Bands That Have Outstayed Their Welcome?

AlexC

What acts do you think should have quit years ago, that have now become parodies or self-serving tributes to their younger days? I was at a festival and The Wailers played. One old guy, who may have known Bob Marley once and a bunch of young guys. I'm a big Stranglers fan but for me they became irrelevant when Hugh Cornwell left in about 1990.  Then there's punk/new wave bands lumbering about the stage with about one original member doing their one hit and another hour of junk. 
Who do you think fills this category? I know someone is going to say The Stones, but for me - whatever they now look like - they can still deliver. 

Gassage

Little Mix.

Flink_Poyd

Queen

AlexC

@Flink_Poyd Right. Much as I admire May and Taylor as musicians they should've quit using the name when Freddie died.

octatonic

AC/DC.
They are awesome but c'mon guys, it is over.

Flink_Poyd

AlexC said:

@Flink_Poyd Right. Much as I admire May and Taylor as musicians they should've quit using the name when Freddie died.

They should call themselves "a bit of Queen"
£110 for a standing ticket for a band with only 2 of the original members and only trading off the legacy of a singer who died 25 years ago would put most bands in local festival territory. Obviously still a demand for them though

richardhomer

Surely Quo without Rick Parfitt?

Fretwired

Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Yes ...

Rocker

The Eagles.  The Drifters.  AC/DC.  Rolling Stones.........

ICBM

Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore as a pale shadow of his former self, a tolerable tribute-band singer and a bunch of other pretty nondescript players does not make a great band...

slacker

I think that any band that reforms with enough original members to sound the same, that's ok. I probably wouldnt go and seem them but fair play. The Stones do a fair well tour every couple of year and I actually enjoy the ones I've seen on telly. I wouldnt pay for a ticket. 

I think the ones that carry on without an irreplaceable member such as Queen, need to get over themselves, form a supergroup or retire gracefully. 

There's the band with one or two original members, that sound nothing like the original band and really need to get a dayjob. Slade, Sweet and Dr Feelgood come to mind. 

The one I do think works is the Skids/Big Country mash up. That was good. 

However if anyone's making a living from music when I dont, they must be doing something right. 

EricTheWeary

AlexC said:

What acts do you think should have quit years ago, that have now become parodies or self-serving tributes to their younger days? I was at a festival and The Wailers played. One old guy, who may have known Bob Marley once and a bunch of young guys. I'm a big Stranglers fan but for me they became irrelevant when Hugh Cornwell left in about 1990.  Then there's punk/new wave bands lumbering about the stage with about one original member doing their one hit and another hour of junk. 
Who do you think fills this category? I know someone is going to say The Stones, but for me - whatever they now look like - they can still deliver. 

Glenn Miller Orchestra, no original members at all - the bastards.

There are a couple of versions of the Wailers in existence, I saw the one with Al Anderson years ago and really excellent. I dont think anyone's expecting an aged Bob Marley to pop up from behind the curtains but people still love that music and those musos still need to make a living. 

I have a bit bit of a problem with Queen as they don't need the money ( from my perception of it anyway) and just seem to be going all out to exploit their legacy ( although Queen were always a very commercial entity with very little interest in credibility), as they were a band I liked such a lot when I was younger I find it a bit sickening but no one is  forcing any one to buy tickets. 

scrumhalf

I remember seeing The Byrds in ?1991? with only the original drummer. The band itself was really good, I think the guitarist was Jerry Sorr and he was pulling out the most amazing licks on a Gulld 12-string semi during "Eight Miles High".

Ealier on the bill was one of the Merseybeat groups, I think my brain has blotted out their name. They were pretty much all original band members but were so bad that it became easier to spot the correct notes rather than the bum notes.

The non-original argument only works for bands that had a settled line-up. Take Man, for example. BEfore Micky jones and Deke Leonard died they could have chosen from about twenty musicians, all of whom were band members for some length of time.

IvanMC

Megadeth and Metallica, sad but true. Among many others. Not the Rolling Stones or AC/DC: they can still deliver (those were proper words, mate). Queen?! No way! They should knuckle down to work on a new album, with A. Lambert.

ICBM

EricTheWeary said:

Glenn Miller Orchestra, no original members at all - the bastards.

Ditto the Inkspots - I saw them in the 1980s when they still had one remaining first-generation replacement, I think!

IvanMC said:

Queen?! No way! They should knuckle down to work on a new album, with A. Lambert.

No. With Mika.

Gassage

ICBM said:

EricTheWeary said:

Glenn Miller Orchestra, no original members at all - the bastards.

Ditto the Inkspots - I saw them in the 1980s when they still had one remaining first-generation replacement, I think!

IvanMC said:

Queen?! No way! They should knuckle down to work on a new album, with A. Lambert.

No. With Mika.

I utterly love his solo albums.

IvisonGuitars

Stereophonics.

Veganic

ICBM said:

Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore as a pale shadow of his former self, a tolerable tribute-band singer and a bunch of other pretty nondescript players does not make a great band...

That was Rainbow from at least 1983.

ThorpyFX

ICBM said:

Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore as a pale shadow of his former self, a tolerable tribute-band singer and a bunch of other pretty nondescript players does not make a great band...

Yet, I saw them live two years ago in Birmingham and thought the show was immense. The singer was astonishing and richie seemed to be enjoying it too. Just not quite loud enough for my tastes.

earwighoney

U2. 

ICBM

ThorpyFX said:

Yet, I saw them live two years ago in Birmingham and thought the show was immense. The singer was astonishing and richie seemed to be enjoying it too. Just not quite loud enough for my tastes.

Sadly they were not like that this June. The singer was actually pretty good at the Dio-era suff, although much less good at the rest. Blackmore seemed to be going through the motions, and didn't really play any of the classic solos or even riffs - he was playing in an odd 'stilted' style which didn't really fit, and they ended Since You've Been Gone right where the solo starts. The rest of the band were just dull, and the whole thing seemed more like a tribute band.

I would have to add Deep Purple to the list as well. I've never liked anything they did after Blackmore left - or more accurately after Gillan left before he came back after Blackmore had gone .

So I will have to hold on to my memories of seeing the proper Deep Purple with Blackmore in 1987 (House Of Blue Light tour)...