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    Big in Romania

    Every year at this time the biggest town in this region celebrates its "town days" - the town's name being Sepsi SzentGyörgy / Sfantu Gheorghe, will explain why it's at this time of the year, though they tend to time it close to the holiday on May 1st. Among other things during this week long festival there is a weekend of pop/rock concerts in the main square. This features lots of bands that none of you will have heard of from both Hungary and Romania. The headline act every year however tends to be a band from a western country who have not been heard of (in the west) since the 80s. There are a surprising number of such bands who seems to make a living touring here (and I presume elsewhere in Eastern Europe). Last year, for example, it was Nazareth. I don't think I've ever heard anything by Nazareth, but I do remember their existence. Same goes for Uriah Heep who were the headliners a few years back. Two years ago it was Bonnie Tyler. This year's stars are Alphaville, a German pop band, who you may remember (you will only possibly remember) for their only hit "Big in Japan" (to be honest that's the only thing they're known for here too, but that record does got played an awful lot on the radio)

    It's almost reached the point where it's my first sign of spring, waiting to see which obscure missing-presumed-dead act they will have on. I really am waiting for the year when they have CC Catch, someone the vast majority of you will never have heard of (with the possible exception of G-Man), a Dutch German singer who I dunno, was maybe famous in Gerrmany for half an hour in 1983 or something, but still gets talked about here.

    #2
    I like this sort of thing - being in corners of Europe and seeing bill posters for acts you didn't realise were still around.

    I remember Third Rate les Bleus being in some very rural bit of Italy a few years ago for a (car, not political rally) and stumbling over an open air concert featuring Spagna - though in that case of course the artist was local.

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      #3
      I saw Scorpions in Tirana once - 2002, I think.

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        #4
        Originally posted by ad hoc View Post
        Alphaville, a German pop band, who you may remember (you will only possibly remember) for their only hit "Big in Japan"
        I'd make a case for Forever Young being fairly well known, albeit arguably due to the cover by Youth Group that gained some traction due to being used on one of those American teen dramas about a decade ago.

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          #5
          I'd agree with Forever Young being the more evergreen of their prodigious output.

          Romania's North American equivalent would have to be the casino circuit. It's amazing how often you'll roll past some godforsaken casino with the glittering marquee announcing that Huey Lewis & The News are playing on Saturday night. I'd imagine there's a pretty healthy living in it.

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            #6
            Although apparently Huey Lewis is not touring right now because he can't hear whether he's in tune. The weird things you learn...

            But you're right about the casinos. A quick look at one of our local casinos has the summer line-up including: Peter Cetera, Loverboy, Little River Band, Eddie Money and Three Dog Night...

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              #7

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                #8
                Two original members isn't bad by the standards of still touring glam stomp bands (there are versions of Sweet and The Glitter Band that can only muster one each). Also Noddy Holder's complete lack of interest in returning to the stage makes his absence easier to live with.

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                  #9
                  Nazareth had a fair clutch of hits in their time - and from where I'm sitting, their ripping hard-rock cover of Joni Mitchell's This Flight Tonight would've justified their entire existence on its own.

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                    #10
                    The B side of Big In Japan is ace.

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                      #11
                      I always thought that the singer sounded like a 99p-Store Robert Smith.

                      (Judging by that sleeve photo, his band didn't exactly rock the most original look, either. They seem to have survived a crash involving the combined wardrobes of Spandau, Big Country and Teardrop Explodes.)

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                        #12
                        Red Box - yes, them - have had two number one singles in Poland in the last ten years, according to a citation-free sentence on Wikipedia.

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                          #13
                          Do Slade on their own represent the 'Britská rocková invaze' or is there a series?

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Benjm View Post
                            Two original members isn't bad by the standards of still touring glam stomp bands (there are versions of Sweet and The Glitter Band that can only muster one each). Also Noddy Holder's complete lack of interest in returning to the stage makes his absence easier to live with.
                            This is true. But, if Noddy isn't singing, it's really not Slade.

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by San Bernardhinault View Post
                              Although apparently Huey Lewis is not touring right now because he can't hear whether he's in tune. The weird things you learn...

                              But you're right about the casinos. A quick look at one of our local casinos has the summer line-up including: Peter Cetera, Loverboy, Little River Band, Eddie Money and Three Dog Night...
                              And a quick look at mine shows that Human League and Adam Ant (and Tom Bailey of the Thompson Twins, separately) are coming, and Psychedelic Furs have just been, so make of that what you will.

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                                #16
                                If there are 'versions' (pl) of Sweet doing the rounds - as indeed I believe that there are - then they'd pretty hard-pushed to feature more than one member of the classic line-up, tbf.

                                See also: Mud.

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                                  #17
                                  The annual Retro Futura tour of NA includes all the usual (or at least 'understandable') suspects, and then something called The Outfield. I don't think I turned the radio off between 1981 and 1989 and I have no clue who The Outfield are.

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                                    #18
                                    I think they are a collaboration between Outkast and Leftfield.

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                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by Gerontophile View Post
                                      I think they are a collaboration between Outkast and Leftfield.
                                      And The The

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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by WOM View Post
                                        The annual Retro Futura tour of NA includes all the usual (or at least 'understandable') suspects, and then something called The Outfield. I don't think I turned the radio off between 1981 and 1989 and I have no clue who The Outfield are.
                                        Voices of Babylon was their big hit iirc, I seem to remember they were called something different in North America as well.

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                                          #21
                                          "Your Love" in the US.

                                          The rare English band that was more successful over here (without coming close to a Number One)

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                                            #22
                                            Originally posted by WOM View Post
                                            The annual Retro Futura tour of NA includes all the usual (or at least 'understandable') suspects, and then something called The Outfield. I don't think I turned the radio off between 1981 and 1989 and I have no clue who The Outfield are.
                                            British band that were utterly ignored here - but seemingly embraced by everyone bar your good self on that side of the Atlantic.

                                            Outfield had a Billboard Top Ten hit called Your Love in 1986 that I don't think I've ever knowingly heard in my life. (Their debut album apparently went 3x platinum in the US.)

                                            They never scraped the Top 75 here, so feel free to file alongside Naked Eyes, The Fixx, Wang Chung and After the Fire under 'Early 80s UK Faux-New Wave Bands That Could Barely Get Arrested At Home'.

                                            (Apologies for slight cross-post, ursus...)

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                                              #23
                                              Originally posted by Vicarious Thrillseeker View Post
                                              I saw Scorpions in Tirana once - 2002, I think.
                                              John Newman when I was there on Albania Day in 2016.

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                                                #24
                                                Originally posted by Jah Womble View Post
                                                They never scraped the Top 75 here, so feel free to file alongside Naked Eyes, The Fixx, Wang Chung and After the Fire under 'Early 80s UK Faux-New Wave Bands That Could Barely Get Arrested At Home'.
                                                Modern English too - 4AD band who had a freak 'hit' with I Melt With You - it didn't trouble the high end of the singles chart as such but was a 'modern rock' radio staple and they must have cleaned up on licensing it for movies and adverts.

                                                And a few years later The Escape Club, reportedly the only UK band to have a US number one without charting at all in the UK.

                                                Actually we've probably done these before on another thread.

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                                                  #25
                                                  Add When In Rome to the "bigger in America" list.

                                                  I would have said Real Life as well... turns out they were Australian.

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