Asnyou can imagine, I’ve had a bit of time on my hands of late, and so I’ve spent a fair bit of it on Spotify.

Exploring some Led Zepplin brought to mind the Honeydrippers – a band born of Robert Plant’s desire to do some rythym & blues work. Yet with only a 4-song EP to show for their efforts – all of which were covers – they didn’t ultimately produce much.

Then there was the Travelling Wilburys. Superb band with an amazing line-up, and songs that they both wrote and have since stood the test of time.

Wings might be mentioned for Band on the Run, but nothing much more; and besides: it was just an extension of Paul McCartney as opposed to it being an interesting change of musical direction.

Finally, there was the Passengers, made up of U2 and Brian Eno, whom nobody remembers, and whose output – while ostensibly different to U2’s normal output – was pretty much just a name given to the work Eno was doing with the band anyway.

Are there any other ‘secondary’ or ‘alternative’ bands you can think of that represent a different direction for the artist(s) involved, and are worthy of note – either because they were so good OR so bad?

Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. Big Audio Dynamite. Very few of their songs have withstood the test of time. Although I liked it at the time.

Pantera completely re-invented themselves, going from a sort of hair/glam-metal thing to ‘groove metal’ (everyone loves pigeonholing, right?). I always thought it was weird to do that rather than just start a new band.

I think the obvious ones would be The Three Johns from The Mekons and Chris and Cosey arising from Throbbing Gristle. Pretty much thread closed 😉

Teh Quo!

Psychedelic Floyd-a-likes to three chord greebo-mongers!

Rotten from Sex Pistols to PiL?

Weller from The Jam to Style Council to his solo stuff?

Joe Strummer in B.A.D.? You sure?

Primal Scream, totes lame indie band to psychedelic dancey stuff?

Joe Strummer in B.A.D.? You sure?

Aye.

One album only though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._10,_Upping_St.

I always thought it was weird to do that rather than just start a new band.

The beastie boys started out as a hardcore punk band before moving to hip hop, then late on put out an album of Jazz Funk instrumentals. All without any name or line-up changes bar there being a girl in the band when they first started.

Good call on Weller. I forgot about his ‘migration’.

David Bowie reinvented himself on each album

Madonna, Kylie and Fleetwood Mac spring to mind.

“Durran Durran” and Powerstation..

Durannies were ostensibly pop, talented and crafted writing but when they ditched L A Bon they became honed and slick. Thier talent manifested itself in pure Pop/Rock and arguably a better direction that the blandness of the “Durran Durran” middle years.

Never quite understood why Powerstation didn’t continue to stratospheric hights..

Seasick Steve

A Perfect Circle, started as a Tool side project and now seem to be quite successful as a band in their own right. Seasick Steve completely reinvented himself, which has cropped up a few times on here.

Chris Cornell deserves a mention for his solo stuff being different from Soundgarden / Audioslave and he seemed to be looking to take his solo stuff in an interesting direction before his death.

edit – 1 minute too slow on Seasick Steve

Madonna + 1.

Utter brilliance from her for decades now. I’m not a great fan and my favourite track by her is a cover. Nobody comes close to being able to reinvent herself like she has done and I fully expect we will hear from her again in the future.

Massive Attack went from producing this, which had the atmosphere of a great summer night out at a club with your mates…

Straight to this, which had the atmosphere like you’d just been dragged out of said club by the bouncers then taken down a back alley and had the shit kicked out of you..

Primal Scream, totes lame indie band to psychedelic dancey stuff?

There’s a great documentary on the making of Screamadelica, which was basically a last gasp hail mary before they sank without trace

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010v8kh

(you can find it in bits on youtube still I think)

+1 for Fleetwood Mac.

Back in the day a lot of bands went from pop to heavy in order to cash in on “underground” music and get cred. Some renamed, some not (e.g. Simon Dupree and the Big Sound -> Gentle Giant).

Cash did it a number of times!

Great call on Madonna. Beautifully illustrated, quite literally, by this tweet from 6 Music when they did a Madge day not long back

Which @Madonna are you?

Join @laurenlaverne and the @BBC6MorningShow team from 10am BST for a tribute to the Queen of Pop at 60. Listen worldwide https://t.co/Dd2jiJ2Nvt#Madonna60 #HappyBirthdayMadonna gif by our pals @BBCFour pic.twitter.com/9nwCt0NGBZ

— BBC Radio 6 Music (@BBC6Music) August 15, 2018

What about Terry Hall from the Specials? The Specials to Fun Boy Three, then lesser known tracks from memory with Dave Stewart and then a random album with rapper, Fundamental, Damon Albarn and some Polish gypsies.

Or as much as it pains me, Cliff Richard from 50’s “Elvis-lite” to terrible christmas records.

I wouldn’t include Bowie or Madonna, because they were always fluid and doing lots of things.  But definitely not Madonna, cos she was always pop.

I’m going to say Dylan.

Kraftwerk were a an experimental rock / psyc. jam band.

Radiohead were a cheesy top fourty rock band

Katy Perry was a christian rock singer I think?  Now she likes to melt your popsicle etc

Sorry, but that’s rubbish Molls! Are you saying pop music doesn’t evolve? That its somehow inferior to more ‘proper’ music?

Madge re-invented herself because she constantly read what was coming next, judged the cultural mood, then got the writers, muscicians and producers on board to collaberate with on her next project and make it commercial. She’s been consistently ahead of the game.

I’d say that makes her ten times more valid as an artist than a lot of the shite that gets talked about in hushed tones

Massive Attack went from producing this…

…Straight to this

Not quite straight to, Protection came in between.

Joe Strummer in B.A.D.? You sure?

I always thought that Strummer was co-writer/co-producer only on that record, nit sure he appeared as an artist. I bought it the other day…you’re right, it’s not aged well!

The beastie boys started out as a hardcore punk band before moving to hip hop, then late on put out an album of Jazz Funk instrumentals.

Was this the In Sound from Way Out compilation, or have I missed one?

I’ll submit PWEI – their first EPs we’re grebo garage pop

And who can forget Sub Sub and how they turned out in the end!

In sound from way out and they did a second one who’s name escapes me. Beck should be on the list too. The difference from Odelay to Morning Phase is pretty big. Both excellent albums though.

Sorry, but that’s rubbish Molls! Are you saying pop music doesn’t evolve? That its somehow inferior to more ‘proper’ music?

No idea where you got either of those from. Of course it evolves, but SR is talking about a complete step change.  Madonna continued making pop, it just evovled and changed.  A re-invention would have been if she’d come out and done hard rock or folk or something; a change to a completely different genre.

Madge re-invented herself because she constantly read what was coming next, judged the cultural mood, then got the writers, muscicians and producers on board to collaberate with on her next project and make it commercial. She’s been consistently rubbish.

And I ain’t no anti-pop snob, I’ve just never liked Madonna.

Primal Scream, totes lame indie band to psychedelic dancey stuff?

Massively – to Paliament funk to US rock n roll roots to electro whatevers.. etc!

Documentary about their “lost Memphis tapes” that was supposed to be their next release after Screamadelica is on Sky Arts next week some time.

The Damned as well – early punk 3 minute machine gun nutters, to pomped out psychedelic hideousness, goff etc, (on to a bunch of old granddads tribute band to themselves). I watched the Damned docu the other day and what a sad sight it was.

I’ll submit PWEI – their first EPs we’re grebo garage pop

Pwei were consistent in that they were a steaming pile of crap throughout.

Prodigy

The Shamen

Pink Floyd

Edit: Poppies were great – way ahead of their time. My mate used to share a house in Brum with Clint back in the day and also the drummer from Napalm Death! Good times.

Everything but the Girl made a bit of a move from indy to EDM style.

Kings of Leon went from being a lo-fi arty alternative band to stadium rock.

Arguably Bruce Springsteen. Started out as an average singer songwriter on the first few albums before hitting on the now recognisable e-street band sound.

Neil Young.

Ministry.

Anathema.

Was this the In Sound from Way Out compilation, or have I missed one?

“The Mix Up” from  2007 – which as a title sounds like it would be a compilation but it was all new material

Also

Nick Cave

Jacknife Lee

Johnny Cash

T(yrannosaurus) Rex

Depeche Mode

Human League

Norman Cook

Sub Sub and Doves were the same band, weren’t they?

The great Joni Mitchell – from wistful folky arty stuff to full-on jazz?