Countdown 100: Bands that got megahyped that failed spectacularly...

Swansway had "Soul Train", which was pretty good.

Hipsway certainly belong on this.

Love + Money had a hit or two. As did Hipsway. That was the period when bands in Glasgow were only allowed to write songs with Sugar, Candy or Honey in the title (see JaMC).

What was the name of the band with Thom Yorke's brother in, named after a film I think.

The Unbelieveable Truth

Love and Money were successful enough to hang around for years making records for the same audience. Maybe I thought they were more successful than they actually were because of their prominence in and around Glasgow.

Texas came along and made all those bands redundant (not to mention embittered + resentful)

Getting unpleasant flashbacks of people like The Big Dish and The Silencers here.

In terms of post-Nirvana major label cash hemmorhaging, Jonathan Fire*Eater probably had the most high-profile trajectory of "a MILLION dollar contract --> total flop album --> drugs --> cautionary tale --> obscure footnote." It's a really great album, though.

Even at the time, it almost seemed like the majors already knew not to bother spending the marketing cash on the many other big WTF post-grungexsplosion signings (Drive Like Jehu, Helmet, Jawbox, Shudder to Think, etc. etc.)

Everyhit brings nothing for Love and Money.

Hipsway:

17 Hipsway The Honeythief Feb 1986

"Candybar Express" not a hit?

(see what I mean about Candy/Honey/Sugar?)

http://www.btinternet.com/~birdpoo/images/pupplp01.jpg

I've got that album somewhere!

from Love and Money's wikipedia page - "hits" in this case meaning between #50 and #75

In their nine years together they recorded four moderately successful albums, three of which were released in the United States, and had six chart hits in the United Kingdom.[2]

Singles

"Candybar Express" (1986) UK #56
"Dear John" (1986)
"River of People" (1987)
*Love & Money" (1987) UK #68
"Halleluiah Man" (1988) UK #63
"Strange Kind of Love" (1989) UK #45
"Jocelyn Square" (1989) UK #51
"Up Escalator (1989)"
"Winter" (1991) UK #52
"My Love Lives in a Dead House" (1991)
"Wishing Waters EP" (1991)
"Last Ship on the River" (1994)

"Strange kind of love" the only one I could hum you.

So, what positions did those moderately successful albums get to?

Not exactly setting the heather on fire there

Looking at the wikipedia page, it looks like the record company tried everything they could launch them, but not one top 40 hit. Support slots for U2, Simply Red & Tina Turner, appearances on the Wogan TV show etc...

iirc 'Candybar Express' mentions both sugar and candy in the chorus.

James Grant couldn't sing and wasn't very good looking - no competition for Sharleen Spiteri basically

So, what positions did those moderately successful albums get to?

Their first album didn't chart. I'd be surprised if any of the others reached higher than the arse end of the top 40. 'Dogs in the Traffic' was 30th in the Scotsman's top 100 Scottish albums thing that I think we discussed on ILM at one point.

Did Jonathan Fire*Eater srsly have seven figures chucked at them?? That seems like next level madness if that's true. In the UK they were exactly as big as you'd expect ie a cult band who had a good rep among indie kids and got played on the Evening Session (think Lamacq released their records in fact?)

Did Jonathan Fire*Eater srsly have seven figures chucked at them??

That was the story:

In early 1997, Jonathan Fire*Eater signed with David Geffens nascent Dreamworks music label. It was a million dollar contract with unusual clauses including full creative control for the band and a generous dental plan for their nearly toothless manager Walter Durkacz.

The front man had a big drug habit and the band collapsed, but (most of) the rest of the band put the money into their own studio (and re-formed as The Walkmen).

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/101581.jpg

^ remember seeing these cocknozzles all over Smash Hits when I was a kid. Never heard a note though.

Whozat?

The mighty Drum Theatre

It was a good era for preening buffoons in post-'Wild Boys' pyjamas

Detective

were Das Psych-Oh Rangers hyped?

2x Hayzee Fantayzee + self-promotional linkidge

Managed a couple of hits though, and Jeremy Healy has been pretty successful since.

Yeah, two big hits in the UK, which is twice as many as Toto Coelo ever had.

The Gufs

Tin Machine?

Oy Vey, Baby still boggles the mind.

Radish! Another group what got tons of money thrown at them by Mercury. Think Ben Kweller saved a little bit of it, maybe and has ended up making a few records that for some reason sound nothing like Radish.

Oh, ellaguru! I've been trying to think of them ever since I remembered Symposium being on the NME 'bratbus' tour (lol). I bought the Radish album...I...I dunno...

wait, did anyone mention Vanessa Hudgens?

Yeah, I guess Disney is guilty of spending money on people whose talents they later shifted - Lohan? Panetierre, Duff etc.

hey onimo you remember Slide and The River Detectives?

shitloads of these shitbands got hyped by billy sloan/daily record/sunday mail. Each one shitter than the last.
Love & Money were by far the worst.

The mighty Drum Theatre

Was about to mention them. "Eldorado" was actually a great pop song. But surely no hit. Not that one either.

I saw Slide a couple of times supporting people at the Barrowlands, can't remember what they sounded like.

hey onimo you remember Slide and The River Detectives?

shit yes :(

I think I saw the Silencers once, supporting The Alarm maybe.

billy sloan really had a malign influence on scottish music

haha Why isn't There A Thread For Scotlands Top Music Journalist ..... BILLY SLOAN?

lots of youtubing from this thread the last couple days and it's apparent why the vast majority of these bands failed spectacularly...

Nancy Boy.

Dan Reed Network

In terms of post-Nirvana major label cash hemmorhaging, Jonathan Fire*Eater probably had the most high-profile trajectory of "a MILLION dollar contract --> total flop album --> drugs --> cautionary tale --> obscure footnote." It's a really great album, though.

You forgot the absolute nadir of the trajectory:

Million dollar contract --> total flop album --> drugs --> cautionary tale --> obscure footnote --> The Walkmen.