Another British solo act that was possibly the biggest in the world for a short time would be Peter Frampton from the time Frampton Comes Alive blew up until he committed career suicide with the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band movie, which was big blow to his “serious rawk” credentials
They’re not the biggest band in the world unless your mom has heard of them.
Radiohead??? Nope.
Yeah. I recall when there former record label was intent on putting out a Radiohead - Greatest Hits album, Radiohead themselves pointed out that they never really had anything resembling a ‘hit’ 
ZZ Top of all bands would often have radio ads for their tours billing themselves quite literally as “the greatest rock & roll band in the world.”
The Clash billed themselves as “the only band that matters”, even after “Combat Rock” when they really didn’t matter any more.
Yeah, never really been sure how big Bowie ever was.
Led Zeppelin
They spent a good part of the early 70’s breaking attendance and box office records
In every music thread on here, somebody always jumps in to say “Rush”.
Biggest act in the world? Most of the world has never even heard of them. I am a music lover and I had never heard of them until joining this board.
I am sure they are super and all, but they were never the biggest anything in the anything.
Rush has had an admirable career but it’s preposterous to say they were ever the biggest popular music act in the world. You’d be hard pressed to convince me there was ever a time when they were in the top five.
I can think of very few answers to the question I’d absolutely stand behind, but there are a few:
Elvis
The Beatles
Michael Jackson
U2
That’s about it. That’s not to say I’m placing these four acts as the biggest ever; it’s just that there have been times when there was no one transcendent act. And I’m not sure about U2.
Let me ask you this; who was the biggest act in music in 1973? Led Zeppelin? Maybe… but Elton John was huge, too. (If I am not mistaken, Elton John is in fact the top selling artist of the 1970s, save possibly ABBA.) Stevie Wonder was a crossover smash hit. Pink Floyd were putting out amazing music. The biggest songs were “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye and “Free Bird” by the Southern guys. There’s not really a clear cut winner to me, the way the Beatles are in 1967, or Michael Jackson is in 1983.
Of course, there’s always someone who right now for a few months is the shiznit; Katy Perry in about June of this year was on the radio more than dials. But I think the OP is asking about legitimate, towering greatness, not just flavours of the month.
Heh - I’m wearing my Rush 2008 Snakes & Arrows tour shirt right now!
Rush is like BASF. Do you remember those BASF ads from a few years ago that said, “We don’t make a lot of the things you like. We make a lot of the things you like better.” I think the idea was that they’re an R&D company that comes up with innovations that improve other companies’ products. Sure, a lot of people don’t know Rush. But they know a lot of huge bands whose members cite Rush as a primary influence or inspiration. I’m not famous nor am I likely to ever be, but hearing Geddy Lee is the whole reason I decided to become a bass player. In the same way, there are countless artists who got big in the '90s and '00s who were inspired in their youth by Rush. Off the top of my head I can think of Tim Commerford, the bassist from Rage Against the Machine, and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, and I’ve seen quotes from many others citing Rush and/or its individual members as a primary force in shaping their musical development.
I liked what Jack Black said in the Rush documentary, “Beyond the Lighted Stage” (paraphrased from memory):
“Every band gets a bottle of Awesome when they start out. Some bands use up that bottle all at once. Some bands make that bottle last for a few years. Rush’s bottle just keeps pouring and pouring.”
Ah, here’s that Jack Black clip: - YouTube
Rush never had any traction outside Canada and the US, I’ve only know of them as a name through their various champions in “Best X Ever” threads, and I couldn’t name any of their songs or albums.
:dubious:
I’d say Elvis. Seems to have the most credible overall sales data.
:smack::smack::smack:
I’d throw The Supremes in the mix and, also, does the black guy have to be the first to mention Fleetwood Mac?
No love for The Who? They were certainly in contention for the title during their prime years with Moonie.
From my era (late 70s-80s) there were a bunch. And it changed from week to month to year. Typically dependent on a massive tour, a top ten or number one hit, and massive video airplay.
I’d put forth:
Elton John (70s)
Led Zeppelin (70s)
Eagles
Pink Floyd
Fleetwood Mac (Rumours era)
Lionel Richie (Can’t Slow Down)
Michael Jackson (Thriller - Dangerous era)
Madonna (various moments throughout the 80s)
Duran Duran (around the time of Seven and the Ragged Tiger, massive worldwide and lots of MTV airplay)
The Police (around '83-'84 with Synchronicity)
U2 (took the mantle from The Police around '86)
George Michael (Faith era)
INXS (Kick era, '87-'88)
Guns 'N Roses (right at the time of Use Your Illusion I & II)
The Jacksons (Victory Tour '84)
Journey
Oasis
Prince (Purple Rain, '84 or so)
R.E.M. (Out of Time, '91)
Rolling Stones (every time they busted out with a world tour)
Tears For Fears (Songs from the Big Chair - yeah you forgot this, but that album was huge everywhere)
Van Halen (around '84)
I’m sorry Rush fans, given the OP’s definition, I don’t think you can include them in this list. They’re pretty much a North American phenomenon. I never once heard Rush as a kid living in the UK.
I think if you add the Rolling Stones onto the list, this is pretty much it, until the 90s at least. I pretty much lost track of pop music after the mid 80s, so I couldn’t comment much about more recent bands. I’m not sure about U2 either, because they weren’t huge until later, but I’ve probably heard their name more than any other band since the mid-80s.
I’d also have to add Phil Collins after Face Value in the 80s. Again, everyone forgets but dude was massive.
Probably a US-only phenomenon, but remember Huey Lewis and the News’ Sports? That album was everywhere in the early 80s.
Oh, I’m not claiming they were ever the “biggest in the world”, I was just responding to somebody’s comment. Though Geddy Lee jokingly stated that Rush is the world’s biggest “cult band”. Though the “outside Canada and the US” thing … did you miss the comment above about how they played to their biggest audience ever in Sao Paulo, Brazil? The boys themselves were utterly astonished to find this Brazilian (actually, people came from all over South America to attend the concerts in Brazil) audience — in Sao Paulo and at the other Brazilian venues they played — singing along to every song … even the instrumentals. They had absolutely no idea they were so popular there.
I agree 
They toured in the UK early in their career, and then some prominent rock critic/journalist there latched on to Peart’s Ayn Rand-inspired lyrics and declared that the band members were fascists/nazis (something the Jewish Geddy Lee, whose parents were Nazi concentration camp survivors, found quite offensive), and it kind of killed their European presence for a long time.