Groups that North Americans see different to the rest of the world

I think you miss my point there are some singers/bands that had practically zero crossover despite being massive in their respective countries. anyone who knows classic rock in America knows queen and can probably sing bohemian rhapsody

 

Queen were big in the US up to the Game after that they conquered the rest of the world in a huge way. Queen were and are part of the classic rock radio playlist here.

 

Dave Matthews Band

I don't know anyone who owns an album by him and I know some mighty collectors.

 

Robbie Williams, Jamiroquai and Simply Red have all had huge and sustained careers, each being close to the biggest selling and live drawing act in the world at some point, without any sustained US success, in Robbie’s case none at all. ABBA were the second highest selling band in the world after the Beatles for decades, still huge most places but only middling in the States. On the other hand asides from the obvious country acts, most of the US mainstream arena rock acts in the Boston-REO Speedwagon-Journey-Kansas-Styx vein were one or two hit wonders in much of the rest of the world.

 

Agree on Weller and the Jam, but Paul has himself to blame there. He wasn't willing to do the work to make it big in the US like the Clash, Zep, etc.,

Nick Drake is a little harder to quantify but, I would be willing to bet his sales in the US are equal, if not even a little larger than, his sales in the UK.

 

That is the first band that came to mind. They have always been pretty big here in the States, yet not sure they made much of a dent anywhere else. Have they ever toured anywhere but North America?

 

Indeed, no less hard rocking or corny than Cold Chisel.

 

Not a sniff in Australia. Add Phish etc to the list. Jimmy Buffett and Grateful Dead are not unknown outside the states but their huge live followings are unique to the US.

 

Indeed, we all have our crosses to bear, and it equals out in the end.

 

Great band, BCO, but sadly their first Australian gig ever was 2013 in a 500 capacity nightclub that was far from full.

 

Probably a lot of hip-hop and country “groups” fit the bill. But then again the “rest of the world” is a pretty big, diverse place, and encompasses much more than the English-speaking world.

 

Most of the early rock and roll greats aside from Elvis: Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, etc. - In their own time they were a lot bigger in Britain than at home, and to this day I've met my share of British fans who are shocked to learn most Americans know one or two of their songs, tops.

 

I don't know much about Sparks and I didn't always agree with The Rolling Stone Record Guide, but I still smile at the RSRG's last word on the band:

Docked one star per album for being partially responsible for Queen.​

 

I wish he had never been heard of in America!

I don't know where on earth you got that idea! Toto may be pop, but they are nowhere near novelty. Are you sure you know what novelty means?

Their hits, and at least their first two albums are very well known here in the U.S.. Mike Hucknall is very recognizable.

 

Outside fanatics the Move are known in the US, if at all, as some band Jeff Lynne had before ELO

Small Faces are one-hit wonders here

I've read that in the UK Paul Revere & The Raiders are essentially a cult act, if even that. Did the Revolutionary War garb open up old wounds?

 

Responsible for Queen? That reminds me why I don't read outdated stuck in the 60s Rolling Stone magazine.

 

That's hilarious ! I love Sparks, but don't like Queen at all...

 

I was shocked to see how many records they've sold. Their first 7 albums are all multi-platinum, the first two are 6x and 7x platinum! And they have another 5 live albums that went platinum, a couple of those are multi-platinum too.

It goes to show, I think I've met a couple of people who were big Dave Matthews Band fans (and I know plenty of people who are into other jam bands,) but that's it, I never would have thought they were that big.

 

Aerosmith is a band that I see as being more highly regarded in the US than they are elsewhere

 

I thought Led Zeppelin & David Bowie put into a blender was responsible for Queen.

 

I am going to suggest Iron Maiden. They seem to be much more popular outside of the United States.

 

Blur
Oasis... yes, but I'd say Blur is more obscured here.

Then there's ABBA.
While I think Mamma Mia (the film) has exposed them, I don't think they're anywhere as popular as in Europe.

 

Glam and Britpop didn't really crossover to the US. Grunge, Heartland and (Corporate) Arena rock didn't really do much over there. Mark Winstanley recently did a number of threads on Aussie Pub rock bands.

When bands don't crossover, fans miss out (IMO).

 

We have a whole thread debating the popularity of ABBA in the U.S.. I think it all boiled down to what you listened to in the 70s.

 

NO, it all boils down to how many records they sold.