hooky_lowdown Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Buddy Holly & the Crickets Sex Pistols Pixies These may seem like a random choice of bands, but each had a seminal impact and influence on 'rock' music. 😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vantagepointrocks Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Status Quo – first band I bought an album by and the one I listened to during the years before music became an obsession. Huey Lewis & The News – bought their Hard at Play album in 1991 and music became everything, ZX Spectrum & Sega Master System lost their appeal, and playing sports was no longer the be all and end all. Iron Maiden – Got Fear of the Dark in 1992 and heavy metal became my way of life, got a guitar and the idea of being in a band was formed, and has continued on since then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 It's quite an interesting challenge, to limit it to three - I've been forced to whittle down some of my usual "favourite artist" choices, and triangulate them with the furthest reaches of what I like to listen to and/or play. Here goes: The Who The easy choice, for me. They've been a firm favourite since I was about 14/15. I didn't know a huge range of bands at the time, but there was something very visceral about their music which clicked with me. Quite crucial for not only expanding my preconceptions about what one could do with a bass guitar, but also serving as a gateway drug to a lot of the "classic", psychedelic, prog, and other types of "rock" which I explored in my teenage years. Hooverphonic After a steady diet of The Who, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind, Deep Purple, etc, etc, I reached a point where, like so many greasy, long-haired teenagers, I'd convinced myself that I didn't like anything which didn't fit within the umbrella of rock/blues/jazz, and so was deeply sceptical of anything which sounded electronic or "too poppy." However, at the same time, XFm (which was still worth tuning into back then) was slipping the odd bit of trip-hop or ambient music in amongst their regular menu of indie, punk and grunge. Groups like Goldfrapp, Ladytron and Zero7 found chinks in my self-imposed armour, but I think it was Hooverphonic that helped me to get over myself, and accept that a well-written song can be good even without elaborate displays of musical virtuosity. Tom Waits I was an undergrad, living in halls. I had a friend there with whom I'd occasionally swap CDs - we had rather different tastes and enjoyed challenging each other. One day he passed me a copy of Rain Dogs and said, "I can't really get on with this one...but I think you might enjoy it." By the time I'd fully explored that album, any remaining prejudices I might have had about music not being guitarry enough, or whatever, had been marched out back and shot. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Slade - made me notice music. Hendrix - made the top of my head come off. Soft Machine - made me realise it isn't just tunes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyP Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 (edited) No.1 - Has to be The Beatles, especially their early stuff - never did get the fuss over Sgt. Pepper. No.2 - Probably the Beach Boys for that West Coast summer sound also echoed by The Association. No.3 - Then Spanky & Our Gang who were very much of their time but I still love their albums. Edited February 18, 2020 by LeftyP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBass Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 1. The Beatles - my mum and dad played them when I was a little boy. Their music is a massive part of my life and means a lot to me. If I could only listen to one band for ever it would be The Beatles 2. The Clash - the first band I discovered on my own. Everything about the excited me, and still does to this day. Paul Simonon is the reason I picked up a bass guitar. I wish I’d seen them live. 3. Billy Bragg - I first heard him on John Peel in the summer of 1983 when I was 14. I was enthralled, got a guitar and learned some chords. BB showed me that I could write songs, that I could relate to, and I didn’t need a silk suit or a Fairlight to do it. My punk moment, if you will. There are many bands that have inspired and mobilised me, many whose music has made a deep impression, but those three are the most defining, for me, 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 As an aside, the first bass player I noticed was Kelly Groucutt. The first band I really got into was ELO and at some point I realised you could listen to a song focusing on different instruments and that's how I discovered basslines. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 (edited) Amazing how many of these bands we have in common. For me it’s... 1) The Beatles. As a wee nipper my (much) older brother, Alfie, had The Beatles Complete and we’d sit on my bed with him bashing away on his guitar singing our hearts out to those tunes... 2) Thin Lizzy. An influence nicked from my brother Brian - specifically Jailbreak and Johnny the Fox. Lizzy were my first proper gig back in 81, with Snowy in the band. 3) ELO. One of my first “my own bands” when Out Of The Blue came out and still an all time fave. Honourable mentions: The Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, Gordon Giltrap, Horslips - all introduced to me by Brian too. Rush I discovered on a school geology field trip. Yes I took a punt on with a £3.29 pocket money splurge... after some initial scepticism I never looked back. Edited February 19, 2020 by TrevorR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: As an aside, the first bass player I noticed was Kelly Groucutt. The first band I really got into was ELO and at some point I realised you could listen to a song focusing on different instruments and that's how I discovered basslines. 11 years gone today! Sad loss. Loved his playing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Can't narrow it down to 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I have never taken much notice of the 'popular' side of pop music, so none of the singles bands have had any impact on me, neither did I get punk or heavy rock. The music that I listened to some 45 years ago is what I still listen to today, so my defining bands would have to be Gong, Can, and The Grateful Dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 20 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: The first band I really got into was ELO and at some point I realised you could listen to a song focusing on different instruments and that's how I discovered basslines. Me too, though I'd heard a ton of artists on the radio and seen them on TOTP by the time I started really listening to music 'properly' by the mid 70's they were probably the band I focussed on most as 'my' band. I think the first albums I bought with my own money was the blue box set containing the On The Third Day, Eldorado and Face The Music albums though that was a bit of a backtracking exercise as I'd already heard New World Record by then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I came in at Out of the Blue, and went backwards through the catalogue (including the box set). Stayed for Discovery but Horace Wimp and then Xanadu was too much to bear... I like the recent double live album, nostalgia fest! I keep meaning to get 'The Night the Lights Went on in Long Beach' - for at least forty years.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudewheresmybass Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Whitesnake maiden sabbath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Impossible to limit it to three. So far, I've very little in common with the rest of the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 5 hours ago, MacDaddy said: Can't narrow it down to 3. What was the first music you really liked that was solely your choice and not your parents. Maybe the first single (depending on your age) or even album. Did you ever buy an album that changed your style of listening or a band that you continue to like to this day lie Rush for me. Just a few helpful tips to focus the mind and see what you come up with. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I was thinking about this thread the other day, and I realised if I go right back to when I was small (infant school age), my biggest musical influences would have been the harmony vocal bands I heard on the radio and loved, such as Simon & Garfunkel and The Beatles, the Jazz my dad played daily at home (Ellington, Basie, Kenton, Parker, Miles etc etc), and the hymns we sang at school. If you mix them all together, it pretty obvious why I ended up loving Prog so much.😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 The first band that really caught my attention were a-ha back in 1980 something, then it was Iron Maiden and later on, Rush. There we are then. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 24 minutes ago, 4000 said: I was thinking about this thread the other day, and I realised if I go right back to when I was small (infant school age), my biggest musical influences would have been the harmony vocal bands I heard on the radio and loved, such as Simon & Garfunkel and The Beatles, the Jazz my dad played daily at home (Ellington, Basie, Kenton, Parker, Miles etc etc), and the hymns we sang at school. If you mix them all together, it pretty obvious why I ended up loving Prog so much.😉 I remember listening to my Mums records back in 60's. Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, Bands like Platters had amazing vocal harmonies. I did have a great connection to her Music from the Greek Islands album and to this day Greece is my fav foreign destination. This was one of my fav songs from her singles collection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 (edited) I remember Rolf Harris being number one with Two Little Boys () but don't remember Hendrix being at number 1 with Purple Haze the week after... My mum made me work out and write down all the lyrics to Power to All Our Friends for her. Other things I remember playing on my battery powered record player were Puppet on a String and Eye Level. Edited February 20, 2020 by Stub Mandrel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 We didnt have a lot of disposable income when I was little so it was a small selection of quite eclectic singles and then a bit later full blown LP's of film soundtracks like Dr Doolittle (the Rex Harrison one naturally). After that came the cheap compilations that featured 'soundalike' artists doing the hits of the time. No wonder I ended up in covers bands😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 I need to sleep on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said: I remember listening to my Mums records back in 60's. Roy Orbison, Gene Pitney, Bands like Platters had amazing vocal harmonies. I did have a great connection to her Music from the Greek Islands album and to this day Greece is my fav foreign destination. This was one of my fav songs from her singles collection. I love Greece, have done since as a small child I fell in love with Greek myths and Ancient Greek history. I once had a dream where I died and ended up on a boat off a Greek Island, which was obviously my idea of Heaven. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 39 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said: I remember Rolf Harris being number one with Two Little Boys () but don't remember Hendrix being at number 1 with Purple Haze the week after... My mum made me work out and write down all the lyrics to Power to All Our Friends for her. Other things I remember playing on my battery powered record player were Puppet on a String and Eye Level. Eye Level. I can remember that one. Was that not from a TV detective series Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 22 minutes ago, KevB said: We didnt have a lot of disposable income when I was little so it was a small selection of quite eclectic singles and then a bit later full blown LP's of film soundtracks like Dr Doolittle (the Rex Harrison one naturally). After that came the cheap compilations that featured 'soundalike' artists doing the hits of the time. No wonder I ended up in covers bands😀 Top of the Pop albums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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