Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes To The Line-Up Of Bands, Past And Present (Paramore, Stereophonics, Oasis Feature)
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Written by Luke Bailey
You know what it’s like, you start a band at school, it’s your attempt to show some individuality while ‘the man’ is putting you down and to demonstrate what an attractive, cool, deep, arty person you are to the opposite sex. Then, horror, you’re replaced!(Yeah ok he might be a better guitarist and better looking, and can sing something other than Wonderwall, but I’ve been in the Flaming Skull Munchkins since the start dude!) Okay just me then? Dropped like little Moses was dropped into the Nile before he could have had any concept of ‘musical differences’.
But forget school, surely the Dog eat Doggy-est, most cut throat world out there is that of the professional musician, for more information please approach any ex act of Simon Cowell’s or watch the movie 'Killing Bono'. So with this in mind let’s look at some acts which have had a higher turnover than a pie shop on Everest.
PARAMORE
These fresh faced pups originally started as Josh Farro, Zac Farro, Jeremy Davis and Hayley Williams, of these only Haley has never quit the band, though Davis only did so briefly. Farro and Farro left the group fairly spectacularly in 2010 issuing a statement criticising Paramore and its ‘manufactured music’ and each went onto new bands. Paramore reminds the cynic in me of ‘Hollyoaks’, a lot of drama performed by good looking young people being given direction by someone else. Though that is a bit harsh, when I was twelve Lego was the highest of my ambitions, being in a successful band was not on my radar. It seems like for the future Paramore is plugging on making more music, and recruiting new members and touring musicians from the playground to be in their gang.
STEREOPHONICS
The melodic Welsh rock band, this year celebrating being 20 years old, has lost only the one member over the years. Stuart Cable, who passed away in 2010 was their drummer for ‘Word gets Around’, ‘Performance and Cocktails’, ‘Just Enough Education to Perform’ and ‘You Gotta Go There To Come Back’ as well as sustaining a career as a media personality and radio host. It was this which caused rifts with the band and in true Spinal Tap style led to the appointment of a new drummer, and a tiny Stonehenge. Following the switcharound the band went on to achieve their first number one with ‘Dakota’, the best thing to come out of the Valleys since economically viable mining.
OASIS
What’s that? I hear you cry, some sort of Oasis based controversy? Pshaw, perish the thought! I have literally never heard of that happening before… Ok, too much sarcasm? Fair enough. But they have seen FOUR drummers; Tony McCarroll 91-95, Alan White 95-04, Zak Starkley 04-08 and Chris Sharrock 08-present (now in Beady Eye, The Oasis Reloaded). TWO bassists, Paul McGuigan 91-99 and Andy Bell 99-present. TWO guitarists Paul Arthurs 91-99, Gem Archer 99-present and TWO Gallagher brothers, Noel 91-09 and Liam 91-present. Now I’m not saying Oasis are easy but they do seem to fall for new guys all the time and find it difficult to maintain a relationship. And just remember next time you see an Oasis song being warbled through at your pub’s karaoke don’t laugh, odds on it’s an ex member of the band trying to remind themselves of the good ol’ days.
THE BEATLES
Consisting of Lennon, Harrison, McCartney, Starr and the fifth Beatle, you know Pete Best, no wait Stuart Sutcliffe; actually it could have been Brian Epstein like McCartney said in a 1997 BBC interview. Instrumentally only Sutcliffe and Best contributed, though were both criticised for their lack of talent on the bass and drums respectively. 1961 saw Sutcliffe leave the band to pursue a career in art but he sadly died in 1962 aged only 21 while Best was invited to leave the group in 1962 but didn’t give up the rock and roll dream joining an increasingly popular group called the ‘Civil Servants’ until 1988 when he sold out and went back into producing music with the Pete Best Band; now taking bookings. Epstein was the Beatles manager through the glory years up until his 1967 death and if Lennon was ‘better than Jesus’ then Epstein was better than the best disciple making sure the Beatles were organised, publicised and without him the Beatles as we know them today would not have existed.
THE ROLLING STONES
Between them Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been in the Rolling Stones for a century. Just let that sink in, one hundred years. Drummer Charlie Watts has been in the band for 49 years and Ronnie Wood 37 but despite the longevity of these members the band also has a long list of past and ‘gigging’ musicians who have contributed to what must have become a ‘rockslide’ of Rolling Stones, that’s the collective noun right? Ah well, with 50 years of hard graft under your belt it’s probably okay to mix things up every now and then, just more friends go into retirement with… Oh no, wait http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/stones-5-th-anniversary-tour-pushed-back-to-2-aa3-20120314 the Stones are planning a 2013 tour, health permitting. Nothing approaching the quiet life for this rock and roll institution.
THE KING BLUES
There are A LOT of ex-King Blues Members, they lost four guys in 2010 alone and they had enjoyed 15 different musicians before the band broke up. They could play a full team rugby union game and would require three cars (of the 5 seater variety) to travel there. Unfortunately like so many other groups written about here it seems that this wasn’t due to a particularly forgetful manager who kept losing musicians but more down to partnerships which had previously made some fantastic music breaking down, permanently so as of April 3rd. Still for heartbroken fans, there is the new and final album coming out in June and even if that doesn’t do that well commercially they should sell at least 15 copies.
THE SUGABABES
Like or loathe, and I’ve got to admit to being a bit diabetic towards them, the top spot has to be claimed by the Sugababes; as of 2009 no original members of the girl group were present in the lineup. This means that really they are pretty much a cover band of themselves. Seriously there are footballers thanking God for their career longevity every time that they hear a Sugababes song. Still 10/10 for barefaced tenacity to keep the band going, or just blind cheek flogging that dead donkey. I look forward to the 2020 album featuring another pair of ‘babes’ who you’ve never heard of and your Gran- well they’ll be scraping the bottom of the barrel by then…
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The melodic Welsh rock band, this year celebrating being 20 years old, has lost only the one member over the years. Stuart Cable, who passed away in 2010 was their drummer for ‘Word gets Around’, ‘Performance and Cocktails’, ‘Just Enough Education to Perform’ and ‘You Gotta Go There To Come Back’ as well as sustaining a career as a media personality and radio host. It was this which caused rifts with the band and in true Spinal Tap style led to the appointment of a new drummer, and a tiny Stonehenge. Following the switcharound the band went on to achieve their first number one with ‘Dakota’, the best thing to come out of the Valleys since economically viable mining.
