Bands that officially carried on, but as far as you are concerned, split up....

For example, the original Siouxsie and the Banshees (with Morris and McKay, not the Vicious and Fallon lineup obv). They carried on with the same name, but.

It can be either in your estimation the latter version does not compare, or that maybe they did better afterwards...

But, basically, they carried on with some sort of 'change of approach'...

(i.e. The Rezillos do not count, as they carried on exactly the same way. Oh, and they did change their name tooooo...)

OK, listy version:

1) Siouxsie and the Banshees
2) The Human League

You mean like Ultravox or Marillion or something?

the beatles after paul died.

3. 10,000 Maniacs after Natalie Merchant left.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra after Glenn Miller died

ditto Sun Ra

can I say Pink Floyd after Waters left

yes, that's a fair example. I was going to say PF after Syd, but there wasn't a massive change in style at that point.

Genesis, Stranglers, Fleetwood Mac

You mean like Ultravox or Marillion or something?

Yes. John Foxx left and took the ! with him (it's in his garage, unused)

Didn't they carry on after Midge as well? Although I can imagine the syyle didn't change...

... should explain I meant Genesis + Stranglers with new who-hell-he vocalists + FMac when two guys were needed to replace lindsey Buckingham. Velvets obviously, doh!

Ah, that makes more sense. Although none of those latter ones changed their style.

Velvets when John Cale left, yeah? As opposed to when all but Doug left?

I would say Queen also. i.e. when Paul Rodgers joined.

Himself being an out-and-out rock singer, did Queen drop the funk/pop/camp bits?

Velvets when John Cale left, yeah? As opposed to when all but Doug left?

Certainly not when Cale left, after Lou left. Sterl + Mo were still there. Then Mo. Then only Doug.

REM after Bill Berry left. sure he was "only the drummer" but as talented as the other three guys are, REM in the 2000s, w/utility guitars & rotating drummers, sounds like a simulcrum

Well, when Cale left they stopped being a 'bass-heavy' avant unit, and became a 'rockin' unit with ballads.

When Lou left, they continued as if he hadn't gone, with Doug's more 'lou-lite' material.

Dodgy, when Nigel Clark left and they changed their musical style considerably to fit with the new singer. Of course this also meant they reunited in 2008.

Dodgy, when Nigel Clark left

rip

... we remember it well, a whole world plunged into gloom and despair and despondency

the day the music died

Or, Good morning Geir.

As we're being silly about it, I'd say Ash Ra Tempel after Hartmut Enke left, was really a solo project thereafter

Dodgy, when Nigel Clark left

http://kookyquestions.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/never-forget-9-11.jpg

Dodgy, when Nigel Clark left

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/covtelegraph/feb2010/3/4/image-10-for-mourners-give-hero-s-welcome-to-coventry-soldier-guy-mellors-gallery-396893357.jpg

Eurythmics after half of Can & Blondie left? Nothing matches their first lp In The Garden anyway.

I've heard people say that, yes. Will not find out, it's Annie Lennox.

Crime & The City solution after the Howard Brothers left? Not really payed much attention to them after that point.

Simon Bonney's first solo lp turned up cheap in a sale somewhere and I grabbed it and enjoyed it though.

The Swans after Norman Westberg left? I didn't follow them after white Light from the Mouth Of Infinity (or possibly Omniscience), could be cos I uprooted to a different country.
My fav era is '88 where the Children Of God line-up is playing the heavy folk stuff. Not very well documented outside of the bootleg scene though.

I liked to pretend that 10cc stopped as soon as Godley and Creme left. Dreadlock Holiday, Things We Do For Love: definitely some other band. Some terrible other band.

For this reason I can't ever watch TOTP2 or do the NME crossword (does that still exist?).

It does, but I don't think 10cc are a clue anymore.

Mothers of Invention after Jimmy Carl, the Gardners, Don Preston etc where sacked

... were sacked... only to be re-hired occasionally, not the Gardners though, I think?

xxp Next you'll tell me the Mighty Wah! aren't featured every week.

(in the crossword, not the mag. Maybe circa 1982 they were featured in both, but 15 years later they were a convenient and inevitable space-filler. I wonder what bands of my own 90s youth are now remembered only in pub quiz music rounds and uh iphone trivia apps, or whatever the modern-day equivalent of a music mag crossword is)

There's a moment on Ultravox's "Quartet" album where Midge sings "SERENADE! With rhyyyythm and swiiiiiiiiiing!", which marks the PRECISE moment where Ultravox began to suck incredibly for me.

I absolutely loved everything that came before that song, including 'Reap The Wild Wind', and absolutely nothing after. The first two Midge albums, 'Vienna' and 'Rage In Eden', were as good as their John Foxx-era LP's IMHO. Getting rid of Conny Plank as producer was a mistake.

Yes. John Foxx left and took the ! with him (it's in his garage, unused)

Not strictly true - he took the ! to the garage before "Systems Of Romance".

Guns'n'Roses

I'd agree with this but I cut them off before the lineup changed

Sad for me to say this, but post-reunion Blondie. I've maybe heard two tracks total from No Exit, Curse Of or the new one.

New Order appears to be galloping in this direction

Aphex Twins were never the same once the other guy left.

would Thompson Twins after Leeway left count

(also, lol)

The Doors after Morrison died.

And will anyone risk the wrath of IMM by suggesting Depeche Mode after Vince left?

I like the early, happy tunes of Depeche Mode much more than the later gothy stuff.

Though I'm glad he left as we got Yazoo and Erasure as a result, bot of which are/were better than DM.

happy tunes like "I Sometimes wish I Was Dead" and "Puppets"

Risking the wrath of Fan, but I'd suggest the Cure after Boris left. That is, I still love the band, but I haven't really cared for them live or recorded since Boris left.

Wrath of Dan, that is.

Which may as well be Wrath of Fan. ;)

not gonna argue about that aside from maybe suggesting that there hasn't been a drastic stylistic shift in the band since Boris left

I mean, if anything they seem to be determined to continue doing pastiches of things they've done before rather than really going in different directions a la "The 13th" and, to a much lesser degree, "Freakshow".

It's decent, but it's not funky enough to bear the same group name (even though Chris Hillman is ridiculously under-appreciated as he was for all intents and purposes an equal partner to GP)

Probably the Who, but not sure if it would be after Moon died, or after Entwistle died.

Moon

otm

I still think whatever Townshend wants to call "the Who" is the Who. I also realize I'm in the distinct minority on this.

Beach Boys after Brian left for good, obv. Apart from "Love You," though, they basically turned into a nostalgia act after Surf's Up, so maybe you could even say after (gasp) Bruce Johnston left in 1972.

BB's split up in 1980 for me, as that was their final concert together, and Keeping The Summer Alive was the last album that sounded anywhere close to a BB's album. I wouldn't dismiss Holland and to a lesser extent Carl & The Passions.

I know that a lot of their later stuff is highly regarded so I might get shot down for this one but for me the Dream Syndicate meant nothing after Karl Precoda and his guitar squalls were gone.

Weezer after Matt Sharp left. Not that I think he was an integral part of the group, but rather his point of departure essentially marks the point where they stopped being worthwhile.

In the case of Genesis, I'd argue they split up somewhat after Steve Hackett left (and Peter Gabriel already had). However, they didn't quite split up as Tony Banks was still in the band, and he has always been the biggest musical genius in Genesis.

Although Alex Chilton still had his best ever song left to write, Big Star still lost something crucial when Chris Bell quit.

anyone said metallica yet?

Chicago after Terry Kath died.

(yes, they were a actually an interesting band a long, long, long time ago)

Amazed the Misfits haven't been listed yet.

> Although Alex Chilton still had his best ever song left to write, Big Star still lost something crucial when Chris Bell quit.

Kinda how I feel about Brian Jones re: the Rolling Stones. All those multi-timbral nuances played on funky instruments.

Weezer after Matt Sharp left. Not that I think he was an integral part of the group, but rather his point of departure essentially marks the point where they stopped being worthwhile.

― MarkoP, Monday, September 12, 2011 12:21 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

May I suggest re-evaluating the Green Album? It's fairly dope, in my opinion.

Darren Emerson leaving Underworld coincided with me losing interest in the band completely, I don't think I've actually heard anything more recent than the first single from 'A Hundred Days Off'.

How about Sugababes? I'd say I was probably done with them after Mutya left.

It's fairly dope, in my opinion.

IRL LOL

For me it's Belle & Sebastian after Isobel Campbell & Stuart David left. Literally went from one of the most important groups in my life to an indefensible shadow of their former greatness. A decade on and I'm still raw about it.

New Order appears to be galloping in this direction

if they change the name of Bad Lieutenant to NO permanently, sure. If it stays a one-off for charity, I'm not going to call it "carrying on"

For me it's Belle & Sebastian after Isobel Campbell & Stuart David left. Literally went from one of the most important groups in my life to an indefensible shadow of their former greatness. A decade on and I'm still raw about it.

― Badmotorfinger Debate Club (MFB)

That's a good one. I can't believe how much people have rated those last few albums. I love the first three albums and most of those EP's and singles but since then I've only liked a couple of tracks. It's exactly the same situation with Suede, like they just used up all their great songs in the first few years.

I was never a big fan but I would say the current Smashing Pumpkins fits this category.

Also, The Supremes after Diana Ross left. There were a few good singles left in them but it's hard to consider them the real Supremes. I'm sure some would say the cutoff for them is when Florence Ballard was kicked out.

Dead Kennedys

Badfinger

Dead Kennedys didn't carry on making music after they broke up in the 80s did they?

I can accept the Band without Robbie Robertson, but not without Richard Manuel.

God, I have a "Best of The Supremes" based around the tracks post-Diana. "FLoy Joy" and so on, it's great!

can I say Pink Floyd after Waters left

― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Monday, September 12, 2011 4:21 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yes, that's a fair example. I was going to say PF after Syd, but there wasn't a massive change in style at that point.

― Mark G, Monday, September 12, 2011 4:26 AM (14 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

you like the final cut more than momentary lapse of reason??

late period water stuff is fucking dire

Me? I have no PFLoyd reference beyond Piper, really.

I heard DarkSide, the EasyStars version is better...

And I like "Not Now John" more than "On the turning away".

Apart from that, I dunno.

heard DarkSide, the EasyStars version is better...

sb

I'd say Pink Floyd after Roger Waters fell out with Rick Wright.

(Meaning I don't consider "The Final Cut" to be Pink Floyd either)

Not Now John is pretty great. I actually like final cut a bit. Was a Floyd fan when it came out, and never thought of it as being all that different from what came before...

i was pretty surprised to hear that dr feelgood are playing in my neck of the woods in the next few weeks time.

no wilko, no lee ..

I like The Final Cut a lot and it is certainly more Floyd than the dire Momentary Lapse of Reason.

We went to see Dr Feelgood *with* Lee many moons ago, it did look like a bloke with his kids on all the instruments.

Speaking of Dr. Feelgood, Motley Crue, post-Decade of Decadence. I have no love for Vince Neil, and I've never heard the John Corabi years, but still.

Oasis after Bonehead and Guigsy left. It would have been interesting to see how Oasis would have followed-up the awful 'Be Here Now', but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for some) we never got the chance. Everything afterwards just hasn't been Oasis as far as I'm concerned. They died at the end of the '90s and left behind three albums.

But they're on 'Shoulder', aren't they? They weren't around for it's release and promotion.

Or not actually, according to Wikipedia at least.

Well, they left during the 'Shoulder' sessions, I think - but I'm unsure as to how much recording they actually did. Noel Gallagher ended up playing most of the instruments on 'Shoulder' (aside from drums and a few other things here and there), and knowing he's traditionally somewhat of a lazy bastard, I actually think he would have kept any contributions that Bonehead and Guigsy made, if they'd actually made them!

I know some people have said "well, the musicians that they got in after that could play better than Bonehead and Guigsy", but while I agree that they are better musicians, they changed the whole chemistry of the band into something that was lesser than the sum of its parts. While the Gallagher/Gallagher/Bonehead/Guigsy formation (and whatever drummer they used - McCarroll or White, I prefer White) was greater than the sum of its parts. You can't engineer chemistry.

I like The Final Cut a lot and it is certainly more Floyd than the dire Momentary Lapse of Reason.

― ban this sick stunt (anagram), Tuesday, September 13, 2011 3:03 AM (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"learning to fly" >> all of the final cut

more to the point though - they started to suck with waters in the group, so that shouldn't be the line of demarcation imo

The Cure when Porl Thompson and Boris Williams left after "Wish".

Thin Lizzy is right now a mere carcass of it's 70s heyday. Im going with them once Lynott died.

I like The Final Cut a lot and it is certainly more Floyd than the dire Momentary Lapse of Reason.

It doesn't sound like Floyd to me at all. Other than psych era Floyd, Pink Floyd are supposed to have a lot of keyboards.

I know some people have said "well, the musicians that they got in after that could play better than Bonehead and Guigsy", but while I agree that they are better musicians, they changed the whole chemistry of the band into something that was lesser than the sum of its parts. While the Gallagher/Gallagher/Bonehead/Guigsy formation (and whatever drummer they used - McCarroll or White, I prefer White) was greater than the sum of its parts. You can't engineer chemistry.

I think the deal about Oasis was more Noel running out of good songs than the faceless musicians being swapped with more merited musicians. The downhill slide might have been even greater without, considering the new members were also able to fill out their albums with songs at a stage when Noel didn't turn them out like before anymore.

On the other hand, if Noel didn't have the safety net of the newer members (and Liam) writing songs for Oasis, he may have had to step up his game a bit being the sole songwriter and being the only one to take the brunt if it didn't match up to previous achievements. I honestly can't think of many, if any, tracks that Andy Bell or Gem Archer contributed to Oasis that were any great shakes - surely the songs that people remember from the post-"Be Here Now" albums are the ones that Noel wrote, with the possible exception of 'Songbird'. But we'll never truly know what would have happened.

Son Volt without the Boquist Brothers is no friend of mine.

they started to suck with waters in the group, so that shouldn't be the line of demarcation imo

Uh Waters was with them from the start. If you mean after Syd left and Waters took over then that was actually when they started to get good. He stamped that grim glacial pessimism on them which lasted right through to The Final Cut

Pink Floyd are supposed to have a lot of keyboards

o rly