Pop duos. Can be double trouble certainly but sometimes…twice the delight! The thread about fey pop duos featured a single by China Crisis (“Wishful Thinking”) where the other one, not the normal singer, was tossed the mic and given a go at the warbling duties. Something Eddie (for it was he) did with aplomb. He also did it on Blue Sea, another good un by them.
OMD had a similar “dynamic” – Paul Himphrey’s gentler voice graced a few of their songs, notably Souvenir. Dave Ball of Soft Cell stayed resolutely silent as far as I know – but Vince Clarke fronted “Happy People” for Yazoo and Chris Lowe sort of sings on the frankly fantastic “Paninaro”. Any others?
Collectors item – Chris Lowe actually sings. God knows who the Stop Modernists are, but its actual singing as opposed to his occasional spoken word vocals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuRNSB8CYp4
and also the vaguely REM sounding
He’s no Bernard in the pipes department, is he?
Tracey Thorn took most of the lead vocal duties in Everything but the Girl, of course.
But Ben Watt had the odd moment in the spotlight, including this rather nice track from “Idlewild”
This beautiful slice of 80s flavoured guitar pop is head and shoulders above anything else the overrated Rilo Kiley have ever produced. I don’t know who’s singing but it’s not Jenny Lewis. No video available…
That’ll be guitarist Blake Sennett, I reckon.
The singer is Jenny Lewis’s co-frontperson Blake Sennett, who is also a former child actor.
Since RK crashed, he has had two bands
The Elected (a side- project from Rilo)
Night Terrors of 1927 ( currently active)
A great parody of ‘the other one sings’…
Uncertain whether I have the right idea, but Brinsley Schwarz sang a rather sweet number in the show last week by electropop duo, the Graham Parker & Brinsley Schwarz Duo. Not only is ther eno youtube link, there is currently no way of getting any recordinng the song as only available at gigs, and the tour is over.
C’mon BC, you’re slipping – I can’t believe you didn’t mention Martin Gore’s occasional usurping of Dave Gahan from the microphone for Der Mode…
Although Andy Partridge is clearly the main XTC vocalist, Colin Moulding had more than his share of lead vocals on their singles as he tended to sing his own songs, and they were often the ones Virgin picked for singles…
And it must rankle Ric Ocasek that The Cars’ biggest hit “Drive” was the one sung by Benjamin Orr rather than himself…
Yes that’s a good sub-category @Metal-mickey – ‘Bands whose most famous songs were not sung by their regular singer’
Cars – Drive
BOC – Don’t Fear The Reaper – sung by Buck Dharma
Squeeze – Tempted, Paul Carrack
Toto – Africa – David Paich
Heart – These Dreams – Nancy not Ann
Grand Funk Railroad – We’re an American Band – drummer Don Brewer
December 1963 by the Four Seasons
Hi Ho Silver Lining by Jeff Beck?
I always slightly baulk at the Carrack sang Tempted. Yup, he sang a verse or so, before Tillbrook finishes it off. Elvis Costello also features quite significantly, btw.
Dave Pegg often has a crack at vocals with ageing popsters Fairport Convention. Pity, as he can’t sing for toffee.
(Did someone say Keef?)
Tilbrook and Costello have a couple of lines each, but it is most certainly a Carrack lead vocal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmlCJFaUnKI&list=RDSmlCJFaUnKI&index=1
(Fair enough, memory had Tillbrook doing the whole last verse rather than half the 2nd. And Chris )Difford and John Bentley mime Costello in same said 2nd verse
I remember Squeeze being a confusing band. Take Me I’m Yours was the first I heard of them – and a very different kind of song (and vocalist) by the time Cool for Cats came out.
Wouldn’t agree re “Drive”, Ben Orr was very much a regular and took lead on lots of Cars tracks, often the more famous ones. BOC are one of those bands where the writer often got to sing his own; they all had a go on “Agents of Fortune” regardless of whether it was a good idea or not.
Here’s another one: David Barbe did “Company Book” on Sugar’s F.U.E.L. It was one what he wrote.
I would say Mouldong is one of the two singers in the band. And the better one actually.
Moulding!
I believe one of the few rules in XTC were that whoever wrote the song, took the lead vocal. There were usually more Partridge-written songs on an album, so he was the more vocal. As it were.
Wasn’t Mouldong a character in The Water Margin?
(sorry)
I knew someone who looked just like Lu Ta, the errant monk. Partial to the odd rice wine, too.
@metalmickey – last time I looked yer Mode weren’t a duo…
You were looking at them from the front. Try looking from the side.
I see what you mean. Side on, with Fletch in the foreground – you can’t see Martin Gore.
…except when his Prophet-6 is proud.
Sal Solo
2 Unlimited
Trio
Gang Of Four
Five
Why can’t all bands be so helpful?
Ben Folds Five weren’t quite so helpful, as there weren’t five of them.
I thought Sexy Ben was the lead singer – he sang lead on Just What I Needed didn’t he?
Graham Gouldman on 10cc’s Dreadlock Holiday.
Not exactly unusual for GG to take a lead vocal. Probably not as many as Lol, Eric or Kev, but did his share, especially after the band split in two.
I think it was the only single he sung on, though…? (need to check)
Kraftwerk’s The Telephone Call. Vocal? Karl Bartos, sounding like a younger Ralf. In fact I didn’t realise it wasn’t the Huttster for years.
The video is the last appearance of the imperial Ralf-Florian-Karl-Wolfgang line-up. Rather melancholy it is too. Ralf in particular looks prematurely old and sad and tired.
Hey kids – don’t do bikes.
One of my fave New Order tracks, definitely the best track on Movement, Dreams Never End with reverb-drenched double-tracked mumbled lead vocals by Hooky. He sang lead on Joy Division’s Interzone, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrh5kaWfyMQ
Hooky sings lead on “Doubts even Here”, too.
They all had a crack at the mike in The Who.
Keith Moon – Bell Boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7xE98vMPYc
John Entwhistle – the sinister Boris the Spider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD-zrpPXbNc
I think this suggests a different category – viz the ‘one per album’ singer
Keith Richards being the best example – Happy, You Got The Silver, Little T and A etc.
John E did more than Boris – My Wife, 905. Success Story etc.
Bruce Foxton – David Watts, News of the World
Henry Cluney usually got one song per Stiff Little Fingers album
Bill Wyman – In Another Land
I think that’s a tune. The slight uselessness of Owd Bill’s vocal makes it somehow genuinely touching.
Meantime Bri is flapping his hands about in the background yelling “……Bill gets a song? A f***ing single, at that? Am I f***ing invisible or what??”
He didn’t actually write anything, did he? Whereas Bill wrote loads, notably Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
This is Bill’s best IMHO. Wouldn’t have even bothered to bring it to the Stones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwTsuBYVGqY
Buzzcocks – Harmony in my Head. sung by Steve Diggle, not Pete Shelley
I can remember reading the singles reviews in Sounds (I think) the week this came out.
The reviewer said something like “Pete Shelley’s voals sound all weak and crap on this new single”. Oops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNhQcalVbx4
The Style Council – Mick Talbot sings lead on Homebreakers ,the opening track of Our Favourite Shop
that is a good spot.
Hardly a duo, but the other vocalist in the band – Phil Collins – emerged from behind his drum kit to take the lead on Genesis’ ‘For Absent Friends’, from Nursery Cryme. I think this was the first non-Gabriel lead vocal.
It was indeed the first non-Gabriel lead vocal, but considering that Collins was recruited just before “Nursery Cryme” as much for his voice as his drumming, it’s no great surprise he was given a showcase lead vocal on that album.
It was on “Nursery Cryme”, followed by “Foxtrot” and “Selling England By the Pound”, that they started using other band members voices as more than just harmony singers. I don’t think “Foxtrot” featured a Collins lead vocal, but SEBTP had him singing “More Fool Me”. I don’t think he sang lead anywhere on “The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway”.
Mick Jones had a go a few times in The Clash (“Stay Free”, “Somebody Got Murdered” and “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” being the first few I thought of).
Paul Simonon takes over vocal duties for Guns Of Brixton
Topper sings on Lose This Skin. I think.
That would be Joe’s old busking mate Tymon Dogg who sings on Lose This Skin. Topper sings on When Ivan Meets GI Joe.
Ta, knew it was somewhere on ‘Nista, an album I’ve fallen in love with over a period of 20+ years, after initially thinking it was cobblers.
Simonon was developing a “one per album” habit: he does The Crooked Beat (which is 80% voice and bass) on Sand In Easter and Red Angel Dragnet on My Combats Rock..
The Housemartins’ Paris in Flares – almost the last thing they recorded. Stan on vocals, I think. For this and other reasons, I think a lot of folk would struggle to place this as a Housies tune.
Faces Ooh La La was warbled by Ronnie Wood, his only lead vocal contribution to the band.
Rod finally got to sing it when he re-recorded it for (one of) his Greatest Hits albums in 2001
Bollocks his only lead, he managed several an album, 3 on NAGAAWTABH alone. As he might say himself, you’re so rude:
Too many Ronnies in that band (well, two of them).
You’re So Rude (and the others) were a Plonk vocal – Oh La La was Woodie (although for years I thought it was Plonk, despite not sounding quite right)
Graham Coxon on Blur’s Coffee & TV
Brian May’s fine vocal on Queen’s ’39’
Mike Mills – Near Wild Heaven
Maureen Tucker – After Hours / Sticking With You
Don’t forget Alex “The Cheese Knob” James on Far Out
I remember reading that The Police had an agreement where one song each from Copeland and Summers would be allowed per album – so that Sting doesn’t get absolutely all the moolah from the records.
These are two good examples. Unmistakably the band in question but then the vocals kick in and it’s the other one!
Promise – OMD
Happy People – Yazoo
https://youtu.be/IBCpr9SW2tE
Regrettably I have to report that in the otherwise perfect Danland Walter Becker has for several years now allowed Fagen to ‘rest’ his voice, whilst Walt assumes ‘vocal’ duties.
This has the effect of entirely removing the nuance, edge, danger and, perhaps surprisingly, the lyrical melody inveighed by Fagens nasal whine.
This really should not be allowed. There is no point ‘owning’ a song if you screw up the very thing that defines the song.
Bizarrely the sleeve notes for Emerson,Lake and Palmer’s Brain Salad Surgery suggest that the vocals on Karn Evil 9 were by Keith, when clearly (to my lugs anyway) it’s Greg’s voice we can hear.
It’s a fair rule of thumb I think to identify Lennon or McCartney songs by the singer, isn’t it? That is, All You Need is Love is a John song – Eleanor Rigby a Paul song and so on.