Trivia: Bands which are now effectively a tribute act due to members dying or leaving

[adrock1976]

When I was looking though my CD collection a while ago, this got me thinking of some bands which are still active today or recently retired, but no longer resembles the line up to when they were originally founded and have more or less become a tribute act. By tribute act, I do not mean tribute bands such as No Way Sis (Oasis tribute), Bootleg Beatles (The Beatles), or Scotland specific Irn Mdn (Iron Maiden - also a word play on Scotland's other national drink made from girders Irn Bru).

I'll start with some below:

Black Sabbath 1984-92, where guitarist Tony Iommi was the sole remaining original member (although bassist Terry "Geezer" Butler rejoined briefly in 1987 before leaving again, then rejoining in 1992 alongside drummer Vinny Appice and vocalist Ronnie James Dio (b1942 d2010), which was the same line up on the 1981 album Mob Rules)

The Pretenders 1986-93, where Chrissie Hynde was the sole remaining original member. Original members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farnell both died in 1982 and 83 respectively. Hynde and the drummer Martin Chambers had a falling out with Chambers leaving in 86, before rejoining in 1993.

Whitesnake, where David Coverdale is the only original member since forming in 1978, and having reformed in 2003.

Quiet Riot 2010-present, when since reformed after vocalist Kevin DuBrow's death, there are no original members remaining (similar to The Sugarbabes).

Lynyrd Skynyrd, where Gary Rossington is the sole original member since forming in 1964. Members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie were fatalities in the 1977 aircraft accident, when the aircraft had ran out of fuel mid flight.

Feel free to add more.

 

[SargeNpton]

Dr Feelgood.

 

[AlterEgo]

All the current iterations of the Drifters.

 

[Herefordian]

Queen.

 

[greatkingrat]

Thin Lizzy - Scott Gorham is the only "classic" era member remaining, and he didn't join until the 4th album

 

[Spamcan81]

Yes - I've lost count of how many changes of lineup they've had.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

It seems to be less "jarring" if the sole remaining member is the frontman/woman as per The Pretenders among the OP's examples. For example if Paul Weller decided to tour as The Jam with a couple of random session guys on drums and bass, it wouldn't feel as odd as going to see Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler (who have toured as "From The Jam") with a singer plucked from Stars In Their Eyes.

There's also the fact that the "original" line-up isn't always considered the "classic" line-up with many bands. For example a couple of months ago I saw Pavement in Leeds with the line-up they had for all but their debut album (plus an added keyboard player). I didn't feel ripped-off because original drummer Gary Young wasn't there.

 

[Benters]

Rolling Stones- Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the sole remaining original members following the sad death of Charlie Watts.
Ditto The Who, with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend being sole original members.
Not forgetting Status Quo with Francis Rossi and Andy Bown remaining from the original lineup.

 

[bearhugger]

Steeleye Span?

 

[Benters]

Hawkwind. Multiple lineup changes over the years with founder member and guitarist Dave Brock being the only constant factor.
T.Rex became a tribute band to themselves prior to Marc Bolan's unfortunate demise , with Bolan being the only original member in the final lineup.

 

[gswindale]

For those of a younger nature, Sugababes must be up there, although currently the group consists of the original 3 members, but all of them have previously left, so not sure if that really makes them a tribute to themselves or not?

 

[pdeaves]

Winding the clock back, The Tremeloes had so many changes that the group now performs as The Trems. As far as I am aware, even the longest serving member of The Trems wasn't an 'original' Tremelo.

 

[D6130]

Fairport Convention.

 

[jupiter]

The Beach Boy.

 

[Basil Jet]

Altered Images did a (poor IMO) album this year with 2 original members, but a couple of years ago Claire Grogan toured an all-female version of the band where, obviously, she was the only original member.

 

[scarby]

I do not think that just because a band has undergone numerous personnel changes over a lengthy period of time one can then automatically conclude that it makes them “more or less a tribute band”.

For example, J-J Brunel is the only original member of The Stranglers, but they continue to write new and fresh-sounding songs composed by the current-line up, so they are not a “tribute” at all.

On the other hand if a band contains only one or even no original members and is simply a vehicle to bash out old numbers, with no current creative activity, that is a different matter.

 

[Acey]

Rolling Stones- Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the sole remaining original members following the sad death of Charlie Watts.
Ditto The Who, with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend being sole original members.
Not forgetting Status Quo with Francis Rossi and Andy Bown remaining from the original lineup.

Was Andy Bown in the original line up?

 

[DelW]

Fairport Convention.

Even in their heyday they had plenty of different line-ups!



(Picture of cover of the "History of Fairport Convention" LP, showing seven different band line-ups between Nov 1967 and Feb 1972).

The other big folk or folk/rock band of the era, Steeleye Span, went through a variety of personnel too.

 

[yorksrob]

Steeleye Span?

Indeed.

Also Fairport Convention.

Oops, someone got there first !

Fleetwood Mac are also a long way from their initial bluesy incarnation. But going back to the OP, none of these can be said to be a "tribute act".

Except perhaps the "fake" Fleetwood Mac that turned up in the seventies briefly.

 

[D841 Roebuck]

I suspect none of the members of the Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who recorded the #1single Amazing Grace in the early 1970s are still serving with the regiment!

 

[GS250]

I always reckoned Marillon should have stuck to their instinct and renamed themselves after Fish left in 1988. Then again, in spite of most of their Hogarth material not being to my liking, they have performed with him for over 30 years now in front of fairly decent audiences. No real chart success but they have retained a loyal fanbase.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Genesis.

 

[GS250]

I do not think that just because a band has undergone numerous personnel changes over a lengthy period of time one can then automatically conclude that it makes them “more or less a tribute band”.

For example, J-J Brunel is the only original member of The Stranglers, but they continue to write new and fresh-sounding songs composed by the current-line up, so they are not a “tribute” at all.

On the other hand if a band contains only one or even no original members and is simply a vehicle to bash out old numbers, with no current creative activity, that is a different matter.

To be fair...tribute bands are often a better experience than the real thing anyway. Playing what the fans want to hear, not having to deal with huge crowds and in some cases actually being better than the original.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

To be fair...tribute bands are often a better experience than the real thing anyway. Playing what the fans want to hear, not having to deal with huge crowds and in some cases actually being better than the original.

I do enjoy the puns that many tribute bands make of their names... one I saw recently in the listings was a Kate Bush tribute act called "Katebushka".

On the other hand No Way Sis is an awful name, but then the real Oasis were a glorified pub band so one shouldn't expect anything more.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Yardbirds?

 

[D6968]

To be fair...tribute bands are often a better experience than the real thing anyway. Playing what the fans want to hear, not having to deal with huge crowds and in some cases actually being better than the original.

I believe Dave Gilmour had the Australian Pink Floyd at one his birthday bashes.

 

[Typhoon]

Not forgetting Status Quo with Francis Rossi and Andy Bown remaining from the original lineup.

Was Andy Bown in the original line up?

No, he was in The Herd in the sixties. I would have thought the classic line up was Rossi-Parfitt-Lancaster-Coughlan. Even that wasn't the original.

Andy has a rich musical heritage, starting from his sixties bands The Preachers and The Herd, where he gave the talented teenager Peter Frampton his first job, on through an endless list of recording sessions with artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Halliday, Dusty Springfield, Cilla Black, Tim Hardin, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, Lesley Duncan, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon and many, many more, whilst part forming the ultimate 70's pop rock band, Judas Jump (opening The Isle of Wight Festival 1970) and also appearing with the cult folk band Storyteller.

He played keyboards for Peter Frampton in the early 1970s, switching to bass for several tours after Rick Wills departed the band. Andy was the surrogate Roger Waters during Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' tour of 1980 and 81 and he also played on Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut" album and Roger Waters' subsequent release Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking". He has previously released four solo albums, the first of which "Gone To My Head" was released in 1972.

Andy continued an intermittent solo recording career, whilst starting to work with Status Quo in 1973, first as a session musician, and then as a full time member, recording "Rockin' All Over The World" with the band in 1977. He plays keyboards, guitar and harmonica with Status Quo to this day and is an integral part of the band, having co-penned many well known Quo songs, most prominently the group's hits "Whatever You Want", "Again and Again" and the 1988 hit "Burning Bridges" which, re-recorded, went on to reach No.1 in the charts as Manchester United Football Club's anthem.

From his website http://andybown.com/

 

[Stan63]

Angus Young is the only original member of AC/DC left in the band.

Stan

 

[AM9]

Rolling Stones- Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are the sole remaining original members following the sad death of Charlie Watts.

Technically correct as per the OP, but Ronnie Wood has been a full member of the band since '75, so 47 out of the 60 years since formed, which doesn't seem much like a tribute act to me.

 

[Lemmy99uk]

Hawkwind. Multiple lineup changes over the years with founder member and guitarist Dave Brock being the only constant factor.

Hawkwind are a bit different in that they have never had a stable lineup.

They formed in 1969 but by 1972, when they finally hit the charts, they only had 2 original members left.