Worst failed solo careers?

Yeah, there's no doubt that all involved expected massive sales for "She's the Boss" that didn't materialize. As noted umpteen times, it didn't bomb, but it wasn't the major hit it was "supposed to be".

As I think I mentioned earlier, I did love it back then. I still think it's a good album - dated production and all...

 

Sporty (Mel Whatever) would have been the most successful. Northern Star was in the charts longer than Bridge Over Troubled Water.

 

Paul McCartney and John Lennon

 

Oh her music! I have all her records, albums and singles!

 

I'm a big fan of Ray and Dave. I did see Ray on The Storytellers tour and several shows after that, most recently about 6-7 years ago ?? with The 88's. I've also seen Dave solo several times ( no one responded to his name-) I have Dave and Ray's respective solo albums- starting with the LP's and into the CD era. I still do not consider either of them to have had a solo career that one would characterize as successful in regards to charting releases.

 

The other two Walker Brothers (except in Japan)

 

The last three Bob Mould albums are all really good. One of the best live shows I have ever seen was Mould touring behind his 90s album Black Sheets of Rain -- which followed his excellent solo debut Workbook. Why is he showing up on this thread?

 

Wolfgang Flür of Kraftwerk

 

Paul Di'Anno? I am not sure if he has achieved much chart success since being booted from Maiden? Perhaps in South America, where he seems to be a bit more popular. Certainly, the videos of his on stage rants (in front of a handful of people) that I have seen on YouTube are fairly embarrassing, as is being convicted of £45000 worth of benefit fraud. Fair to say he has not exactly scaled the heights since those early glory days. Shame as I love the first two Maiden albums and IMO no one sings those early songs as well as he did.

 

There can't be too many sidemen who had successful careers once their membership in a successful and popular band ended
P.S.
Although no commercial success , the two Fat Mattress albums were decent efforts

 

Don't you wish Brian had gone to India with the Beatles and Donovan ? Something really fantastic would have resulted from that.

 

Apart from the lame Seahorses album and two rather low-key solo albums John Squire of the Stone Roses hasn`t had much of a career outside the Stone Roses

 

Not mentioned yet as far as I can tell...David Clayton-Thomas. Three years after singing on the huge-selling second BS&T album, he went solo and didn't have any hits.

 

I guess Mel C has had the most longevity as a solo artist in the UK/Europe, but she barely made a dent in the US: "Northern Star" peaked at 108 here.

I was disappointed by Mel C's solo career. After the Girls went solo, she was the one we all expected to be a Major Artist. She had easily the best voice of the bunch and seemed most likely to succeed.

"NS" was a good album but not great, and I wasn't wild about the follow-ups. I eventually stopped buying her solo stuff after the 3rd album IIRC...

 

Cool! I admit I've had little use for Geri solo - I don't like her voice and the songs haven't done anything for me.

Emma is the solo Spice of choice for me. "Free Me" is a very good album - and "Maybe" is arguably the best song a Spice ever produced, including the formal Spice Girls catalog!

IMO, none of the others has anything remotely as good as "Free Me"...

 

Dave Grohl would like to have a word with you!

 

Sideman, it's a matter of perspective. Noel and probably Mitch too saw themselves as band members, but management and probably Jimi to some degree saw them as sidemen. His talent was so immense that most people he played with came across as sidemen anyway. But people sometimes forget The Experience was a band, and Noel and Mitch were important too; Jimi would have made it without them, but they had a unique sound and chemistry and look together, and Mitch and Noel contributed in many ways.

That said, Noel wasn't frontman material, but I also like the first Fat Matress album.

 

Really???
I like Mel C but I find that difficult to believe...

 

Mel C certainly made those Spice Girls singles fantastic.

 

Both Geri and Mel C have sold over 12 million records as solo artists (each)...the other 3 haven't sold much.

 

That's a good question for the OP....

 

It was a little different up here. The album went double platinum (200,00 units in Canada) in 1989. "Showdown At Big Sky" and "Somewhere Down The Crazy River" got some radio airplay as well.

 

If you have been part of a successful band, it is very difficult to break out of that orbit unless you have some truly incredible material to share. Most of these solo albums that I have listened to have musically been mediocre at best. It has been done, but many time these projects are doomed before they hit the shelves.

 

I didn't intend to use the term "sideman" in a negative way, what I meant was not frontman/lead singer/main songwriter - there are lots of examples where the main songwriter/frontman didn't achieve the same kind of sucess as with his former "sidemen" , I agree 100% with you , chemistry is essential.

 

Not sure if you're agreeing or the contrary? So, forgive my ignorance on this, As a soloist Noel didn't do as well as one from such a great band would hope? Not the absolute worst with his solo output but, I wonder, to me Fat Mattress would be seen as a collaboration with Niel Landon vs. a solo offering? Kinda like starting another band with a band name (and not your own name the output stands behind or at least that Noel was the leader of the band not co-leader?) ) I'm curious how this would fall into this thread topic? Any musicians output (including other band formations /collaborations or just on their own as a the main attraction (solo)? The latter is where I was looking at this? Just my thoughts and I could be way off on this .