Bands with one to zero original members

The Grass Roots had no original members as of their second album! But, as far as the famous lineup, they disbanded in the late 1970's, but Rob Grill reformed them for the oldies circuit probably 25 years ago. Several of those guys stayed with him until he died, and his estate licenses them to continue performing under the Grass Roots name.

 

Deep Purple:
drummer Ian Paice.

(though Glover and Gillan returned and are still present from what is generally considered the band's "classic" lineup)

 

Birth Control has no original members from 1968, the oldest current member being Peter Föller , who originally joined in 1973 (through to 1977, and since 2016).

Now you all really wanted to know about BC, didn't you?

 

Good point. Sorry, man.

 

I would make an exception for a band with a lot of core members even if not any originals. For example if Lindsey, Stevie and Christine wanted to tour as Fleetwood Mac that would have more cred than some lineups that have used that name, and most fans would find it more appealing than a reunion of the original line up.

 

Fairport Convention only has one original member, and he left for a while. But they've always had a very fluid membership, and Pegg's been with them since the early 1970's.

 

Little River Band - Zero original members - Zero integrity - gained the name via a war of attrition of losing members and now one guy that got the rights basically has hired guns using the name.
When Birtles, Shorrock and Gobles toured under the name "Birtles, Shorrock and Gobles, the voices of the Little River Band", the dude filed a law suite and i believe they even had to withdraw a dvd that I have at home. Absolute bunch of bollocks.

 

Yeah, I think pretty early on in this thread we established the benchmark of zero as being the one to shoot for. I'm really fascinated to know the most famous band now touring with no remaining members. I mean that way we could have a version of the "Jimi Hendrix Experience". When does it become a tribute band?

 

Soft Machine, still touring but last founding member left in 1976.

 

Both of these are examples of someone purchasing the rights to a group name, allowing them to put on stage whomever they please regardless of any links to the original group:

• The Vogues have a complex history. A court decision gave original member Chuck Blasko the right to perform as The Vogues only in a 14-county area surrounding Pittsburgh. Everywhere else, the Bogus Vogues as I call them — with no original members — appeared under that name. Other original members flitted between these two aggregations from time to time, but as of now, the current "Vogues" have no connection to the originals.
• "The Shangri-las" feature three members with no connection whatsoever to the original group. When I saw them several years ago, the lead singer affected Mary Weiss's long blonde hair, while the brunette backing vocalists were in fact mother and daughter! At the concert I witnessed (the tickets were free, or I never would have gone), they performed exactly two Shangri-las songs. Everything else was a song made famous by others.

 

Right, exactly. There are a lot of cases where there may be one or zero original members but several long-time members. Yes falls into this category (although the existence of the other Yes, fronted by Jon Anderson, complicates things somewhat). But I wouldn't say that the Fleetwood Mac example you cited is any less legitimate than, say, Robert Smith touring with a bunch of kids as "The Cure".

 

The Drifters name was always owned by management and there was only guy from the Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters era who had returned to the group during it's 1960's hit making heyday. When they relocated to England in the 1970's it was with an entirely different lineup than anyone who ever sang on an American hit, and they continue on the oldies circuit to this day. I think they're still based in England.

 

Napalm Death.

 

Didn't say he was. But he's an incredible guitarist, and he played on more Pie albums than Frampton, who he replaced. And Clempson is presumably available now that his trio with Jon Hiseman has ceased to be.

 

If they have none of the original members, they're not bands - they're corporate logos.

"Dude, I started a band"
"Yeah, what's it called?
"The Beatles!"

 

Foghat only has the drummer
Marshall Tucker only has one member
Savoy Brown only has Kim Simmons
Molly Hatchet has no original members
Wishbone Ash has one

 

I have no idea how they roped Rudy Sarzo into that mess.

 

Granted, I'm going to see The Alarm tomorrow night, but at least in that case, the one original member is the guy who sang and (co-)wrote all the songs (and is still prolifically putting out new material)

 

The Cure really does not fit at all, even though its a frontman centric band anyway. Bassist Simon Gallup is still there, and has has been in the band for almost all of its 40yrs, save right at the start and one year, 1984. Current keyboardist Roger O' Donnell was also in the band during its peak of Kiss Me through Disintegration. Wouldn't describe guitarist Reeves Gabrels as "kids" either. Him and the drummer have been in the band for years.

 

It’s a blurry line, because band line ups change and members come and go. But I agree that some of the musicians performing publicly under the name of a popular band should at least have had some affiliation with that band at some point during its popularity.

 

Pere Ubu - David Thomas (boss)
The Red Krayola - Mayo Thompson (boss)

Basically when those two people stop, the bands will be no more.

 

I was listening to "Plastic People" about 3 hours ago, but I don't know who sang it.

 

But 3 out of the 4 members go back to 1975 at the latest.

 

Tangerine Dream



They're sanctioned by the widow of the founder's widow, respecting his wishes that they continue (which his son, another former member, denies).
The founder's widow was not his original wife, though.

Whatever the true story is, they're going through a period of creativity the likes of which the band hasn't seen in decades.

 

Jerome literally bailed on Edgar once right to play with Schmolling and his band? Never felt like the kid was too committed...