"Annette and Frankie went to junkie beach. Lots of smack was so close to reach."
Lead Singers and guitar players often hog the glory from their counterparts. Some musicians are content to just remain in the shadows. Here are some members of hugely popular bands who may not be recognized by their own fans. Oh, and if I forgot anyone, that just makes an even better case for them, doesn't it?
Every Judas Priest Drummer
Priest are clearly the inspiration for Spinal Tap's vanishing drummers.
They've gone through so many journeymen and hired guns in their career that their drummers are not even credited as being part of the official band. I'll bet that, as Judas Priest's drummer you aren't allowed to ever travel with, or speak to the rest of the band. and you have to ride in the back of the trailer with the equipment.
Let's take a look at each of them left to right, top to bottom.
Priest are clearly the inspiration for Spinal Tap's vanishing drummers.
They've gone through so many journeymen and hired guns in their career that their drummers are not even credited as being part of the official band. I'll bet that, as Judas Priest's drummer you aren't allowed to ever travel with, or speak to the rest of the band. and you have to ride in the back of the trailer with the equipment.
Let's take a look at each of them left to right, top to bottom.
John Ellis - First Priest drummer (1969-1970) appears on no albums.
Alan Moore - (1971, 1975-1976) - Two stints,once in pre-Halford era for one year, then came back and appeared on "Sad Wings of Destiny."
Chris Campbell - (1971-1973) Appears on no albums pre-Halford. Rocked a mean afro.
John Hinch - (1973-1975) Also simultaneously served as the band's driver and road manager, yet probably got only one paycheck. Sounds like a bad idea to me. Appears on "Rocka Rolla"
Simon Phillips - (1977) Session musician and future "Toto," member played on "Sin After Sin."
Les Binks - (1977-1979) No relation to Jar Jar. Nice "69" jacket, Les. He wasn't actually band's 69th drummer, it stands for something else. Appears on "Stained Class," and "Killing Machine."
Dave Holland - (1979-1989) Didn't spontaneously combust or die in a bizarre gardening accident but is now a convicted sex offender after allegedly raping a mentally ill 17 year old boy, to whom he was giving drum lessons . Nice work, Dave. Appears on; "British Steel," "Point of Entry," "Screaming For Vengeance," "Defenders of the Faith," "Turbo," and "Ram It Down." No comment.
Scott Travis - (1993-present) My math skills are bad but hasn't this guy held out the longest? He appears on; "Painkiller," "Jugulator," "Demolition Angel," of "Retribution" and "Nostradmus." I hope nothing bad happens to the poor guy.
Izzy Stradlin
I've always thought the job of rhythm guitarist, unless you're also the singer in the band, is pretty bunk. Izzy was content to sit back, smoking and sneering, wearing his floppy hat, while Slash smoked and sneered and wore an even bigger hat. I'll admit Izzy wasn't completely invisible and most GNR fans know his name (possibly more than Steven Adler) but that's mostly cause he had a cool nickname. The most notable thing Izzy ever did was leaving Guns N Roses. I'll bet that if Slash wasn't holding that sign that said 'Where's Izzy?" during the, "Don't Cry" video, hardly anyone would have noticed that he wasn't there.
MC Ren
It's bit more difficult to be invisible in hip-hop. DJ's are more behind the scenes than MCs but since rappers don't generally play instruments, MC's usually go unnoticed only when they suck. Case in point; MC Ren. One of the great things about NWA was how the aggressive delivery and lyrical skills of the"crazy motherfucker name Ice Cube meshed perfectly with the malevolent chirp of Eazy E, "the brutha that'll smother your mutha." Ren didn't have a very remarkable delivery and unmemorable lyrics. Ren's verses are are usually the parts of the song where you can get up for a quick piss break. His solo career fizzled and he didn't really even have a very cool rap name. I always wondered if he should be rollin' with MC Stimpy.
Maybe it's just me that always forgets about him. One of the two scraggly looking guitar players that book-ended Lemmy in Motorhead throughout the 80's and 90's. Wurzel joined at the same time as Phil Campbell and the two shared lead duties pretty much equally. They were both great players but I never harshly nerded-out on the subtle nuances of their lead styles like I have with, say, Iron Maiden. As a result I have no idea when he's playing. Oh well. It was really Wurzel leaving that brought more attention on Phil Campbell. If Phil had been the first one to leave, I'd have trouble remembering who he was.
I know what you're saying; "A keyboard player? Doesn't he deserve to be forgotten?" You're absolutely right. I have no argument for that, only that this guy is one of the two remaining original members of Genesis. Name someone from Genesis... Go ahead ...
Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford ( Mike + The Mechanics anyone?) Peter Gabriel, etc etc,
Tony Baloney here is one of only 2 constant members throughout the band's career (Rutherford is the other). Still ... who cares?
Former guitarist for "The Police," when the other 2 guys got famous, after awhile, Andy could hardly get arrested by the police. It's hard to go unnoticed in a 3-piece and but I guarantee twice as many people remember the name Suzanne Sommers as Andy Summers. I'll let you in on a little secret and tell you Andy's not even his mom's favorite member of the Police (she's more of a Sting fan.)
Benjamin Orr
Ben was not only The Cars' bass player but a frequent contributor to their songwriting and lead vocalist on many tracks, including the hit "Just What I Needed." I was actually floored the first time a friend of mine told me it wasn't Ric Ocasek who sang that one. If you're like me you had no idea who the hell he even was.
Bill was always lurking in the background with his creepy stare and weird page-boy haircut. One might even imagine Bill to be slightly retarded. Learning about his sexual proclivities, Bill is from the Gene Simmons/Wilt Chamberlain "C'mon into this broom closet with me," school of romance. At the age of 53, he married an 18 year old girl, whom he'd been dating since she was 13. His son later became engaged to her mother. Figure that out.
Or is it Brad Hamilton and Tom Whitford? I always mix them up. The 2 members who compose Aerosmith's supporting cast are seemingly happy to hang out in the background while Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and even Joey Kramer take a larger portion of the spotlight. Tom plays the role of attention-shy bass player to a tee while Whitford is seemingly content doing all the heavy lifting, banging out the chords as Joe Perry takes centre stage with lead duties. It should be noted that neither have contributed as much in terms of songwriting compared to the "Toxic Twins," which may explain why these "Tepid Twins," seem content just to be there.
Cliff Williams
Cliff is, for me, the ultimate invisible member. I think even Cliff might forget to mention himself when asked to name the members of AC/DC. Rhythm guitarist Malcolm young keeps a low profile on stage but is a major songwriting contributor and frequent interview subject. Mr. Williams can't even make the claim the title of, "Most Recognizable Bass Player With The First Name Cliff In A Major Rock Band."Too bad, I would have thought he'd have locked that up for sure.
Cliff has stayed with the band so long, in part I imagine, just because the rest of the band really didn't notice he was still there. The cover photo of Highway to Hell says it all for me. Can you notice Cliff? Way at the back? On his tippy-toes, peeking over Phil Rudd? The defense rests, your honour.
Cliff has stayed with the band so long, in part I imagine, just because the rest of the band really didn't notice he was still there. The cover photo of Highway to Hell says it all for me. Can you notice Cliff? Way at the back? On his tippy-toes, peeking over Phil Rudd? The defense rests, your honour.
