They did? Wow. Never would have guessed. I would guess that if we looked at the U.S. top 40 lists from the last couple decades, there are probably a lot of one-hit wonders in the lower halves of those charts whose names few will know or remember and could never actually draw anyone if they decided to tour today. That's where I would think Lindisfarne falls.
All I'm saying is that I (like probably most of us) get into a lot of music conversations with a lot of different people at different times (being a travelling professional musician has stepped that up for me!). I always bring up VdGG (my fave band) and a lot of people know who they are (many don't, but one would be surprised at how well known they are for being a British underground avant band). That may have to do with us getting all the British rock mags here in the States at Barnes & Noble and other outlets, and Hammill/VdGG getting good coverage in all the major British rags (and being part of the 'prog' scene, which is having a resurgence; Lindisfarne isn't categorized as part of any scene as such). Where VdGG could tour the States playing clubs and small theaters for anywhere from a couple hundred people to a thousand (in NYC and L.A. if they could ever get there, and bigger crowds in parts of Canada) a night, Lindisfarne would garner no interest and not be able to do it. Maybe I'm wrong about that. It's just that no one I've talked to knows who they are, and I love talking about the Six Bob tour and how bewildering it is that Genesis opened for VdGG at one point in time (people will be hugely surprised by that, and also not have known who Lindisfarne is when I bring them up in that context.... but I acknowledge that that's hardly scientific proof of their obscurity here I guess!!).
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