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Big name Brits that didn't crack the US


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A reference to Cliff got me briefly wondering for a few secs why he never cracked the US.  With his  Christian wholesomeness I'd have thought he'd have gone down a storm south of the Mason Dixon line. There of course have been scores of others who've been a big deal in Blighty but who couldn't sell out a venue the size of your average public toilet in the US. Has it  been down to laziness, singing funny like, sounding too English (never stopped the Beatles), what I wonder?

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1 hour ago, Barking Spiders said:

With his  Christian wholesomeness I'd have thought he'd have gone down a storm south of the Mason Dixon line. 

Nah. Old Cliff may have the required religiosity, but he's too, well, nice. You need to be a bit more crazed about your beliefs to be popular with god botherers in the deep South (and preferably be partial to shooting anything that moves).

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The nub of the thread is not so much who failed to crack it but WHY. Bands like Madness, Blur and The Jam are very English sounding, perhaps too much so while Brit bands who don't sound typically English are maybe be more successful. Then again a lot of Brit bands haven't been prepared to put in the hard slog of touring small town USA so people dont get to hear of them

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46 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

The nub of the thread is not so much who failed to crack it but WHY. Bands like Madness, Blur and The Jam are very English sounding, perhaps too much so while Brit bands who don't sound typically English are maybe be more successful. Then again a lot of Brit bands haven't been prepared to put in the hard slog of touring small town USA so people dont get to hear of them

I would have thought mid 70’s Quo would have gone down a storm, especially in the southern ‘boogie’ states. Maybe they had enough bands of their own doing that over there though?

Robbie Williams because he’s a bit of a pink torpedo? 😂

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The Smiths... I THINK. There's of course a dedicated following all over the world now, but at the time I don't think they were really that massive across the pond. Certainly nothing to the extent of their UK fame, with constant coverage, the New Morrissey Express, and all that. 

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The Kinks were banned from the US from '65 until '69, possibly for punching out a TV exec. 

It did rather stuff their career in the Land Of The (cough) Free but it left them at liberty to ponder matters pertaining to village greens, dead end streets, South London sunsets and alcoholic circus performers in quite a satisfactory manner. 

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10 hours ago, geoffbyrne said:

Most Septics I know/have met thought Robbie & Robin Williams were the same & couldn't believe he had anything to do with singing.  Those who lived here & knew better were of the usual mixed opinion of mixed personal preference.

G.

You can get drugs for that!

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