformation of pre-Slade band The N’ Betweens – including Jim Lea (who really does seem to have delicate health, and has kept a very low profile until the past couple of years, during which he’s been active on social media in a semi-detached way – occasional miming videos to old tracks and brief ‘Hi, I’m Jim Lea, keep on rocking’ spoken messages to fans filmed by his brother).
All of these bands with Don and video tracks from Jim appear to exist largely to aim at something called the Heritage Chart – which seems to be entirely about getting your social media following to vote multiple times to get your thing up the chart each week. There seems to be no transactional purchasing element involved. A baffling thing to involve yourself in, it seems to me – unless you’re an older musician just wanting to relive your glory days with a sort of weekly chart climb, even if it’s pointless.
Still, a fine recording of ‘Move Over’:
I think my recollection must have been from around the time he was ‘fired’ by Dave Hill – apparently he had had an accident and had been told he shouldn’t drum again, but he has defied that diagnosis.
Is this the time to mention I met them when they played at our college back in 1971..? I got into their van when they had arrived at the wrong venue and directed them around Cheltenham’s one way system. This was just before the first hit, and they were absolutely brilliant live.
I think we have been here before, but most of the 60s /70s bands have very tenuous links to their roots in terms of personnel, but some have continuous existance despite staff turnover – rather like Trigger’s broom.
From memory…
The Hollies – two original members
The Fortunes – none
The Dreamers – I think one from a very late incarnation of the band (they are playing here soon, but I don’t think I’ll bother)
Dave Dee, Dozy, Mick and Titch – just Dozy
Herman’s Hermits – one…and it’s not Peter Noone
The Searchers – recently retired (again), but had John McNally from the original line up and Frank Allen since 1964
Dr. Feelgood – none
and, of course,
The Rolling Stones – two originals
The Who – two originals
I saw Bjorn Again at Bognor Regis Butlins in about 1992, two nights on the trot, supported each night by Mud. But two different Muds – one was Les Gray’s Mud, the other was everybody else.
Beach Boys 1
I think the Tremeloes still play with Chip Hawkes in the line up. I did have a notion there was a rival line up called the Trems, but Wikipedia says they are a tribute band.
Not just 60s/70s …
Oasis – 3 original members (currently down to with Bonehead off the road (medically) at the moment)
Quireboys – 2 original members
Yes have no original members
Yes? No!
No? Yes!
(Focus’ first draft…)
The Hallé Orchestra no original members.
Fairport of course one original member who left then rejoined.
…and the Borodin Quartet…
Can we have come this far without mentioning both versions of Sham 69? Or the ‘Continuity Cockney Rejects’ (Jeff ‘Stinky’ Turner and Some Other Guys, after ‘the ‘Reej’ split up in 2024).
And not forgetting Newcastle’s mighty Vieux Carré Jazzmen, founded in 1955, retiring in 1977, reforming with three originals in 1991 (plus banjomeister Brian Bennett), now run by Brian. 70 years with a 14-year tea break – a remarably achievement.
Is it possible to have you disqualified from that poll,C?
😀
I’m not sure where I heard it, perhaps on Leo Sidran’s podcast, but Donald Fagen said that after Walter Becker’s death, he thought of dropping the Steely Dan name and touring as himself. But he was told that even if he was playing the same set with the same band, he would get a bigger audience if he toured as Steely Dan.
It seems to have been correct. Is it some sort of nostalgia that the band name evokes, that his doesn’t?
Should be Steely Don
👏🏻
I guess it is simply because Steely Dan is a much more well known ‘brand’.
Brand is everything… see Pink Floyd/Syd and hey-hoy ‘Brexit’… it was a brand.
There’s no way Memo From Turner only gets to no. 32 in the charts if it’s credited to the Rolling Stones.
Mick clearly devastated by that chart position, he waited 15 years for a fully solo follow up with Just Another Night and it got to ….. no. 32, 2 years later he had another go with Let’s Work which soared to …….no. 31. But mostly his solo chart failures were because his releases were shite (Memo is pretty good though)
Keith memorably rebranded Goddess in the Doorway
as Dogshit in the Doorway
Here’s a thing: as part of my research for this comment, I discovered that Margo Buchanan (backing vocalist for Deep Purple, Tina Turner, Bonnie Tyler, Shirley Bassey, Van Morrison, David Knopfler, Jools Holland, Sam Brown, David Gilmour, The Pet Shop Boys and Tracey Ullman; married to long-term Paul McCartney collaborator Paul Wickens) was briefly the lead singer of Mud.
Toy Dolls – 1 original member (and he’s currently moonlighting with Cockney Rejects)
Well Abba reformed with 4 holograms. Doing very well it seems.
(Have seen the show – it’s awful).
Hiya, @SteveT – can you elaborate on the ABBA show? I can’t think of anything worse than watching a bunch of holograms, but some people seem to love it. I haven’t met anyone who’s actually been, so I’d be interested to hear what the experience is like.
Seconded. We want to hear Steve’s review. I’ve seen a few high tech art events, and they’ve always left me cold and unimpressed. I’ve seen expensively staged concerts that also seemed characterless. The Abba son-et-lumiere might be a great spectacle and entertainment, but you have to want that, or be open to the underlying principle. A Bowie equivalent might work, I suppose. But would it end up like the disneyfied Klimt, Van Gogh, and Mozart light shows I’ve seen?
I have seen the show. I loved it.
Cheers, @dai – a very enjoyable review.
Thanks
The (English) Beat are just down Dave Wakeling now. Similarly, with ska-compadres, Bad Manners. Buster hasn’t performed with any members of the original hit making line up for nearly forty years.