Uriah Heep - The Rough Guide to Rock, while praising them, also notes they
were a "crew so lacking in street cred they made Grand Funk Railroad seem
hip".
Its a curious thing about this thread is that most-if not all- of the uncool names are millionaires. So clearly its quite lucrative being unfashionable ;-):D
I'm surprised! Were any of those songs hits back in the day?
Missing from that list is the biggest Nolans hit and wedding disco standard "Im in the Mood for Dancing" (also a number one in Japan where they were hugely successful). All the rest were hits btw.
The Nolans early stuff was rather sweet and innocent as per:
That group are so bland that they are verging on vile.
What's the situation with E.L.O. at the moment ? They seem to fluctuate between seen as creaky old fart music and being fairly cool.
I like them at the moment, partly due to realising Jeff Lynn is a good musician.
I really like ELO.
But yes, they were certainly seen as untrendy a decade or so ago.
Don't really think that's the case now though
Abba were possibly the most unfashionable band of the 1980's. They were considered too mainstream, safe and being former Eurovision contestants didn't help matters. But anything associated with the 70's was the epitome of uncool. (If you were a youngster in the 80's, you had to make sure your drainpipes had no sign of a flare or risk fashion humiliation)
Barry Manilow was similarly uncool due to the 70's link. In the 80's Glenn Madeiros had a huge hit single despite looking a little suspiciously Manilow-esque. Things were going quite well for him until he made the fatal mistake of admitting he was actually an admirer of Manilow - his career immediately bombed!
If the music is good enough, things will turn full circle and younger generations re-evaluate the music without the stigmas of the past.
Other bands to shed their uncoolness in later life: the Stranglers; Fleetwood Mac
Abba were also deeply uncool in the nineties too (in fact, most seventies bands were during that decade). The 1990s looked back to the 60s, and the 70s were deeply mocked then (with few exceptions - eg: Queen, T-Rex). Fleetwood Mac and disco was deeply unpopular then too.
Abba were also deeply uncool in the nineties too (in fact, most seventies bands were during that decade). The 1990s looked back to the 60s, and the 70s were deeply mocked then (with few exceptions - eg: Queen, T-Rex). Fleetwood Mac and disco was deeply unpopular then too.
That's not how I remember things at all. ABBA Gold was released in 1992 and has hardly left the charts since and Erasure got to number one with their Abbaesque EP in the same year. Muriel's Wedding in 1994 featured their music prominently, Bjorn Again had almost as much success as the real thing, and then Mamma Mia! opened in 1999.
Also flares and other seventies fashion were pretty popular in the nineties, in fact there was a seventies revival for much of the decade which fed into britpop
One of my fav bands are very unfashionable despite writing some killer tunes and influencing many other bands. It did not help them when they would not relocate to London from Cardiff in the early 70's, when that was the thing most bands did was move to that London.
Budgie are a treffic band with some amazing song titles
On that note Fish era Marillion were hated in the eighties by music snobs, they were doing Prog in the early eighties. I have been revisiting their work on Youtube recently and with the distance of time some of it is majestic. Look up Garden Party.
My older sister who is a big Genesis fan dismissed Fish as a Peter Gabriel rip off.
I quite like Marillion.
I despise Genesis's output since their 1983 album.
He's still popular on the Continent but last year, when his third album came out he only did one concert in London, in a really small venue. Grace Kelly and Happy Ending were great but he puts out so much twee rubbish - and that annoyingly high voice doesn't help either.
One of my fav bands are very unfashionable despite writing some killer tunes and influencing many other bands. It did not help them when they would not relocate to London from Cardiff in the early 70's, when that was the thing most bands did was move to that London.
Budgie are a treffic band with some amazing song titles
I saw Budgie several times in the 1980s, they were great live and, as you say, had some of the greatest song titles in Rock!
If you have any of their original albums they are worth a fortune now as there is a large collector's market for them. I recently saw Never Turn Your Back On Your Friends, in reasonable condition priced at £25.00!
My older sister who is a big Genesis fan dismissed Fish as a Peter Gabriel rip off. I quite like Marillion.
I despise Genesis's output since their 1983 album.
I have all Marillion's albums, but personally I prefer the Stege Hogarth era.
As for "fashionable", they have a large and very loyal support. Their fan weekends always sell out and they invented the model many bands now follow of doing everything themselves.
As for Genesis, for me it is their Gabriel-era that I love.
ELP were never "fashionable" but were hugely popular.
I remember reading a mid-70s issue of "Fortnight Magazine" * where
the music writer extolled ELP and Rick Wakeman-era Yes as the
future of rock music. To someone from the post-punk, post-New Wave era,
this was on a par with Dick Rowe's infamous
"...groups with guitars are on their way out."
While there were quite a few Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Roxy Music fans in my peer group, everybody tended to snigger if you mentioned ELP or Yes.
Comments
LOL I used to love them when I was 13! I had their album and everything
were a "crew so lacking in street cred they made Grand Funk Railroad seem
hip".
Hazell Dean
Marti Webb
Nana Maskouri
Bonnie Tyler (were her and Linda Nolan separated at birth?)
deeply unfashionable after the arrival of grunge in the 1990s.
Missing from that list is the biggest Nolans hit and wedding disco standard "Im in the Mood for Dancing" (also a number one in Japan where they were hugely successful). All the rest were hits btw.
The Nolans early stuff was rather sweet and innocent as per:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqnRDnkMTM
and their later chart career was mostly an attempt to get rid of that former image.
I really like ELO.
But yes, they were certainly seen as untrendy a decade or so ago.
Don't really think that's the case now though
Don't think Chris Rea has ever really been seen as untrendy
Abba were also deeply uncool in the nineties too (in fact, most seventies bands were during that decade). The 1990s looked back to the 60s, and the 70s were deeply mocked then (with few exceptions - eg: Queen, T-Rex). Fleetwood Mac and disco was deeply unpopular then too.
You're joking...right?
That's not how I remember things at all. ABBA Gold was released in 1992 and has hardly left the charts since and Erasure got to number one with their Abbaesque EP in the same year. Muriel's Wedding in 1994 featured their music prominently, Bjorn Again had almost as much success as the real thing, and then Mamma Mia! opened in 1999.
Also flares and other seventies fashion were pretty popular in the nineties, in fact there was a seventies revival for much of the decade which fed into britpop
Budgie are a treffic band with some amazing song titles
My older sister who is a big Genesis fan dismissed Fish as a Peter Gabriel rip off.
I quite like Marillion.
I despise Genesis's output since their 1983 album.
The Troggs
ELP
Slade
Rick Astley
Dire Straits
Chris De Burgh
Phil Collins
Nickelback
Foreigner
Celine Dion
Lighthouse Family
Westlife
Miss Dean has a big gay following, so there's one demographic
where she's still fashionable.
I do like some of his darker stuff like 'The Show Must Go On' He's quite good i think but is he fashionable?
Since when were The Troggs uncool????????
He's still popular on the Continent but last year, when his third album came out he only did one concert in London, in a really small venue. Grace Kelly and Happy Ending were great but he puts out so much twee rubbish - and that annoyingly high voice doesn't help either.
I saw Budgie several times in the 1980s, they were great live and, as you say, had some of the greatest song titles in Rock!
If you have any of their original albums they are worth a fortune now as there is a large collector's market for them. I recently saw Never Turn Your Back On Your Friends, in reasonable condition priced at £25.00!
I would disagree when it comes to Slade. Deeply unfashionable? Really? They were a great band and fondly remembered by most people.
ELP were never "fashionable" but were hugely popular.
I have all Marillion's albums, but personally I prefer the Stege Hogarth era.
As for "fashionable", they have a large and very loyal support. Their fan weekends always sell out and they invented the model many bands now follow of doing everything themselves.
As for Genesis, for me it is their Gabriel-era that I love.
To me the only album you need to own by Kiss is Double Platinum, at a push Alive and Alive II.
But live I will see them every time, they always put on a great show. Hopefully they will be touring their "Spider" show in the UK later this year.
I remember reading a mid-70s issue of "Fortnight Magazine" * where
the music writer extolled ELP and Rick Wakeman-era Yes as the
future of rock music. To someone from the post-punk, post-New Wave era,
this was on a par with Dick Rowe's infamous
"...groups with guitars are on their way out."
While there were quite a few Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Roxy Music fans in my peer group, everybody tended to snigger if you mentioned ELP or Yes.
*A political magazine in Northern Ireland.