Andrews Rock Blog

Yesterday I wrote about bands that had succesfully transitioned between lead singers. One of the greatest examples was Van Halen, who became more succesful commercialy when Sammy Hagar filled the spot vacated by David Lee Roth in 1985. Perhaps it was because of that success the band thought they could do it again when Sammy left Van Halen in 1996 (Ed says he quit, Sam says he was fired - I doubt we’ll ever really know the truth). The band thought wrong.

On paper, the idea of hiring former Extreme lead singer Gary Cherone wasn’t a horrible idea. He’s got the pipes, to be sure. The first time I saw the band was with Cherone back in ‘98 and he was a charasmatic frontman and could handle both the Van Hagar and Roth songs admirably. But the thing was, if Sammy Hagar wasn’t going to be the singer in Van Halen, the only other possible vocalist the fans would accept was Diamond Dave. The one and only album with Cherone, cheekily titled “Van Halen 3″ tanked, and ticket sales were pretty horrible too. Without question, the Cherone-era is a black mark on the history of one of the biggest bands in the world.

At least Van Halen fans knew what they were getting when they bought tickets to the Cherone-era shows. Back in 1980, Yes fans got a huge surprise when they discovered that the Yes they were seeing in concert that year was minus lead singer Jon Anderson. After having helped establish Yes as one of the biggest bands of the 70’s, Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman exited the band, leaving Chris Squire, Alan White, and Steve Howe to figure out what to do next. The answer came in the form of the Buggles, a duo consisting of singer Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes, hot off a worldwide hit single called “Video Killed The Radio Star” (I think you’re familiar with it). Whereas the two of them were simply interested in offering one of their favourite bands a song to record, the remaining members of Yes actually asked the Buggles to join! After some thought, they agreed and wound up recording the 1980 album Drama. And while that one remains one of the most consistent and appealing albums in the Yes catalogue, a hidden gem combining both punk, pop, and prog, if you will, at the time Drama was poorly received. The tour, which had gone on sale prior to the formation of the new line-up, was a success in North America, where Yes performed before sold out crowds who seemed to have no problems accepting a new lead singer. In Europe however, things didn’t go nearly so smoothly. Fans rejected Trevor Horn as singer and would often shout out for Jon Anderson throughout performances. Once the Drama tour was completed and it became clear Horn wasn’t interested in continuing on, the band went their separate ways.

 Of course there have been other failed experiments. Motley Crue canning Vince Neil and hiring John Corabi was a total failure (even if I did like Hooligan’s Holiday myself). Does anyone even know the name of the guy who replaced Sebastien Bach in Skid Row? And though I did enjoy “Summertime in the Void”, the first single from I Mother Earth with their new singer Brian Byrne after Edwin left the band, they were never able to capture their momentum again. Oh, and the less said about Boston carrying on these days without Brad Delp the better. 

Can you think of any other failed singer experiments? Or ones that really worked out well? Let me know, and then use SINGER for your weekend bonus code.