a promo photo thread for '80s/'90s bands oozing sobriety and wisdom in the present day

http://renownedforsound.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Hanson1.jpg

On the way there: Hanson.

middle hanson has a real "luke in ROTJ" vibe

Band photos where one member refuses to play along

http://hansonguy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/promopic.jpg

The Rubinoos

http://i.imgur.com/pfPj1pl.jpg

Trying to think of bands that will be forever impervious to this route, Primus maybe?

http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/35/590x/del1-455816.jpg

del amitri

http://www.theedinburghreporter.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Hue-and-Cry-Press-Shot-4.jpg

hue & cry

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46836000/jpg/_46836983_deacon_blue-1.jpg

deacon blue

http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/35/590x/wetwetwet-446872.jpg

wet wet wet

Bands are so stupid sometimes

http://cdn.pitchfork.com/news/48809/3afd3183.jpg

Don't they realize EVERYONE does this? It's like "I tell you what, we had strings on our last album so when we come to play live, how about having a string section which is exclusively made up of attractive young women dressed in black?" (Actually not sure this is as much a thing as it once was).

Spandau Ballet look like a pissed-off board of directors. Kajagoogoo, otoh, look like they fleshed out the lineup with a couple of bikers. Off topic but I wonder what it's like to be the new recruits in a reformed band on tour. a paycheck, if nothing else, and maybe wish fulfillment. "man this is it, now I can die happy after playing with Simple Minds!"

I cant fathom what its like to be 20-30 years younger and playing for Mike and the Mechanics in 2015

Rancid look like a group of prison inmates about to give some teens a "Scared Straight" lecture on the dangers of the drugs & crime lifestyle

I cant fathom what its like to be 20-30 years younger and playing for Mike and the Mechanics in 2015

It's just a job. And for a lot of jobbing musicians like this it's a badge of honour that they're 'pros' (calling someone 'semi-pro' is a putdown). Plus their tastes in music may be relatively similar.

Bands are so stupid sometimes

That photo might well have been the photographer's idea, but of course the band ultimately approved it.

I don't understand exactly why these bands all keep going. I suppose they make a living touring (not from the awful albums they record) and get some ego validation from their fans. Better than just being a nonentity doing some soul-destroying job. But is it? Maybe some of them actually do feel trapped, but they have no alternative financially.

omg, del amitri

tbqh it's easy to mock the sad image-making but I'd rather be most of these bands than be middle management, assuming the same pay and that you have some clarity/humility about what you do... whether that's making the fans happy or just filling out the bill under a more popular nostalgia act that actually has fans. on the bus, balancing the checkbook, having the family meet you at the end for an unforgettable trip to the grand canyon. the only trouble is how much the band's established youthful/rebellious image clashes with your own sense of how much dignity you think you require. hence these pictures I guess?

mind you, I was really charmed by that hugh grant movie where he played an andrew ridgeley type, mugging through the hits and giving thrilling winks to once-teenage idolizers. it was supposed to be the low-point rut from which love would lead him into a comeback, but I dunno, seemed okay.

I don't understand exactly why these bands all keep going. I suppose they make a living touring (not from the awful albums they record) and get some ego validation from their fans. Better than just being a nonentity doing some soul-destroying job. But is it?

Too fucking right it is.

i always think of these posts on that stage where you think they aren't popular anymore but are actually way more popular than they were when they had "buzz" :

this is sorta like the dream rocker retirement plan, though, isn't it? keep on doing yr thing, financial security and no media spotlight bullshit

― cop a cute abdomen (gbx), Tuesday, May 17, 2011 1:47 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

yeah i mean we're mainly being snarky but for the most part i feel like these kinds of acts have really just had admirable career arcs, catering to a fanbase that stuck with them well after the tastemakers and the industry machinery kind of forgot they existed

― bile al (some dude), Tuesday, May 17, 2011 1:56 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just fyi every band I know dreams of getting to this stage. this stage represents total arrival. you don't have to worry about your haters and you don't have to be constantly trying to win over new people.

― w of in the attic (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, May 17, 2011 3:59 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i am not a rock n roll artist but i think lots of fields have their version of this and i dunno, maybe just healthy to think about different viable models of aging gracefully. not that i think all the bands have necessarily found that sweet spot, or that i will stop lolling at del amitri.

Mott

http://listeningroom.lohudblogs.com/files/2009/10/09mott_the_hoople1.jpg

OMD

http://www.omd.uk.com/images/sized/images/uploads/photos/img_3266-0x600.jpg

http://showbizgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Screen-Shot-2014-03-29-at-21.21.57.png

East 17

the pictures with multiple scarves are always my favorite

http://www.acdc.com/sites/acdc/files/imagecache/600wide_max/dotcom_0.jpg

there’s still trace of restrained, suppressed, incipient not quite sneer on angus young’s face

pop group

http://factmag-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/TPG22July.jpg

Why is the middle guy so disgusted by the packet of rouge he found?

It's Thatcher's rouge.

the guy in the white shirt is totally fucking it up for the rest of them

"Trying to think of bands that will be forever impervious to this route, Primus maybe?"

chili peppers. they are still pretty damn goofy looking in promo shots.

more like sad religion

http://saltroads.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Bad-Religion-750x400.jpg

just catching up to this thread and wanted to say: that Rancid photo near the top totally fucked w/ my head. wow.

EMF

http://www.clashmusic.com/sites/default/files/legacy/files/emf.jpg

unbelievable

Best of these are obviously those where new, often younger, members almost outnumber the classic/heyday line up

I dont understand why Metallica didnt just keep their 1996 look. They never looked better before or since

Maybe all the subtlety and late 90s maturity went with Newsted

http://www.bbkingblues.com/inc/artists/652.jpg

Mr. Big

wow

that photo retouching is really creepy

http://41.media.tumblr.com/ee2e071cbd4057a5ba7ede4574bf4d93/tumblr_nvgrc2y8kJ1twx6hqo2_1280.jpg

Interpol

http://cache4.asset-cache.net/gc/51871696-interpol-pose-backstage-during-live-105s-not-gettyimages.jpg

vs.

http://images.vogue.it/gallery/25921/Big/bf7c4a51-34be-439e-b0a5-32cc15d9c0aa.jpg

vs.*

http://www.downcastmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Interpol.jpeg

There must be a whole new set of these for 2016 summer tours.

http://media1.fdncms.com/sacurrent/imager/u/original/2521348/cultureclubhero.jpg

why do old guys like black leather so much

I'm not totally sold on Boy George's wisdom and sobriety in that pic.

"Please count from five to one, Mr. George."

Penetration

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0367/3569/files/VG_Penetration-33-photo-credit-Ian-West.jpg

wait, someone askes for a Penetration reunion?

also Culture Club with original line-up would be so much fun! even if they do look so serious. they all look very good by the way. way better than i do and i'm younger than those guys.

Level 42 seem to be embracing this look:

http://www.funkblog.nl/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/level-42-UK.jpg

or... maybe not?

http://i2.getreading.co.uk/incoming/article10489054.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Level-42.jpg

(the top photo seems to be 2013 and the bottom from 2016, so maybe they've relapsed)