It's nice that these bands are still going but they are just supergroups or tribute bands under orginal monikers.

I do wonder if other members of Bad Company will keep the name going, they were one of the early supergroups. I never thought Asia would be more popular in USA than the UK.

www.riverfronttimes.com/music/is-foreign...he-question-40527398

Good article GM. I think it does matter.

For anyone who thinks it doesn't or shouldn't matter about bands touring with nobody who took part in recording or writing any of their actual hit music while using the original name I will leave this big question here right now for answers......

Would you go and see The Beatles touring in 2024 without John, Paul, George and Ringo in the group and instead a fab four of unknowns James, Pete, Gary and Roberto playing instead, no matter how well they played?

I wouldn't.

You can say the same about Stones and KISS before they hung their boots up, it was Gene and Paul throughout, they did use a lot of session staff on their albums. Ace did say KISS will go on without Gene and Paul but Tommy and Eric might do something together.

Foreigner should give up the name and go under a supergroup banner and do a crossover with Foreigner and Dokken. Or better still Kelly Hansen hires them so he can perform his early from his Hurricane era and the stuff he did with Air Pavillon.

Would you go and see The Beatles touring in 2024 without John, Paul, George and Ringo in the group and instead a fab four of unknowns James, Pete, Gary and Roberto playing instead, no matter how well they played?

I see where you are coming from Rich. Kast Off Kinks is just Mick's Avory band but I doubt they would get many bookings under the name Mick Avory's Band; like some breakaway members from oldies bands have done in the past.

This is a bit of subject, seeing some very talented and famous musicians over the years. I will tell you my experience when I saw Gary Brooker and Denny Laine.

Gary Brooker should have taken advantage of the Procol Harum name when he toured solo or with a session band, but he just used his birthname and did a lot in the club circuit, there were times when there was no reference to Procol Harum on the posters or tickets.

People might not know Gary Brooker was but a lot know the name of the band Procol Harum.

I saw Gary Brooker in some dives with about 50 people sometimes only about 30 or so.

I saw Denny Laine live in a marquee at a beer and cider festival on a very fancy keyboard, there were about 20 people in the marquee, and there was no promotion apart from a poster in the town but no references to Moody Blues or Wings. When Denny sang Go Now an oldish lady said 'Oh, I know this one.' A few people rolled their eyes at her.

It was like seeing the mighty have fallen.

I hit my teens in the early 80's and at that time really loved the music of Dollar and Bucks Fizz, and actually I still do love it (they say you always love the music of when you were 13 for life), but I think it was in the late 90's that David Van Day decided to join Bucks Fizz when they fell out with Bobby Gee who had then left and I just thought they were taking the P a bit expecting us to accept David Van Day as a member of Bucks Fizz and sing their hits when he was so strongly associated with the Dollar duo alongside Theresa Bazar and had great songs of his own from the same period he could be doing.

So even if you replaced the Beatles with Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Elton John I still wouldn't go and see them if they were being passed off as "The Beatles" with the intention of doing just Beatles music. If they were a supergroup with another name that would be different obviously.

I didn't know Foreigner had fully changed the entire line up, as the article said. Rather an apt group name to have done that, now they genuinely are all foreigners!

Rich wrote:
I hit my teens in the early 80's and at that time really loved the music of Dollar and Bucks Fizz, and actually I still do love it (they say you always love the music of when you were 13 for life), but I think it was in the late 90's that David Van Day decided to join Bucks Fizz when they fell out with Bobby Gee who had then left and I just thought they were taking the P a bit expecting us to accept David Van Day as a member of Bucks Fizz and sing their hits when he was so strongly associated with the Dollar duo alongside Theresa Bazar and had great songs of his own from the same period he could be doing.

So even if you replaced the Beatles with Robert Plant, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Elton John I still wouldn't go and see them if they were being passed off as "The Beatles" with the intention of doing just Beatles music. If they were a supergroup with another name that would be different obviously.

I didn't know Foreigner had fully changed the entire line up, as the article said. Rather an apt group name to have done that, now they genuinely are all foreigners!

I did prefer Dollar than to other cheesy pop bands in the 80s, Van Day did have a decent voice but he is not a nice bloke, hence not much success post Dollar and his brief time with Bucks Fizz.

If there was a band of famous household musicians doing Beatles songs I still wouldn't go, Beatles music does grate me apart from Please Please Me. I think Wings were a waste of talent, London Bridge is passable.

Mick Jones only does odd the show with Foreigner Rich, he is not in the best of health.
Thom Gimbel has been with the band on and off for 30 years. Foreigner have not made an album since 2009 or so with the current lineup but it did sell well in the UK.

London Town, not London Bridge.

Green Man wrote:
London Town, not London Bridge.



Funnily enough London Town was also a rather good minor hit for Bucks Fizz when they were in their more raunchy and less innocent phase!


youtu.be/nWj_IAPF8eg?si=6B70YY4XcSK3uEUg


Have you ever felt self conscious about buying music in a store? They are the one time I remember being. I saw their greatest hits in the bargain section of Our Price in 1997 for a fiver and wondered what the assistant would make of me and I am convinced he gave me a look of total disdain as I handed it to him. Days later I took a collection of albums with me to a female friend my age who I worked with for the evening and out of all I had she picked Bucks Fizz and it was played all evening and next time I visited she asked if I could bring it again. The truth is they had some very good songs.

Many second-hand and indie record shops can let you play records before you buy.

HMV's biggest mistake was getting rid of the listening booth; where you scanned a barcode through the booth and the album would play digitally with headphones. It was a great way to discover new albums or new bands. Try before you buy.

I feel awkward going through YouTube in HMV on my phone to hear a snippet of an album that looks interesting.

It's been out quite a while now but I did Scott Walker 5 Classic Albums box set after work in HMV. The shop assistant looked at me quizzically, either she had not heard his stuff or I was not a crusty old bastard; however, I am a miserable bastard most of the time.

I bought a very cheap Chet Atkins set a few months ago, the young man serving me said I picked up a good one. He mentioned that Chet inspired him to play guitar. When I do my accounts and invoices I need something mellow or instrumental in the background, this will include things like Leo Sayer, Neil Diamond and Demis Roussos.

Leo Sayer - Orchard Road, is a guilty pleasure of mine. Where my partner does like Leo Sayer, it will be tricky seeing him live for me. My uncle was a heavy rock/metal freak but he did play Leo Sayer when no one was around he would play Leo Sayer and he hid the LPs in KISS or Blue Cheer record sleeves.

My uncle always had money but never really worked and went to USA a lot and come back with loads of records, clothes and food.