Some bands connect with their audience in a huge way. They create music which speaks to our hearts, or minds, our dancing feet, our souls. Some bands do all that and more.
And then there are The Others.
One thing I've learnt while doing this feature is that if you pick a band name that starts with The followed by a common noun, and you find one that doesn't immediately spring an obvious chart act to mind... chances are you'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to Namesakes.
Here are a bunch of bands called The Others. Other bands called The Others did exist, but I couldn't find them on the tube of you.
THE OTHERS #1
The year is 1963 when our first group of Others got together, releasing one single the following year (a cover of a Bo Diddley song that would later be recorded by the Shadows of Knight). After that, the young band members came under increased pressure from their parents to quit mucking about with guitars and go back to school to finish their A Levels. Much to the disappointment of one of their schoolmates, one Brian Harold May, who said they were, “very much in the same class as the Yardbirds”.
THE OTHERS #2
Our next Others came from Rhode Island, USA, in 1964 and were heavily influenced by the British Invasion. They hung around for a couple of years then called it a day.
THE OTHERS #3
These Others came from Lancaster in 1966... Lancaster, California, not the one just down from Morecambe.
Pretty standard 60s fare, but I like the guitar sound.
THE OTHERS #4
From the other side of the world, these Aussie Others started out with the single below in 1966... but also appear to have been active in the 80s, 90s, and early 21st Century. That's commitment!
THE OTHERS #5
Meanwhile, in Ulefoss, Norway, 1967 brought us The Others' cover of a song by The Pretty Things. I originally thought this was an instrumental until I listened more closely. They've got the lead singer pretty low in the mix.
THE OTHERS #6
Annoyingly catchy French mod/psych 1968. I'm surprised this wasn't a hit. That's not necessarily a compliment.
THE OTHERS #7
Cheery Irish pop band who came together in the late 60s and managed to stick it out through most of the next decade. The tube of you informs me that this track "is a cover of a 1968 single by a band called Sky which also didn't chart". Sky will no doubt feature on a future edition of Namesakes...
THE OTHERS #8
I'm guessing these guys were British and they definitely released this in 1975. Beyond that, make up your own stories.
THE OTHERS #9
The sound of Hartlepool punks circa 1978... or Birmingham Reggae, if you prefer.
THE OTHERS #10
Washington State rockers with their sole release from 1983.
THE OTHERS #11
Also in 1983... Joel Agnew was a Reverend at The First Church Of Rock And Roll, a legal Universal Life Church in Fremont, California. I guess this is how he greeted his parishioners on a Sunday morning...
THE OTHERS #12
Italy. 1993. Pfff.
THE OTHERS #13
"Italian 60's garage beat psych band from Rome, active in 1989-2002." I take this to mean that they were a 90s band who decided to pretend they were living in the 60s. They did a pretty good job of it, listening to this...
THE OTHERS #14
US Emo types who emerged from their bedrooms in the late 90s and crept back in to put their heads under their pillows once the millennium was out of the way.
THE OTHERS #15
Arriving on the scene in 2002, the heyday of Landfill Indie... were these guys any different to the others filed in that genre? The NME said yes, giving them 8/10. Q said no, calling their debut record, "the worst album of the year".
THE OTHERS #16
Discogs tells me, "22 Pistepirkko is a Finnish popular music band formed in 1980. The name "22 Pistepirkko" means a 22-spot ladybird." In 2006, the band released an album of covers, calling themselves The Others.
I did check, and there were no other bands named after a 22 spot ladybird.
THE OTHERS #17
London Dubstep producer Alex Crawford called himself The Others from 2007 onwards, even though there's only one of him. Discogs informs me he "used to be a duo" though.
Nothing unobjectionable about #1 to 3, but nothing memorable. I liked the frantic #4 song. 14 to go.
ReplyDeleteThose cheery irish boys should have been strangled at birth, jesus that song is bloody annoying
ReplyDeletesomehow #8 is worse, I'm giving up the will to live just listening to it
ReplyDeleteAre you sure #1 to #4 are not all the same band? Plenty of things here that are OK, nothing stands out though.
ReplyDeleteNot according to discogs... which I understand is unimpeachable as iffypedia.
Deletethe promising riff of #9 did not result in a good song. #10 is amateurish drivel, and there seems to be 40 seconds of silence in that video. #11 might feature on Downloads vol. 218, it's the best track so far. I am beginning to fear for my sanity listening to #12 because I find myself liking it.
ReplyDeleteI think #16 will be the best track. Your descriptions of 17 and 18 do not hold the promise of anything good. And of course #17 is beyond annoying. Tediously annoying. Thankfully #18 is only 79seconds. So it's #16 for me, followed by #11
ReplyDeleteYour dedication to duty is commendable as always, George.
DeleteGeorge may wish to note that #16 have a 'name your own price' EP under their day job name on Bandcamp:
Deletehttps://22-pistepirkko.bandcamp.com/album/thanks-a-free-download-ep