No-one took up the mantle

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financeguy

financeguy

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During the ZOOTV phase, there were two more or less concurrent tours that were probably of equivalent size and extravagance - Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones. But significantly, both bands were of relatively advanced age (Pink Floyd have not released an album since 1994, and sadly one member has since died), whereas U2 were still only in their early thirties with a brace of decent albums ahead of them - Pop, Zooropa and NLOTH. (Some would add ATYCLB and HTDAAB but I cannot comment on this, as I have not listened to these albums.)

In the late 1990's, Bono mentioned how disappointed he was with regard to the Verve splitting as he thought they had the capability, the talent and the drive to take up the mantle.

Does anyone seriously think bands like the Kings of Leon or Snow Patrol are going to be equivalent to U2 in the years ahead? Sorry, but I don't.

Republic of Loose? Great band, but they will always be an acquired taste for a discerning audience, IMO, more of Velvet Prunes than a U2.
 
The nature of the music industry has changed too much. It's too fragmented, there are too many subgenres and specialties, indie bands we never would have heard of 15 years ago are now promoting themselves online. U2 really are the last of the rock stars.
 
Like it or not, Coldplay has the best chance of approaching that stature. And some would even say that they've already taken the mantle from U2.

And Miley's got a pretty good shot at it, too.
 
GirlsAloudFan said:
Like it or not, Coldplay has the best chance of approaching that stature. And some would even say that they've already taken the mantle from U2.

And Miley's got a pretty good shot at it, too.
Click to expand...

I think Coldplay is as famous/reknowned as they're going to get, they've now plateaued. But yes, I do think that they're the closest we've got now, but even they are far from the stature of U2.
 
Last of the rock stars indeed. The days of the rock "supergroup" are dead. U2 are like that last T-Rex, looking skyward, wondering what the big orange coming toward him is.
 
Coldplay is one of the few bands last with the possibility of doing large stadium tours in the future - but they'll have to change their style up a bit, like U2 did between TUF and TJT. That's not necessarily a good thing - I prefer TUF to TJT by miles and miles. I honestly think there's a much better chance that they'll confine themselves to arenas. I've seen them in an arena, and they really did an excellent job, but their music hardly begs for a larger venue.

Although, once I start my band, we'll take the world by storm and keep it in our grasp.
 
GirlsAloudFan said:
Like it or not, Coldplay has the best chance of approaching that stature. And some would even say that they've already taken the mantle from U2.

And Miley's got a pretty good shot at it, too.
Click to expand...

Miley Cyrus? :lol:

@financeguy: are you serious when you say you have not listened to ATYCLB and/or HTDAAB ? :hmm:
 
GirlsAloudFan said:
Like it or not, Coldplay has the best chance of approaching that stature. And some would even say that they've already taken the mantle from U2.
Click to expand...

I will admit there are a couple of songs that I have heard from these guys that are ok not earth shattering I have to go out & buy their CD kinda good

IMHO

I could take Chris Martin a whole lot better if he did not act like a termite in a yo yo onstage

LOL
 
I really thought it was gonna be Radiohead, but they took a different path (a good path, IMO). Bono/Edge expressed disappointment over Kid A/Amnesiac, if I recall, which is interesting and perhaps telling.

I'm not a Coldplay hater, nor a huge fan, but it is a little sad to accept that they are one of the biggest bands on the planet. I can't even articulate why, really, outside of the great bands out there who make music I like better who have 1/10th the popularity, if that. But that's the nature of the industry, I suppose.

But, yeah, to echo a few of the posters in here, I think the era of having a group with mega-popularity on the scale of U2's or of great band's past might be over.
 
I like a few Verve albums. I think a lot of people wish the Stone Roses could have kept themselves together, but, damn, that was so long ago now that I chide myself for even going down that path.

I'm waiting for the Oasis hooligans to saunter on in here and explain things to us.
 
Coldplay played Rogers Centre recently in Toronto, but the venue was 1/4 empty. I'm not sure why they didn't sell all the available seating. Maybe they cannot draw a stadium crowd as U2 can.

I honestly don't think there will be another younger band that will have such a draw as U2 does today.
 
No spoken words said:
I really thought it was gonna be Radiohead, but they took a different path (a good path, IMO). Bono/Edge expressed disappointment over Kid A/Amnesiac, if I recall, which is interesting and perhaps telling.
Click to expand...

The way I remember it, Bono was trying to encourage Radiohead to get back on the radio. Something about his belief that a great voice like York's and great music like Radiohead's needed to be out there, talking to everyone.

Knowing Bono, he was also defending U2's own choice to 'reapply for the title of biggest band', but still, he wasn't disappointed in the music, but in Radiohead's decision to go more or less 'underground'.
 
subnet said:
Coldplay played Rogers Centre recently in Toronto, but the venue was 1/4 empty. I'm not sure why they didn't sell all the available seating. Maybe they cannot draw a stadium crowd as U2 can.

I honestly don't think there will be another younger band that will have such a draw as U2 does today.
Click to expand...


Out of curiosity, for weeks after those tickets went on sale, I checked to see what was left, and I always came up with really great seats. And Coldplay didn't sell seats behind the stage, correct?

Meanwhile, U2 sold out 2 stadium shows, full seating and GA in around 45 minutes or so.
 
Montrose said:
The way I remember it, Bono was trying to encourage Radiohead to get back on the radio. Something about his belief that a great voice like York's and great music like Radiohead's needed to be out there, talking to everyone.

Knowing Bono, he was also defending U2's own choice to 'reapply for the title of biggest band', but still, he wasn't disappointed in the music, but in Radiohead's decision to go more or less 'underground'.
Click to expand...

That sounds right, actually, the part about burying Thom's voice. That still sounds like expressing disappointment to me, though.
 
by the sound of things, the Killers don't have a shot. They interviewed for The Hour (a CBC show) and mentioned their devotion to Erasure as a band they look up to.
 
Who do you think was the last band of U2's stature to fall off? Even if they experienced their heights for a brief moment. Would Metallica be on that list? They were HUGE for a while there. I kidded around earlier, but Oasis were, at the very least, England's biggest and possibly best band for a bit, and they did not lack for American popularity either, cannot speak for global popularity.

So, who was the most recent band to reach the stratosphere and then fall off? Or is that irrelevant?
 
No spoken words said:
Who do you think was the last band of U2's stature to fall off? Even if they experienced their heights for a brief moment. Would Metallica be on that list? They were HUGE for a while there. I kidded around earlier, but Oasis were, at the very least, England's biggest and possibly best band for a bit, and they did not lack for American popularity either, cannot speak for global popularity.

So, who was the most recent band to reach the stratosphere and then fall off? Or is that irrelevant?
Click to expand...

I kind of think it's irrelevant because part of what makes U2's career so phenomenal is their longevity. Not that any band would necessarily have to have a 30 year career - or that we'd have to wait 30 years - to declare that another band has hit U2's heights. But I think it ought to be sustained over multiple albums, and for at least a decade, if I had to pick an arbitrary length of time, with no signs of letting up.


For what it's worth, I don't think The Killers have a shot, either. I can't see them rising much beyond where they are now. And as for Metallica, I don't think they were ever there, they didn't have that widespread appeal, beyond hard rock audiences. Oasis I'm less sure about, but if pressed, I'd have to say that they didn't have quite the popularity in North America (not sure about the rest of the world) that they should have had.
 
No spoken words said:
Who do you think was the last band of U2's stature to fall off? Even if they experienced their heights for a brief moment. Would Metallica be on that list? They were HUGE for a while there. I kidded around earlier, but Oasis were, at the very least, England's biggest and possibly best band for a bit, and they did not lack for American popularity either, cannot speak for global popularity.

So, who was the most recent band to reach the stratosphere and then fall off? Or is that irrelevant?
Click to expand...

Didn't R.E.M. achieve massive popularity around the Out of Time/Automatic For The People era? They certainly fell off, in terms of stature. Just throwin it out there.
 
No spoken words said:
So, who was the most recent band to reach the stratosphere and then fall off? Or is that irrelevant?
Click to expand...

REM.

I can't think of any more recent examples. Simple Minds were as big as U2 in the 80's, now they are a niche band for their fans and few others are even aware they still exist. Depeche Mode aren't as big as they used to be, but they're still pretty big.
 
i would say rem, but they have faded out. back to cult status. i think even more underground then radiohead. last 2 albums have done nothing commercially. and the last 2 albums before that barely when gold. last album before that did go platinum, but that was after the huge run of automatic/out of time/monster.
But where do the red hot chili peppers stand in all of this? cause when you look at it you can't leave them out of "last of the rock stars" thing. They have never tasted failure after they made it big. The last 5 albums have been all hits, with BSSM and CALI being huge. (oh sorry did i revert to my rhcp mesaage board ways by using a acronym for their albums,lol). The are have been around for 25 years to u2;s 29. 3 of the 4 band members were born a year or two after the u2 guys were born. The 4th member is almost 40. So they are younger but its a insignificant difference. Do they carry any of the mantle? i know the coldplays/killers/johnny come latelys have been compared to u2 and no ones really being compared to the chili peppers but they are part of this. They have a sound thats big and can fill a stadium. they have anthems.

oh on a related note, if you go the main chili peppers board, you will find many topics concerning their one hot minute album. The one that dave narravo played on. It seems some people love it, some hate it. The source of such turmoil between members. It also was seen as "disappointment" despite going platinum. And they seem to have, a problem with long time fans not being to thrilled with the chili peppers 2000's work. GEE WHIZ DOES ANY OF THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? LOL NAH, WHAT ARE THE ODDS. LOL.
 
REM is probably the closest, with the widespread appeal and critical acclaim. But, as you pointed out - the fall off.

Simple Minds weren't that big in North America, and Depeche Mode didn't really have mainstream appeal, at least not here.
 
dan_smee said:
The Killers have a shot. People here may be disgusted by that, but some say the same about U2.
Click to expand...

I do disagree with you Dan:reject: but let me say only b/c I personally feel U2are in a different hemisphere than anyone past present or future but I know I am biased

I recently got Only By The Night from the library & I really like every song on that CD so does my wife

The lead singer has a voice similar to someone from back in the 70's or 80's but we just can't think of who:hmm:
 
Edit: MaMa Mia Dan forgive me I must be half asleep:doh:

I am sure you already see my huge mistake

LOL

I was thinking of KOL when I read The Killers

Dustland Fairytale:up:

Only song I like by them
 
After the Vertigo tour, for several months, whenever I'd wear my Vertigo shirt out and around, I'd literally have strangers stopping me, saying that they tried desperately to get tickets, they would have loved to have seen them, asking how I got tickets, and being stunned to hear that I went to all four Toronto shows. Literally, every time. These people were from all age groups, all walks of life. When I crossed the border to see them, the patrol guard asked why we were coming over - then he said he'd have to confiscate our tickets. I must have looked horrified, and then he started laughing and said he wanted them for himself, so he could go to the shows.

Stuff like this, I've never experienced that with another band, ever. Other bands simply don't cross genres and age groups the way that U2 do.
 
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