Artists who have never recorded a cover?

Apparently the Go-Betweens' latest single 'Caroline And I" includes a cover of a Titanics song, "Taxi Taxee"

Actually they haven't. They've left the 'no covers' mantle to the wankers, which simplifies matters.

And they didn't write "Daisy Bell" either (though I couldn't tell you who did).

Daisy....Daisy....Give me your answer do.......

Fairly sure Talk Talk only recorded original material.

Tough to think of any recent acts who fit the bill. Only one I could think of was Vampire Weekend, but no doubt someone will prove me wrong.

Does "Talk talk talk talk" by The Reaction, not count?

Psychedelic Furs

Killing Joke?

xp the b-side of Pretty in Pink is a cover of Mack the Knife

gah i totally forgot that they had done that somewhere.

There are no covers on any Parliament or Funkadelic albums.

There are no covers on any Parliament or Funkadelic albums

There is in fact a credited snippet of a song by your beloved Beatles, on the "Uncle Jam Wants You" album, if memory serves :)

Electric spanking

What about the Ruth Copeland songs on Osmium?

Abba?

Thank you Shakey, wrong album there I had

ABBA recorded a medley of folk songs as a b-side.

The Strokes have played covers in concert, but I don’t think they’ve ever recorded one?

I'm not sure that Mayo Thompson, either as himself or with the Red Krayola, has ever recorded a cover. (He's worked with a lot of other songwriters, but I think the songs were always "new"...)

Vampire Weekend has done covers in Spotify Sessions and things like that. Their version of "I'm Goin' Down" famously appeared at the end of an early Girls episode.

Don't think Prefab Sprout did any covers?

Sleater-Kinney were mentioned and shot down upthread. Oddly enough, shortly after this thread originally died off they released their most visible cover, doing "Angry Inch" with Fred Schneider on a Hedwig tribute album.

Also, one-time contenders Rush (also shot down upthread) released an EP of Classic Rock covers the next year.

I guess Red Crayola aren't 'mainstream-ish', but they seem to lasted 35 years without a cover. Or have they?

(...)

― Nag! Nag! Nag! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Tuesday, August 12, 2003 2:05 AM (twenty years ago)

In transparency, I was beat to this (I didn't see it earlier, bc I had searched "mayo" and "krayola"). Regardless, there have been several more albums over the years and no covers yet.

Don't think Prefab Sprout did any covers?

They did a version of the Jim Reeves song ‘He’ll have to go’, which was on the American release of ‘Steve McQueen’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI-c6ZHpxhg

Re: Psychedelic Furs

The Butler Brothers short-lived band Love Spit Love's cover of "How Soon Is Now" was on the soundtrack of "The Craft" and was also the theme song of the show "Charmed." The resurrected Furs now play the song in concert.

Regardless, there have been several more albums over the years and no covers yet.

well, there was this supposedly recorded in 69:

https://i.discogs.com/JVtquGCm2IVG05fU5giOkS5dDgHe-6y4lg_d08aZyFk/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:600/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTM4NjE5/Mi0xNTc2NTc0NDMw/LTMzNDcuanBlZw.jpeg

can't think of any sly & the family stone covers off the top of my head.

small catalogue, but the silver apples?

Sly covers "You Really Got Me" on his "Ain't But the One Way" album.

up above mentioned,

Cabaret Voltaire also covered VU's 'Here She Comes Now'. Hawkwind covered Pink Floyd's 'Cymbaline'.

Sly also covered Que Sera, Sera

Of course!

loldamn i was just listening to it the other day too!

leaving out their repurposing of other people's poetry i guess the fugs would fit

small catalogue, but the silver apples?

They covered "Mustang Sally" often. Eventually it did get released on "lost third album" The Garden

Killing Joke?

I've heard them cover "Bodies" by the Sex Pistols, but I don't know if that was ever on an album

The Strokes have played covers in concert, but I don’t think they’ve ever recorded one?

They covered Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me" on a b-side to something.

The Jesus Lizard don't look to have recorded any covers - and just as I wrote that I see they covered The Stranglers' "Shut Up" as a b-side on a CD single!

this is hard!

Broadcast

ooh good one

except 60-40 on this Warp comp is a Nico cover: https://www.discogs.com/release/1939634-Various-Warp20-1989-2009

the Jesus Lizard did quite a few covers! they also recorded a medley of 2 Chrome covers, Wheelchair Epidemic by the Dicks, 2 songs by Trio

so I now see!

Someone suggested Buzzcocky upthread which was countered by them having done a cover of Captain Beefheart's "I Love You, You Big Dummy". But this was only on a live album so I think Buzzcocks still counts.

Buzzcocks*