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Thread: Biggest Band That Never Toured?

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Biggest Band That Never Toured?

    This might make for an interesting discussion. What is the most famous band than never played live, or never played outside their home city or state?

    i just heard "Homeward Bound" by Simon & Garfunkel, which is about the loneliness of being on the road for long stretches. I know some bands never toured, for that reason. At least I think so? Is it a career-limiting decision?

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Blue Vino

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    Why would a label sign a band that doesn't play live?

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    The Beatles sold a few LPs after deciding not to tour.

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    Not a band (notwithstanding John Lennon's 'favourite American group' comment!) but Harry Nilsson springs to mind. Played very, very few concerts at all throughout his entire life. Yet there was a time in the early 70s that he was a pretty big deal.

  6. #6
    << What is the most famous band than never played live, or never played outside their home city or state?>>

    Alan Parsons Project never toured during their original existence. Parsons put together a touring version of the band in the late 90's (I saw them open for Yes), but during the entire time they were shit hot in the late 70's/early 80's, I believe they never toured.

    That's the only one I can really think of. Steely Dan toured behind their first couple albums, at the behest of the record company, and of course, have toured more recently, since the mid 90's.

    Did Mike Oldfield ever actually tour, or did just do isolated "big events", eg the occasional festival gig or something like the Edinburgh Castle performance?

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    Oldfield only started touring in his own right in the late 70s (see the Exposed album). He'd gigged with other artists though. With Tubular Bells there were very few shows to accompany it. Don't think there were any for Hergest Ridge or Ommadawn.

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    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    Did the Kooper-Bloomfield-Stills Super Session band ever tour?
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

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    Parrots Ripped My Flesh Dave (in MA)'s Avatar
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    Did the T. Wilburys ever tour?

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    I recall reading about some famous female singer-songwriter -- was it Janis Ian? Carole King? -- who had such bad stage fright that she couldn't perform in public.

    The Grass Roots was a studio band, made up of whichever studio musicians P.F. Sloan needed for his songs. Only after he'd had a few hits did they put together a touring band -- not the musicians who played on the hits though.

    Did DEVO tour very much?

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    The Archies

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    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    Oldfield only started touring in his own right in the late 70s (see the Exposed album). He'd gigged with other artists though. With Tubular Bells there were very few shows to accompany it. Don't think there were any for Hergest Ridge or Ommadawn.
    Right, I remember reading that after the Tubular Bells live shows, he decided performing live wasn't for him. I knew he had done some live work later on, I knew about the Exposed live album, and I believe there's a video floating around of him playing at a big festival, and then in the late 80's, I remember seeing the Edinburgh Castle concert on TV. I just wasn't sure if he had toured, as such, ie gone on the road for weeks or months at a time.
    Did the Kooper-Bloomfield-Stills Super Session band ever tour?
    Not that I've ever heard. I always had the impression that Super Session was basically literally just a jam session in the studio. Then Kooper and Bloomfield took it to the stage with the Live Adventures Of... double album, but that's got a different rhythm section on it.
    Did the T. Wilburys ever tour?
    I thought I read once that they were planning a tour before Roy Orbison passed away.

    Did DEVO tour very much?
    Yes, they did. Toured regularly during the late 70's and early 80's.

    <<The Grass Roots was a studio band, made up of whichever studio musicians P.F. Sloan needed for his songs. Only after he'd had a few hits did they put together a touring band -- not the musicians who played on the hits though.>>
    There were more than a few "bands" like that, where a record producer would cut something with a bunch of studio musicians, put a name on the group, then if/when the record took off up the charts, the producer would assemble a group of musicians who had nothing to do with making the record.

    The Archies
    Kinda hard to go on the road when your "band" consists of cartoon characters.

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    Member Steve F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post

    Did DEVO tour very much?
    Yes.
    Steve F.

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  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    The Beatles sold a few LPs after deciding not to tour.
    That was after they were signed.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    I recall reading about some famous female singer-songwriter -- was it Janis Ian? Carole King? -- who had such bad stage fright that she couldn't perform in public.
    Not those two. You may be thinking of Carly Simon who has stage fright issues and has rarely toured.

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    Oh No! Bass Solo! klothos's Avatar
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    Sheriff

    I think its pretty amazing for a band smack in the prime of the video-age to have a song re-released and go all the way to #1 on Billboard's Singles charts without a video, tour....or even a band

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by pb2015 View Post
    Not those two. You may be thinking of Carly Simon who has stage fright issues and has rarely toured.
    Or Laura Nyro.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post

    The Grass Roots was a studio band, made up of whichever studio musicians P.F. Sloan needed for his songs. Only after he'd had a few hits did they put together a touring band -- not the musicians who played on the hits though.
    Wow, didn't know that. They played at my middle school in '69 or '70 but I didn't go to see it.

    Someone correct me if they did tour 30 years later, but my entry is KLAATU.
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  20. #20
    Ad Infinitum.
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

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    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    << What is the most famous band than never played live, or never played outside their home city or state?>>

    Alan Parsons Project never toured during their original existence. Parsons put together a touring version of the band in the late 90's (I saw them open for Yes), but during the entire time they were shit hot in the late 70's/early 80's, I believe they never toured. e?
    Alan Parsons Project was the first to come to my mind as well. Although they were hugely popular for a while, Parsons did not put the “Live Project” together until after he and Eric Wolfsen had parted ways, and the Alan Parsons Project was history. I don’t believe Parsons and Wolfson appeared live on stage together. That first tour that Parsons conducted did contain a lot of Alan Parsons Project regulars, but with Wolfson not involved it was not really the same thing. Over the years the Live Project has evolved into Parsons with a bunch of unrelated sidemen.

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave (in MA) View Post
    Good call!
    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear
    Or Laura Nyro.
    Yeah, that sounds like who I was thinking of.
    Quote Originally Posted by Wikipedia
    In 1967, Nyro made her second of only two major live appearances, at the Monterey Pop Festival. Although some accounts described her performance as a fiasco that culminated in her being booed off the stage,[11] recordings later made publicly available contradict this version of events.

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    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by klothos View Post
    Sheriff

    I think its pretty amazing for a band smack in the prime of the video-age to have a song re-released and go all the way to #1 on Billboard's Singles charts without a video, tour....or even a band
    Similar story with Blanket of Secrecy, come to think of it.

  24. #24
    I saw Mike Oldfield at the tower theatre in the early 1980's as he toured for an album that had I think a remake of a Hall and Oates song? and his touring band had at least one member of Brand X with him and Pierre M on the Drums....he did the one side of Tubular bells as well. He never toured after that in the US since

  25. #25
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Mike had stage fright too, according to a documentary I saw. He did some hypnotherapy or something to overcome it.

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