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Artists who were naff and stayed naff

Started by ajsmith, June 15, 2015, 05:50:19 PM

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Gulftastic

I like Il Divo only because I like to think that their name translates as 'The Divs'.

Crabwalk

Quote from: Blue Jam on February 12, 2018, 07:53:19 PM
Come to think of it: horrible novelty records, childrens TV tie-ins, naff pop/classical crossovers- was Mike Batt the proto-Simon Cowell?

Bit harsh! Although prone to intense naffness and ropey Svengali-ism, he is an undeniably talented songwriter and arranger. The Wombles theme tune is wonderful, 'Bright Eyes' is widely beloved, and he provided truly incredible orchestral arrangements on XTC's 'I Can't Own Her' and 'Greenman'.

The artistic peak of Cowell's career will literally be his death.



Bobtoo

Quote from: George White on February 12, 2018, 05:29:16 PM
There was also either Escala or Cascada, can't be bothered to google, who were on Britain's Got Talent, and were the exact same, yet being hailed as "unique". They even did a James Bond theme medley.

Quote from: Blue Jam on February 12, 2018, 06:47:22 PM
Thing is, you could easily find a string quartet that plays popular stuff by putting "wedding bands" into Google. I know Simon Cowell knows fuck all about music but as someone with a knack for creating hits rather than good records, surely even he can spot unoriginality?

I've a feeling they were already on Cowell's books when they entered BGT.

The chairman of GM is supposed to have said "General Motors is not in the business of making cars. It is in the business of making money.", it's the same with Cowell and music.

pigamus

Whoever said the Who at the start of this thread - you're right, but there is one massive exception in the shape of You Better You Bet, which is brilliant. "And I feel pretty crappay, sometaims!"

George White

Quote from: Nice Relaxing Poo on February 12, 2018, 07:14:25 PM
On a similar note, all of those bands where 3 hunky tenors belt out versions of hit songs are naff fresh meat to the post menopausal demographic.

Interesting article about the Three Three Irish Tenors. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/a-fistful-of-tenors-1.1108844

Phil_A

Quote from: Mark Steels Stockbroker on January 22, 2018, 06:16:46 AM
Abba were fine. However Chess (the musical Bjorn and Benny worked on with Tim Rice, which spawned the hit singles "I Know Him So Well" and "One Night In Bangkok") is massively naff, and I speak as someone who still owns the double cassette release of it from 1984.

I'm still surprised the ABBA lads (ABBALADS?) haven't yet sued Adele for completely lifting the chorus from "I Know Him So Well" for "To Make You Feel My Love".


CaledonianGonzo




Actually wouldn't be that bad a band name if they weren't priests.

dr beat


poodlefaker

Kate Bush. Yeah, you  'eard. Always been a mixture of great and truly naff, and iteven as she's matured she's retained the naffness: Rolf Harris, Stephen Fry, Bertie etc.

greenman

Quote from: pigamus on April 21, 2018, 09:15:13 AM
Whoever said the Who at the start of this thread - you're right, but there is one massive exception in the shape of You Better You Bet, which is brilliant. "And I feel pretty crappay, sometaims!"

Strange really looking back that they did so little for the rest of the 80's as that track and Who Are You seem like they mark they out as the big 70's art best suited to embracing 80's naffness.

gilbertharding

Quote from: non capisco on June 29, 2017, 08:43:09 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofDCsRhT57o

Racey and their formation knock-kneed mating dance which combined with the rinky-dink keyboard riff puts the Naff Needle firmly in the red. The singer has the whiff of Mike Smash about him and the bits where he joins in with the naff dance whilst coyly looking up at the ceiling and stroking his hair raises the levels to NAFF CON ONE.

An excuse to recite my line on Racey:

"Some Girls: Sexist and Racey, but not sexy nor racist."

Icehaven

Quote from: thecuriousorange on December 09, 2018, 10:41:01 PM





I know that's a really obvious thing to say but come on, I'm sure that one at the back was even in the background at Jack's funeral.

George White

Quote from: thecuriousorange on December 09, 2018, 10:41:01 PM


Actually wouldn't be that bad a band name if they weren't priests.
Isn't one of the brothers not actually a priest?

famethrowa

Quote from: George White on December 17, 2018, 09:59:03 PM
Isn't one of the brothers not actually a priest?

It's possible, I don't think Ed Kuepper was even a saint

Quote from: poodlefaker on December 10, 2018, 10:45:12 AM
Kate Bush. Yeah, you  'eard. Always been a mixture of great and truly naff, and iteven as she's matured she's retained the naffness: Rolf Harris, Stephen Fry, Bertie etc.

The name Bertie just conjures up images of a screaming spoiled Little Lord Fauntleroy toff kid stamping his foot. I'm sure she thought it was a lovely homage to the P.G Wodehouse character but Bertie is a fucking terrible name for a kid born at the end of the 20th century.

Ferris

Cat Stevens always had a whiff of the naff about him.

Great songs, of course, but err... naff bloke.

SpiderChrist


Nowhere Man

Quote from: greenman on December 10, 2018, 11:05:11 AM
Strange really looking back that they did so little for the rest of the 80's as that track and Who Are You seem like they mark they out as the big 70's art best suited to embracing 80's naffness.

'Who Are You' and 'You Better You Bet' came out in 78 and 79 respectively though, and after Who Are You they had a big drummer shaped whole to fill, otherwise they probably would have done better in the 80s. Plus Townshend was holding back his best compositions for his solo records. 'Eminence Front' from 1982 is a corker though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yuOw5k5_OM

But having The Who in this thread is nonsense anyway, nothing naff about The Who Sell Out or Quadrophenia, or their 60s single run, which might be one of the greatest lineup of 45s ever. Yeah they do get a bit cockrocky at times, but no one before or since has been better at it.

Here's one that would have made a great single, 'So Sad About Us' (1966) the kind of song Paul Weller was trying to create all the way through The Jam. (The other one being the Small Faces 'Tin Soldier', coincidentally featuring latter day Who drummer, Kenney Jones)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E5d-G-hFLo


George White

Michael English.
Junior Daniel O'Donnell-type, briefly signed up by Louis Walsh, and remarketed as an Irish Michael Buble.
But no young people wanted autotuned covers of Roger Whittaker and Matt Monro. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Jm-SQYtLE

Very Tim and Eric-ish ads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pjgw4mJ9vdo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYUqVQnSrF8

holyzombiejesus

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,75824.0.html

QuoteOn that note, people have been bumping a lot of old threads again of late, including some 15-year old ones over the last week or two. I don't see any good reason to do that, and it's kind of a waste of time to start reading a thread, only to figure out its a really old one, and probably only tangentially relevant. If you think the old thread is of interest, link it in a new one by all means, so people have the choice to read it if they wish.

Don't worry so much about thin
gs not being "worth" a thread, or potentially not getting enough replies etc, it really doesn't matter, no one is sitting thinking "0 replies."

Sebastian Cobb



George White

Vic/Jim and Bob have never said specifically what the influences were for Mulligan and O'Hare.
They're  an amalgam of generic naff easy-listening acts. The name is partly influenced from Millican and Nesbitt, who being from the Northeast, probably would have been local stars during Reeves and Mortimer's youth. But the look and the fact they're both called Dermot, Dermot being an Irish name is probably a reference to Foster and Allen.
There's a mix of things in there.

Gurke and Hare

Quote from: George White on October 20, 2019, 05:47:39 PM
But the look and the fact they're both called Dermot

I'd forgotten they're both called Dermot, and am very happy to be reminded. I've just read all ten pages of this thread, and it's going to take fucking ages for my Youtube recommendations to get back to normal.