Chrissie Hynde?
I first saw comedian Kelly Monteith on his eponymous BBC comedy show when it was shown here on PBS. I’m assuming he was bigger in the UK since he never got a show here. I did see him on the Tonight Show a couple of times.
I hear Ben Bailey was much bigger in the UK than the US. He was mostly unknown until Cash Cab but work a lot overseas.
Good one.
Patricia Highsmith
Until he got imported back when Whose Line got an American version, Greg Proops was Not Very Well Known in the US, but he toured in Europe, and did a number of BBC shows.
Murray had a big hit in America with “One Night in Bangkok” from the musical Chess but it wasn’t the breakout single in the UK; instead, it was “I Know Him So Well” (sung by Elaine Page and Barbara Dickson IIRC).
Trivia: Murray Head’s brother is Anthony Head, famous for being Giles in Buffy (and for some popular coffee ads in the UK).
There’s a bar in Budapest we call the “Manowar bar”, I think it’s called Mamaris. Inside is a shrine to Manowar, with a LOT of pictures of the bar owner, a relatively short man, with the group.
I always took it to be the likes of Manowar toured more in the eastern block than some other groups, so the choice being due to limited bands. However, hearing that they are big in Germany, it makes more sense…
She’s pretty well-known in the US.
I was thinking of people like Seasick Steve, who, when he appeared on Top Gear, I (and presumably many other Americans), thought, “Who the heck is that?” Unknowns in their own country, in other words.
Gyrate writes:
> Murray Head’s brother is Anthony Head, famous for being Giles in Buffy (and for
> some popular coffee ads in the UK).
And the coffee ads were remade in the U.S. with the same couple for the equivalent coffee.
The Kansas City band The Rainmakers can’t get arrested anywhere else in the US - but is huge in Norway. I’ve seen it myself, when the original members got back together and I webcast their concert and most of the viewers were from Norway.
I was a big fan of The Rainmakers in college and met them at a party after they played at The University of Alabama in 1989. I had written a review of their album for the school paper and assured them it was a positive one. I didn’t know they were big in Norway, glad to hear they’re getting some recognition. I still have a Rainmakers T-shirt somewhere.
The pop-dance singer Anastacia (who you may remember having survived a battle with breast cancer) is far more popular in Europe than the U.S, as you’ll see in the linked article.