Worst failed solo careers?

Sorry but you can't call the Vibrators a "hugely successful band" as requested by the OP

 

At my house they've been hugely successful, as evidenced by a shelf of their releases.

 

Just answering the question posed by the OP.

 

I know it doesn't exactly fit the thread but it always amazes me how fast Marc Bolan's popularity faded.
His 1975 album "Zip Gun" didn't even enter the charts in the UK (!) and the next album, "Futuristic Dragon" (which I love) only reached number 50.
That must have hurt.

 

Fair enough but this is similar to someone asking you for a number between 1 and 5 and you say 7 because it is your lucky number

 

This guy left the tremendously successful Brady Kids and promptly laid an egg as solo non-sensation "Johnny Bravo".

 

The US version of Zip Gun, Light of Love, came out first and hardcore Bolan fans bought the import.

 

I'm a big Pearl Jam fan, but I'll be the first to admit that none of the individual members aside from Eddie Vedder had any solo success whatsoever.
It's actually a perverse feat that Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Jack Irons all released solo albums (some on major labels) that didn't even break the Hot 100.... AND Ament and Gossard, along with Mike McCready, have also played in a variety of other side projects--RNDM, Three Fish, Rockfords, and Brad--that ALSO failed to break the Hot 100 or produce any charting singles.

That said, the first two Brad albums are fantastic (even if they didn't sell) and they maintain a cult following. And McCready was also in Mad Season with Layne Staley, a group that DID have some success... Although not the kind of success you would've expected in 1995 from an Alice In Chains/PJ supergroup.
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Tony Banks. His solo career was commercially laughable.

 

Sure, but I still don't think it would have sold much...

 

In truth, I'm joining the thread at page 22, and didn't read the OP. I simply took the topic, read some comments on the last posting page to make sure I had the topic right, and posted. I have no idea where people draw the line between "Hugely successful" and just "Successful".

 

In the latest Mojo they rediscover the latter Bolan albums and praise it. If Think Zinc was the lead single instead of Zip Gun Boogie things might have been different.

PS Light of Love is a great track, better than anything on Futuristic Dragon or Dandy in the Underworld.

 

I picked up Zip Gun very cheaply a while ago, and I concur with MOJO. It's a very entertaining album and the best post-Tanx.

 

Paul Weller never broke big in the U.S. or Canada but he did have a little success. "Town Called Malice" by The Jam was a top 30 hit in Canada. A couple of years later, Weller tasted North American success when "My Ever Changing Moods" by the Style Council became a top 40 hit in both Canada and the U.S.

 

Light Of Love deserved to be a much bigger hit, it was nice and simple compared to the druggy mess that was much of the Zinc Alloy album. For sure it would have climbed higher if they had performed it on Top Of The Pops.

 

David Coverdale of Whitesnake

 

To say Weller has had a failed solo career is a massive misconception. He's still as popular in most regions now as he ever was with The Jam and is virtually a national treasure in the UK (and still able to command very high places on festival bills and do high profile solo tours).

 

He's a very British act. I think it would be fair to say he doesn't have anything close to that reputation or success in any other country.

 

Regardless, it is still a misconception to say his solo career has been a failure!

 

"Hearts On Fire" was a Top 20 hit, and there were other Top 40 singles from that Epic album.

*Oops, see this was already mentioned.

 

Agreed.

 

Bizarrely, I seem to spend a lot of time defending both The Jam and Weller on this forum, despite the fact that I'm not a very big fan of either.

Also, in the US, The Style Council seem fairly highly regarded, whereas they were a bit of an object of ridicule here!

 

Yeah, he's almost unknown here but he's a Clapton-esque figure in the UK now. (Not musically similar....just at that same level of adoration, etc.)

I knew of the Style Council before the Jam or his solo work, it's true.

 

Eric Burdon and Chris Farlowe.... not really failed but surely not successful as expected from two with great voices

 

Pat Monahan of Train put out a solo album in 2007 that went nowhere, we sent well over 100 of the initial 120 we were shipped. One of my employee's said they saw what was supposed to be a appearance by him on either Good Morning America or Today that looked like it had no one there.