# Best UK bands that never 'broke' America **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788 "2018-03-18T17:24:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/61 "2018-03-19T22:05:12Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > [Which BritPop also-rans Kula Shaker rather pointlessly covered.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh7r_f_rw0c) Chuffing LOVED Kula Shaker! They were around at the same as the whole BritPop phenomenon, but they weren’t really of a piece with it. Well, maybe if the whole movement was referencing 60s British pop groups (another debate for another thread!), Kula Shaker were the psych-pop, George Harrison mucking about with sitars, tie-dyed end of it. But Crispian Mills’ way with a guitar was a breed apart from BritPop; I don’t claim he was a latter-day Hendrix or anything, I just mean his style sounded more like a guitar-worshipping Blackmore fan than his peers’ did. And if anyone’s cover of Hush was pointless, I’d say it was Purple’s. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/62 "2018-03-19T22:16:19Z")
Nobody’s mentioned Suede yet: cross-pollinating Bowie and The Smiths was always going to ensure a fairly Anglocentric constituency, but of all the bands of that era, to my ears they’ve lasted the best. And _Dog Man Star_ was a fucking masterpiece: [Asphalt World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLnc4RZLDDU) was Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson’s bid to succeed The Who, and it’s fucking immense. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/63 "2018-03-19T22:19:52Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Nobody’s mentioned Suede yet: cross-pollinating Bowie and The Smiths was always going to ensure a fairly Anglocentric constituency, but of all the bands of that era, to my ears they’ve lasted the best. And _Dog Man Star_ was a fucking masterpiece: [Asphalt World](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLnc4RZLDDU) was Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson’s bid to succeed The Who, and it’s fucking immense. Kind of reminding me, for some reason, what about Teenage Fanclub? I have no idea how big they were in England, but I know they are very well respected in the music world (heck, I remember buying Bandwagonesque back in the 90s even here in the US.) IIRC, I seem to remember them even making a Saturday Night Live appearance, but I can’t ever remember hearing their music on US radio. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/64 "2018-03-19T22:38:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Kind of reminding me, for some reason, what about Teenage Fanclub? I have no idea how big they were in England, but I know they are very well respected in the music world (heck, I remember buying Bandwagonesque back in the 90s even here in the US.) IIRC, I seem to remember them even making a Saturday Night Live appearance, but I can’t ever remember hearing their music on US radio. There was a time when every vaguely hip US band who passed through Glasgow had Teenager Fanclub as support. I think I only actually went to see them headlining their own gig once or twice (plus one gig they did with Alex Chilton which was p cool), but I saw them a _lot_ of times on other bills. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/65 "2018-03-19T22:47:04Z")
Shit, and I just realized I wrote “how big they were in England.” I meant “the UK.” I love their work, but I admit I never explored beyond “Bandwagonesque.” Just quickly looking on [allmusic.com](http://allmusic.com), it seems they’ve got a lot of work worth exploring. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/66 "2018-03-19T22:52:48Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Teenager Fanclub God damn auto-correct :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/67 "2018-03-19T23:03:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I love their work, but I admit I never explored beyond “Bandwagonesque.” Just quickly looking on [allmusic.com](http://allmusic.com), it seems they’ve got a lot of work worth exploring. _Grand Prix_ and _Songs from Northern Britain_ are probably the best after _Bandwagonesque_. Their first album _A Catholic Education_ has some great stuff on it, but the production is ropey as shit. Quite a lot of people have covered the live favourite _Everything Flows_ from that album (J Mascis, Posies, Idlewild, Afghan Whigs) but I have just in the last few minutes discovered [Redd Kross’s version which is great](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrj1u56pZA0) ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/68 "2018-03-19T23:04:26Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > **Gary Numan.** > > 7 top 10 hits and three consecutive #1 albums in the U.K.; known in America only as a one-hit-wonder with that “Cars” song. I think **Thomas Dolby** is in the same boat. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/69 "2018-03-19T23:06:51Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > _Grand Prix_ and _Songs from Northern Britain_ are probably the best after _Bandwagonesque_. > > Their first album _A Catholic Education_ has some great stuff on it, but the production is ropey as shit. Quite a lot of people have covered the live favourite _Everything Flows_ from that album (J Mascis, Posies, Idlewild, Afghan Whigs) but I have just in the last few minutes discovered [Redd Kross’s version which is great](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrj1u56pZA0) Oh, sweet! Redd Kross is also one of my favorites! ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/70 "2018-03-19T23:07:34Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Kind of reminding me, for some reason, what about Teenage Fanclub? I have no idea how big they were in England, but I know they are very well respected in the music world (heck, I remember buying Bandwagonesque back in the 90s even here in the US.) IIRC, I seem to remember them even making a Saturday Night Live appearance, but I can’t ever remember hearing their music on US radio. They were big in Scotland and were championed by the UK music press during the britpop era, but despite this and having a long and productive career, they’ve only scored one UK top 20 hit. I never heard a lot of their stuff, but I couldn’t get in to them myself, there just seemed to be lots of more exciting bands around at the time. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/71 "2018-03-19T23:09:16Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > They were big in Scotland and were championed by the UK music press during the britpop era, but despite this and having a long and productive career, they’ve only scored one UK top 20 hit. I never heard a lot of their stuff, but I couldn’t get in to them myself, there just seemed to be lots of more exciting bands around at the time. Interesting. I always wondered how they managed to snag a gig on Saturday Night Live. I mean, I was appreciative, but it seemed a bit out of left field. ETA: Just for fun, I decided to check out the five bands before and after them on SNL (Season 17): MC Hammer James Taylor Nirvana Robbie Robertson and Bruce Hornsby & The Range C&C Music Factory Teenage Fanclub Red Hot Chili Peppers Garth Brooks En Vogue Pearl Jam Annie Lennox OK, some of those are really dated now, and very US-centric, but I have no idea how Teenage Fanclub ended up there. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/72 "2018-03-19T23:09:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Kind of reminding me, for some reason, what about Teenage Fanclub? I have no idea how big they were in England, but I know they are very well respected in the music world (heck, I remember buying Bandwagonesque back in the 90s even here in the US.) IIRC, I seem to remember them even making a Saturday Night Live appearance, but I can’t ever remember hearing their music on US radio. I think their name held them back; the first time I heard it, I assumed they were a manufactured bunch of teenyboppers. But yeah, _great_ power pop band: I always loved the intro to [Star Sign](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw49UgKoZnQ). ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/73 "2018-03-19T23:12:43Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > **Gary Numan.** > > 7 top 10 hits and three consecutive #1 albums in the U.K.; known in America only as a one-hit-wonder with that “Cars” song. To be fair I think Numan dined out in the UK a lot on his early work, everyone remembers his first two hit singles (Are Friends Electric? and Cars), but the others not so much, despite the fact he had significant chart success. Even Numan himself has been disparaging of his work after his initial success. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/74 "2018-03-19T23:16:19Z")
And I know that _Psychocandy_ had all the cool feedback and drone, but for a pair of Scottish smackheads, the Jesus and Mary Chain just wrote [great fucking pop songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXn1gZOk1kk) too. And the world could die in pain, and I wouldn’t feel no shame, as long as it had that filthy chiming William Reid guitar sound. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/75 "2018-03-19T23:17:22Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > They were big in Scotland and were championed by the UK music press during the britpop era Slightly pre-date the britpop era, and their influences were not really the same. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/76 "2018-03-19T23:19:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, some of those are really dated now, and very US-centric, but I have no idea how Teenage Fanclub ended up there. Friends with Kurt and Dave from Nirvana, who they met via Eugene from The Vaselines. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/77 "2018-03-19T23:22:46Z")
Loving this. I came to Teenage Fanclub through Big Star. I have their greatest hits album - the name is the number of seconds recorded - and really enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/78 "2018-03-19T23:23:02Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > And I know that _Psychocandy_ had all the cool feedback and drone, but for a pair of Scottish smackheads, the Jesus and Mary Chain just wrote [great fucking pop songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXn1gZOk1kk) too. And the world could die in pain, and I wouldn’t feel no shame, as long as it had that filthy chiming William Reid guitar sound. _Psychocandy_ had such an impact on me and my peers at school. From there you can go back to the VU, and then everything is laid bare. Ah, such days… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/79 "2018-03-19T23:26:33Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Friends with Kurt and Dave from Nirvana, who they met via Eugene from The Vaselines. OK, that makes some kind of sense. I kind of came to Teenage Fanclub via Nirvana via The Vaselines as well. But it seems really oddball for such a mainstream show and still seem a bit odd-man-out. I can’t see Nirvana having _that_ much a pull on who shows up on SNL. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788/80 "2018-03-19T23:27:04Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > And I know that _Psychocandy_ had all the cool feedback and drone, but for a pair of Scottish smackheads, the Jesus and Mary Chain just wrote [great fucking pop songs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXn1gZOk1kk) too. And the world could die in pain, and I wouldn’t feel no shame, as long as it had that filthy chiming William Reid guitar sound. [And now I have to listen to the entire _Darklands_ album again.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNAvlzBKqck) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-uk-bands-that-never-broke-america/810788.md?page=5)