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

Ryan Adams?

he didn't "fail spectacularly" but he was heavily hyped as the hope of cornball mainstream rock - call him the Lone Justice of the early 2000s

I'm surprised no one mentioned Terence Trent D'Arby. He was mega successful during his first album run,

.. and you have just answered yr own surprise, as TTD didn't ..

.. oh I suppose he did 'fail' megaspectacularly, but then he did succeed megaspec as well...

I kinda wonder if there will be anymore attempts to hype artists like Ryan Adams or Lone Justice- plucked from a scene with a little bit of following and momentum, then hairsprayed into a mainstream package. Either could have dawdled in the roots rock scene for as a modest career, but they ended up with neither credibility nor huge sales. Seems like big labels either wait for acts to develop everything on their own, or an act is cultivated in-house from the start now.

but Terence Trent D'Arby was really only a failure in the USA (and he was a failure after the "wishing well" record) ... i understand he was pretty big in some European countries right?!?

lone justice were kinda dull, and ryan adams is kind of a douche. that might have had as much to do w/ why neither act really became huge.

Ryan Adams also didn't help his cause by releasing like 27 albums a year.

Who are Relient K and why does MTV seem to be pimping them so much?

http://posterscene.com/images/items/full/vandyke1.jpg

I had always heard that Bob Marley's initial attempts to break America (circa Catch a Fire and Burnin') were huge hype failures for Island Records, but the only real hint I could find was this original Rolling Stone review of Live!, which was released a couple years later and has the same attitude. "Whom does Island expect to buy records like this?" Ha!

"every time i plant a seed, he said 'kill them before they grow'" indeed!

VH1 and CMT are full successful acts that are dull and douchey, though. Just not ones that own X albums.

Ryan Adams may not have ended up a mainstream rock saviour, but he sells out 2,000 seat venues here in ATX to an absolutely rabid fanbase. I'd hardly say that's a failure.

whats that 'how we lost £35,509.50 on the album of the year' thing?

$ sorry

voxtrot!!

http://vandykeparks.com/miscfiles/musician852.html

Tangentially related plus I wanted to vent about this wasteman article from yesterday, opinion4u-based URL onwards: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/flavour-of-the-week-will-our-obsession-with-newness-finish-fledgling-bands-careers-before-they-have-even-started-2086665.html

really glad to be lectured about supposedly ever-decreasing hype cycles by a dude who immediately goes on to proudly relate how his job consists of looking at the same MP3 blogs as every other cunt out there and selecting the exact same buzzbands to briefly highlight

Some to add:

Nymphs - In early 90s, some were convinced that they were gonna be huge, or at least Janes Addiction-style huge. Flop.

Hothouse Flowers - To an extent, anyhow. The first album was a classic case of shipped gold and returned platinum, with the record label insistent that they were going to be the next U2 while the public was all "Whooo??" I guess they found a dedicated audience that was smaller than anticipated so they probably don't count.

Transvision Vamp - These guys were gonna be huge. So far as I can remember the album flopped bigtime.

haha Nymphs fucked up when Inger Lorre took a piss on the desk of the MD of their record label.

Man I remember them in Kerrang & Raw all the time, not even thought about them in 15 years.

transvision vamp were huge in australia

(and also kinda underrated these days - the first album belongs alongside the primitives and darling buds as great buzzsaw pop records)

I somehow have two Transvision Vamp albums but remember nothing of them now other than the singles.

i remember wendy james

first album was successful enough generally, wasn't it? then they fell off so hard that the third album was ONLY released in Australia, where it also flopped

haha Nymphs fucked up when Inger Lorre took a piss on the desk of the MD of their record label.

These days the only way they could fuck up by doing that is by not shooting video of it and then posting it on YouTube!

Bis? Iirc they hit their high point in terms of visibility before they released anything (their TOTP performance).

Also, while we're repping failed "next U2s of the 80s": In Tua Nua.

before they released anything (their TOTP performance).

not really true, they had 3 singles out by that point, including the secret vampire soundtrack 45 which is what they were on TOTP in support of

oh man i missed the end of the countdown so i missed out on adding:

Big Pig
Saigon Kick
Enuff Z'nuff

Transvision Vamp - These guys were gonna be huge. So far as I can remember the album flopped bigtime.

They did have a number of hits. Plus they are also one of the most important influences on more recent teenybopper punkpop.

re Bis: and a split on a Spanish label iirc?

quite a few of the recent examples saw dece success in non UK/US markets tho. bis were colossal in japan for a while, big pig had a top 5 album and a handful of hit singles in Aus (though the album probably didn't do much better than 100k overall)

the acuarela one wasn't a split but they did a split on guided missile (or was it slampt) too i think

last bit xpost obv

whoops no, got confused: first single was on an actual spanish label, split (4-ways!) was on a UK label with a we no speak americano name

x-post too! split was on Ché

ah yes

"buy Intendo CD from CDNow"

solitary links that effortlessly sum up the late '90s

Rubber Rodeo

I'm always suprised US ppl even mention Big Pig - they were known of outide of Oz? What next, Boom Crash Opera, big in Hungaria?

God, I do remember Drum Theatre though, haha. I had "Eldorado" taped off the telly, thought it was awesomepants, then they disappered from sight.

But then again I was an Alarm fan so what would I know.

Transvision Vamp - These guys were gonna be huge. So far as I can remember the album flopped bigtime.

They did have a number of hits. Plus they are also one of the most important influences on more recent teenybopper punkpop.

Guessing this is a regional thing, what with Jim telling of their Australian success as well. Over here in North America I think they sputtered out almost immediately after a pretty big push.

Both Big Pig and Boom Crash Opera got some play in Canada...not tons, but they got a release and some attention. Also there seemed to be a very short-lived "hey look at this!" about Weddings Parties Anything.

their very last single (if looks could kill) has been recently resurrected for tv commercial music here too, i'm sure that's making a buck or two for mr sayer

xpost

wavves

I wish I grew up with those 60's/70's full page record release ads with lot's of text and witty (but often sexist) hyperbole.

like that "Wouldn't you like to "Rip her to shreds" " sort of thing?

Please stop talking about Big Pig

XP Mark, more like this
http://posterscene.com/images/items/full/jonifull.jpg

Although I doubt if what is written there is witty. My point being that it's something that isn't done anymore. I wonder if the record companies got straight-up ad agencies to do their work.

See, I sort of think it's a shame that there aren't any Music Newspapers anymore.

Back when, it was 'black and white' like it was The Times, or something.

Now, they're just magazines with thinner paper, just about.

(and also kinda underrated these days - the first album belongs alongside the primitives and darling buds as great buzzsaw pop records)

Transvision Vamp, Darling Buds, and the Primitives would be an amazing nostalgia tour. I would book them for my county fair in a heartbeat.

PAS/CAL, heard of 'em?