Namesakes #173: The Streets

Welcome to the feature George likes to call "Bands With The Same Name". I hope he can cope with it appearing on a Wednesday this week rather than a Tuesday.

Bono once said that the Streets have no name. Well, here's just one more reason why you're a birk, Bono. The Streets do have a name. It's The Streets. D'oh. And all the artists below have got together to prove you wrong. Let's rise up against Bono and reclaim The Streets!

STREETS #1

Calling out around the world! And we start dancing in the streets with a Belgium punk band with a bit of a reggae vibe in 1978.

Streets – Police Control

 

STREETS #2

Val Doonican had a #39 chart smash in 1967 with the song Two Streets. Perhaps he was singing about our Number Two Streets - this American country pop trio active in the very early 80s. They changed their name to Nightstreets after this, which I’m presuming was their debut.

Streets - Love In The Meantime

 

THE STREETS #3

Next street over, we find a Finnish rock band from Turku in 1980. Their biggest / only hit (this one) featured in Mika Kaurismäki's 1982 film Arvottomat.

The Streets - Kestääkö Siivet

 

STREETS #4

Our Positively Fourth Street today is this band formed in Atlanta, Georgia in 1982, featuring some bloke from Kansas and some other bloke from City Boy. Singer Steve Walsh later went back to Kansas.

Extra points for the class early 80s video.

Streets - Everything is Changing

 

THE STREETS #5

Street Tuff guys next - these New York rockers from 1985…

The Streets - Hard Rock Cafe

 

THE STREETS #6

When Mike Skinner arrived on the scene in 2002 with his acclaimed debut album, Original Pirate Material, he looked like he’d walked straight out of Grange Hill. Nowadays he wouldn’t look out of place in Albert Square. He is clearly a man of The Streets, and a rare crossover act who appealed to both fans of the UK garage scene and the indie kids. As a teenager, he built a recording studio in a cupboard in his bedroom – and I guess he never looked back.

The Streets - Has It Come to This?

S.T.R.E.E.T.S. #7

And now we're going down to alphabet street - where every letter counts. These loud Vancouver punks crashed onto the scene a year after Mike Skinner’s first offerings.

S.T.R.E.E.T.S. – Blackout

THE STREETS #8

“Alternative, Progressive, Post-Hardcore band from the Chicago suburbs.” Began their street-life in 2012.

The Streets - March Of The Monopolists

THE STREETS #9

And finally, an “experimental” band from Ithaca in 2013. Not the Greek Island, but the New York Ithaca where Cornell University is located. I doubt you’ll waste any time sleeping while listening to this…

Streets - Time You Waste Sleeping

Which is your Coronation Street - and which is just a Dead End?