National cults of foreign musicians

[Diable Rouge]

With Ireland once again in the death grip of Garth Brookes, what other musical phenomena capture national imaginations, but leave other cultures inexplicably bewildered?

[WOM]

National cults of foreign musicians

Germany and David Hasselhoff.

Probably Canada and The Fixx, too.

[WOM]

National cults of foreign musicians

Japan and Cheap Trick, of course.

Saga were filling stadiums in Germany when they couldn't fill a bar here.

[Toby Gymshorts]

National cults of foreign musicians

Bush in the US.

Why?

(Band or 'Political' family. Arf.)

[Incandenza]

National cults of foreign musicians

Diable Rouge wrote: With Ireland once again in the death grip of Garth Brookes, what other musical phenomena capture national imaginations, but leave other cultures inexplicably bewildered?

Brooks.

But anyway, this is the first I've heard of this. Has he been popular there since the early 90s?

[Borracho]

National cults of foreign musicians

Garth Brooks became colossally huge almost overnight in Ireland around 1993 or 1994. His timing was good. It coincided with the line-dancing craze becoming big here too.

He played three nights at Croke Park in 1997 and sold them out. Admittedly Croker was being redeveloped at the time, but it still added up to 150,000 tickets sold. Those are extraordinary numbers for a country the size of Ireland. It would be like shifting three million tickets in Britain, or 15 or 16 million in the States.

My old man used to have a tape of Brooks' greatest hits in the car and I got to hear a lot of it in the early 1990s. The music wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, actually. Bland and fairly dull, but not out-and-out horrific. If you gave me a stark choice between seeing him at Croke Park or seeing U2 at Croke Park, I'd go for him.

[Borracho]

National cults of foreign musicians

As for the thread, Chris de Burgh sells a lot of records in Germany, and Johnny Logan was quite popular there for a time too. Logan even sang the Ireland anthem when we played Germany in Cologne a few months ago.

Germany appears to be a great place for clasping musical lame ducks to its collective bosom.

[via vicaria]

National cults of foreign musicians

Kenny G has sold a fair bit in the US, but his smooth jazz seems to rub no one up better than it does the Chinese.

[Senyor Pirotecnic]

National cults of foreign musicians

What about Ireland and David Grey? Isn't his White Ladder album supposed to be the best-selling album of all time in Ireland?

[Heliotrope]

National cults of foreign musicians

I remember Spearmint Rhino saying that Love and Rockets were practically unknown in the UK. They weren't huge stars here but were certainly popular in college radio circles back then, and they did have one top-40 hit (actually in the top 10).

Weren't A Flock of Seagulls also not that big in the UK? Though I think that to most people here, it was really all about the hair.

[Reed John]

National cults of foreign musicians

Flock of Seagulls are underrated. Yes, the hair was fantastic but they had at least three really good pop songs.

Diable Rouge wrote: With Ireland once again in the death grip of Garth Brookes,

Really? I thought he'd officially retired.

U2 is probably bigger in the US, even accounting for population size, than they are in Ireland or the UK, but I can't prove that.

Depeche Mode are more popular on the continent than in Britain, aren't they? I think I read that somewhere.

My understanding is that Led Zeppelin were/are a far bigger deal in the US than they were in Britain, but I cannot confirm that.

And of course, Hendrix was big in Europe before he did anything here, but over time that's probably balanced out.

I may be wrong, but the popular history tells us that "bluesy" bands heavily influenced by American blues were more likely to come out of Britain than the US in the 60s. I suspect that might be why Hendrix was able to get going over there first. Plus, over here DJs and promoters probably thought "a black guy will only appeal to black audiences" whereas over there, he would have been seen as "authentic" and appealing to the sort of people into the Clapton and the Animals, etc.

Just a guess.

[Toby Gymshorts]

National cults of foreign musicians

Heliotrope wrote: Weren't A Flock of Seagulls also not that big in the UK?

Not really, although I maintain that 'I Ran' is a fine song.

[George]

National cults of foreign musicians

Reed John wrote: My understanding is that Led Zeppelin were/are a far bigger deal in the US than they were in Britain, but I cannot confirm that.

This could probably be said about most of the big UK Rock acts of that time. Blame the US Classic Rock radio format (which mercifully never existed over here).

[Reed John]

National cults of foreign musicians

What was on the radio in the UK in the mid to late 70s?

People going on about led zeppelin are annoying, but their best stuff is pretty damn good. I've made my peace with that realization.

[ad hoc]

National cults of foreign musicians

Smokie are way way bigger in Central and South Eastern Europe than they ever were even in Bradford, let alone anywhere else in the UK.

Anyone ever heard of C.C. Catch? No I thought not. Down here she/they is/are huge, though as far as I can tell she/they only ever had one song.

[Sundeporino]

National cults of foreign musicians

Chris de Burgh was huge in Brazil.

There was a "Church Of Howard Devoto" in the US at one time which I realise isnt in line with the rest of the thread but is what popped into my head on before opening it.

[Jah Womble]

National cults of foreign musicians

AFOS actually had more (minor) hits in the UK than they did the US, but had a more prominent profile across the Atlantic - mainly down to Mike Score's stupid haircut.

The Fixx are a good shout - absolutely massive for a while in the US, but never had a Top 40 hit in Britain. Also Wang Chung, Naked Eyes and After the Fire - three more British 'new wave' acts that impacted more in America. Other unlikely bands that were bigger there include the aforementioned Love & Rockets, Leisure Process and Modern English.

I've always found it strange how, in the eighties at least, America took to these second-division UK acts that couldn't get arrested at home. Meanwhile, the real quality was largely ignored. (NB I'd exclude Modern English from that - they were good.)

What was on the radio in the UK in the mid to late 70s?

Dross, mostly. There was some good US rock and disco being played, but our charts were otherwise full of nothingy pop in 1975-76, a no-man's-land between glam and punk.

[dalliance]

National cults of foreign musicians

Mid-90s Scottish chancers Bis were considerably more popular in Japan in terms of record sales than they ever were here.

[Jah Womble]

National cults of foreign musicians

Ditto Shampoo, who some will recall for Trouble - their British hit from 1994. Around a decade ago, they were among the UK's top female earners, thanks almost entirely to Japanese popularity.

U2 is probably bigger in the US, even accounting for population size, than they are in Ireland or the UK, but I can't prove that.

I'm not sure about this, to be honest - 35 British Top 10 hits compared to just six in the US suggests otherwise. They remain of course a major albums/live act in America - as they do across much of the world.

Depeche Mode are more popular on the continent than in Britain, aren't they? I think I read that somewhere.

They're still fairly big in the UK and also remain a massive stadium draw in the US - which has always amazed (well, surprised) me. If someone in 1981 had pinpointed Depeche Mode of all bands even to be still around in 2014 - let alone a massive international act - I'd have laughed in his face.

My understanding is that Led Zeppelin were/are a far bigger deal in the US than they were in Britain, but I cannot confirm that.

Again, I'd wager that's the 'live' (or 'ratio') aspect. Led Zep have always been huge in Britain.

[Borracho]

National cults of foreign musicians

Garth Brooks has now sold 240,000 tickets for his three Dublin dates (Croke Park holds a lot more people these days than it did in the late 1990s). Sweet jesus.

I know some folk will have tickets for two or even all three nights, but that figure still equates to just under 5.3 per cent of the population of Ireland.

[MsD]

National cults of foreign musicians

Jah Womble wrote:

Depeche Mode are more popular on the continent than in Britain, aren't they? I think I read that somewhere.

They're still fairly big in the UK and also remain a massive stadium draw in the US - which has always amazed (well, surprised) me. If someone in 1981 had pinpointed Depeche Mode of all bands even to be still around in 2014 - let alone a massive international act - I'd have laughed in his face.

Yes, I'm pleasantly surprised at their success - I bought the first album an'all, but still.

The O2 gig I went to last year was sold out very quickly, and I think they did a few dates - so obviously, still very big here. Very few bands can sell out the O2 quickly.

Marc Almond (whom I adore) has always had a big Russian following, and I'm slightly disappointed he's not speaking out about current events, but I guess he has his reasons. He has a home there, as well as one in London.

Bow Wow Wow were offered Big Money to do a couple of Japanese dates in 2012, and were set to do it, but it didn't happen.

Edit: that was with three out of four original members. "Bow Wow Wow" with Leigh Gorman plus new musicians are now touring.

[Calvert]

National cults of foreign musicians

Quite a few of the shitkickers queued overnight to buy tickets for Brooks' brand of atrocious blandness still refer to him as Gareth Brooks, if a Radio Ulster vox pop broadcast this morning is anything to go by.
I quite like that.
It's like Cliff Richards.

The daughters of the Eoin McLove zombie old ladies are his demographic.

Actually, that's probably a bit unfair to zombies

[Gangster Octopus]

National cults of foreign musicians

MsD wrote: Marc Almond (who I adore)

You're wasting your time.

[MsD]

National cults of foreign musicians

Huh. Have you seen me?

[Calvert]

National cults of foreign musicians

Whom, surely?