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Bands with a hardcore fan following

Started by Nice Relaxing Poo, June 16, 2020, 04:25:33 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: JesusAndYourBush on June 17, 2020, 04:58:30 PM
Balaam & The Angel's fan following was called... and I'm spoilering this to build up anticipation because it's truly the most cringeworthiest fan-following name ever... they were called... get ready for this...
Spoiler alert
The Sperm Bank
[close]
.

I once gave a lift home to a member of Balaam & The Angel in 1988. Carry on.

Captain Crunch

Quote from: kngen on June 17, 2020, 01:22:37 PMApparently their little game was to form a kind of human barrier at the front of the stage at NMA gigs, leaving a big gap, and if anyone unsuspectingly wandered into said gap, they steam in and kick the shit out of them - with those bloody big wooden clogs, too, which were de rigeur among those silly sods.

They still do the human pyramid / ladder thing but they look suspiciously young, almost as if it's the old crowd pushing their kids into in.  When they played Newcastle it was the usual story – bods getting up on each other, they get told off by security, NMA stop the show and tell off the security team, everyone cheers.  Felt a tad contrived.

Quote from: momatt on June 17, 2020, 04:42:33 PM
good grief, there's something completely cringe-inducing about a fanbase giving themselves a name.

*coughs, blushes and tries to hide massive BOHAB tattoo*

buzby

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on June 17, 2020, 04:35:53 PM
How did The Vikings respond to World In Motion? Too commercial for their tastes or were they shouting along EN-GER-LAND! at the top of their voices when it was performed at the concerts? Did the band perform it live?
At the time it was released, they would have been just as E'd up as everyone else so they didn't mind. There is a strong football crossover with the Vikings (Although the band aren't football fans, except Gillian, thier manager Rob Gretton was a hardcore Man City fan) and football style chants from them would normally be heard at gigs (the 'MAN-CHES-TER, LA-LA-LA' chant to the tune of the Banana Splits theme was always a favourite). It's been played live 5 times, usually at big gigs and would include the participation of Keith Fucking Alllen, such as Glastonbury 2005 (the last time it was played so far).

Quote from: momatt on June 17, 2020, 04:42:33 PM
good grief, there's something completely cringe-inducing about a fanbase giving themselves a name.
That'd put me off almost any band I think.
At least in New Order's case the name was given to them by the band's head roadie.

Golden E. Pump

Michael Jackson's hardcore fanbase is the scariest group of people to moonwalk this Earth.

momatt

Quote from: Captain Crunch on June 17, 2020, 09:03:37 PM
*coughs, blushes and tries to hide massive BOHAB tattoo*
That's cool if you wear the GWAR costumes too.

Quote from: buzby on June 17, 2020, 10:41:43 PM
At least in New Order's case the name was given to them by the band's head roadie.
I don't know if that helps, but at it's something I suppose.
I'm likely being a snob too.

Attila

There is a terrifying group of hardcore Kinks  fans that I used to encounter at Ray and especially Dave solo shows. Small group that you see in the front row/edge of the stage at every show including this one mad dude who's got to be close to 70 now, but is completely obsessed with Ray Davies (and the Ramones -- dude has been wearing in public a Ramones-style wig for decades).

This guy claims that he's the 'Dan the Fan' in 'Rock and Roll Fantasy' (not realising that wouldn't really be a compliment). He also completely ruins any message board/fan group online he discovers, because he relentlessly posts what appears to be 24/7. It reaches a point on them where he is the only one posting, and simply talks to himself, answering his own posts. Fuck knows where his money comes from, but he apparently goes to 300+ concerts a year (obviously not just the Kinks).

He contacted me when I doing a writing project on the band, and I still have the lengthy email he sent about how I didn't know what I was talking about, how he is the only true fan and true friend of Ray Davies, and that he'd never betray Ray or Dave by telling me any of their most intimate secrets. Absolute weirdo.

The UK-group of obsessives are fairly harmless, and in many cases, quite generous Kinks fans. The American group tended to be more clannish and nasty to people they considered outsiders -- I was pushed, punched, kicked, shoved, and subject constantly to abuse more in the US than any of the UK gigs I went to (I was doing photography in those days, with a pass, and fuck me the number of people who tried to take my camera, ruin shots, &c. What was most mind-boggling is they were kids; they were middle and later middle ages folks.) Strange times (late 90s, early 2000s).

Attila

. accidental double post, argh

The post above should say that these folks weren't kids.

Jockice

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on June 17, 2020, 07:18:19 PM
I once gave a lift home to a member of Balaam & The Angel in 1988. Carry on.

I did a phone interview with one of them around that time.

First question: "So how did you get together?"
First answer: "We're brothers."

Luckily we both saw the funny side.

Shit Good Nose

Surprised no one's mention the Grateful Dead yet, whose fans basically invented this shit and who are still following them around despite the fact the band stopped officially existing in the mid 90s.

Similarly Phish.

Captain Poodle Basher

Quote from: kngen on June 17, 2020, 01:22:37 PM
To the point of violence. An old friend of mine was one of those green kitbag/hitch-around-the-country-following-bands types, and he had nothing good to say about NMA's following (back when they were 'the Militia'). Apparently their little game was to form a kind of human barrier at the front of the stage at NMA gigs, leaving a big gap, and if anyone unsuspectingly wandered into said gap, they steam in and kick the shit out of them - with those bloody big wooden clogs, too, which were de rigeur among those silly sods.

I know the Levellers had a big swathe of dreadlocked Ruperts following them about - can't remember what their name was, something cringe-inducing, no doubt. I remember marvelling at them all singing 'There's only one way of life. and that's your own' without a hint of irony - one big mass of wafty, tiedye breeks, dreadlocks and those weird itchy-looking, multicoloured hooded tops that appear to be made out of rafia.


Back in the 1980s a mate of mine was a big fan of New Model Army and went over to the UK to see them a couple of times. I think they must have lived up to their Cromwellian name as the fans he met called him Paddy (not his name) and suggested he stay at home where he belonged.

The Levellers, I had a sort-of run-in with their followers back in the 1990s. Their website tells me it was April 1992 which sounds about right. I was passing the venue when I was mobbed by a bunch of their followers who had managed to come over to Ireland to see them but didn't have the wherewithal to purchase a ticket. I declined to give them money and got spat at and called an "IRA bastard" they didn't half stink either. I wasn't alone as, for the rest of that week, the city centre was plagued with English crusties aggressively begging for money to get back home while cursing us all for being "Paddy bastards".

I've mentioned it on here before but the most scared I've ever been was when a bunch of my mates and myself were surrounded by about two dozen female Michael Jackson fans who worked themselves up into a frenzy at the thought of us 'hurting' (sic) their idol after my mates, who were busking, admitted to not knowing any Michael Jackson songs. One of the fans started screaming and pulling at her hair and most of the others joined in while they denounced us for insulting and causing pain to MJ.

Brundle-Fly

Slightly off topic, I recall Cardiacs gigs starting to get more popular and often hijacked by groups of crusties/grebos by the very end of the eighties. Moshing down the front became just that bit too aggressive when numbers like Burn Your House Brown got blasted out. It wasn't in the spirit of Cardiacs and I nearly lost a tooth so stopped going in the end; especially after Sarah Smith left. I sill regret that.

Cardiacs fans are a certain breed. Most of them post on CaB. I wonder what that says?

Blinder Data

Dashboard Confessional

British Sea Power

daf


Puce Moment

I was a Soundhead - I suppose the very loose collection of folks in 1989 who followed Loop around. But I was 15 so was never taken seriously. Probably for the best.

kngen

Quote from: Captain Poodle Basher on June 18, 2020, 03:11:30 PM

The Levellers, I had a sort-of run-in with their followers back in the 1990s. Their website tells me it was April 1992 which sounds about right. I was passing the venue when I was mobbed by a bunch of their followers who had managed to come over to Ireland to see them but didn't have the wherewithal to purchase a ticket. I declined to give them money and got spat at and called an "IRA bastard" they didn't half stink either. I wasn't alone as, for the rest of that week, the city centre was plagued with English crusties aggressively begging for money to get back home while cursing us all for being "Paddy bastards".


Ah, 'poncing the queue' (although you weren't in the queue, obviously). 'I've done the whole tour. Spare a couple of quid so I can get in?' Well, 1) no, because I'm on the fucking dole, and so my budget has been worked out to the last fucking penny, and if they've put the price of a pint up by even 5p I'm going to be at least 25% less drunk than I was planning on. And 2) I'm only getting to see them once, so ... erm ... fuck off?

Of course, most of the time they were already on the guestlist anyway, so were just begging for extra booze money.

I'd completely forgotten that this was a common enough occurrence at gigs in the 80s/90s until I went to see 'Danzig sings the Misfits' at the Roundhouse a few years ago, and there was middle-aged man, outside the venue in all his crusty finery, poncing everyone that went past. We joked that he was actually a bank manager now, but he hadn't been to a gig in years, so thought he'd commit fully to the experience to give provide him - and the rest of us - with a warm flush of nostalgia. (The alternative scenario was just too depressing to contemplate.)


PaulTMA

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on June 18, 2020, 04:26:40 PM
Slightly off topic, I recall Cardiacs gigs starting to get more popular and often hijacked by groups of crusties/grebos by the very end of the eighties. Moshing down the front became just that bit too aggressive when numbers like Burn Your House Brown got blasted out. It wasn't in the spirit of Cardiacs and I nearly lost a tooth so stopped going in the end; especially after Sarah Smith left. I sill regret that.

Cardiacs fans are a certain breed. Most of them post on CaB. I wonder what that says?

I like Cardiacs but their online fanbase has this tendency where they all of the go around all the different music forums using the same usernames talking about how they should have been the biggest and most respected band in the world

Puce Moment

Quote from: PaulTMA on June 18, 2020, 05:21:31 PM
I like Cardiacs but their online fanbase has this tendency where they all of the go around all the different music forums using the same usernames talking about how they should have been the biggest and most respected band in the world

I mean, they're ok, but they don't even key change as well as Naked City.

Pete23

Quote from: popcorn on June 17, 2020, 04:56:57 PM
Are they called Marillionaires?

Nothing remotely as interesting. We (for I am one) are generally referred to as The Family, although there must be hundreds of bands who also call their fans something similar. Marillion and their fans were one of the (forgotten) pioneers of crowd funding and it enabled them to leave their record label and do their own thing back in the late 90's, so back then there was a real sense of being part of something special and new and feeling like you were part of their journey (if you're interested https://www.virgin.com/music/how-marillion-pioneered-crowdfunding-music). Nowadays we mainly just fight to get seats in the balcony as we're all too old to stand up for 3 hours. There is a hardcore group that start queuing at 7am to get to the front of the gigs (about 20 nice, quiet middle aged people more likely to knit a fluffy Steve Hogarth than form a mosh pit), but it's pretty easy to wander in during the support and stand right behind them only 2 rows from the front.

Don't ask us if Fish is still the singer though or we'll slit your throat.

Brundle-Fly

Quote from: PaulTMA on June 18, 2020, 05:21:31 PM
I like Cardiacs but their online fanbase has this tendency where they all of the go around all the different music forums using the same usernames talking about how they should have been the biggest and most respected band in the world

Some XTC fans are a little bit like that. Always banging on about how underrated they were. They were never going to be as big as The Police for various reasons. They had hits, made their mark, and are respected. Get over it. Fans liked them in the first place because they were a bit different and if they suddenly became massive, they'd be probably carping about that.

daf

#49
Quote from: Brundle-Fly on June 18, 2020, 06:12:28 PM
Some XTC fans are a little bit like that.  (. . .)  if they suddenly became massive, they'd be probably carping about that.

I remember hearing King For a Day in 1989, thinking they had gone a bit too 'mainstream' for my tastes, and was about to lose them to "the others".

Of course, no bugger bought it, so it was yet another glorious flop (#82), and they remained our lovely cult secret - result!! :D

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on June 18, 2020, 06:12:28 PM
They were never going to be as big as The Police for various reasons.

Andy Summers mentions being right royally pissed off that The Police split when they did (1983-1986?) - feeling that his guitar sound was nicked by Dave Edge from U2 - and they could have been 'even bigger' had they carried on - greedy guts!

Icehaven

The Manics had (have?) an extremely extreme following, just dunno how organised we were really. I had a penfriend I met through the NME that I met up with at a few gigs, but most of my other Manics friends I just knew in normal life. I don't know if there ever was an 'army' as such but if there was I missed it somehow despite being a stupidly obsessive fan.

sutin

Quote from: Brundle-Fly on June 18, 2020, 04:26:40 PM
Slightly off topic, I recall Cardiacs gigs starting to get more popular and often hijacked by groups of crusties/grebos by the very end of the eighties. Moshing down the front became just that bit too aggressive when numbers like Burn Your House Brown got blasted out. It wasn't in the spirit of Cardiacs and I nearly lost a tooth so stopped going in the end; especially after Sarah Smith left. I sill regret that.

Cardiacs fans are a certain breed. Most of them post on CaB. I wonder what that says?

Were Cardiacs a big band or not? I had never heard of them until 2014, despite being a huge fan of Primus, Mr. Bungle, Oingo Boingo, DEVO, Ween, They Might Be Giants etc. since the late '90s/early '00s. I love them now and have no idea how i'd never even heard their name before. Plus they only have 18K unique listeners on Last.FM, which isn't very much really. Is it because they're not on Spotify and their physical records are hard to find?

Spiteface

Quote from: icehaven on June 18, 2020, 07:56:17 PM
The Manics had (have?) an extremely extreme following, just dunno how organised we were really. I had a penfriend I met through the NME that I met up with at a few gigs, but most of my other Manics friends I just knew in normal life. I don't know if there ever was an 'army' as such but if there was I missed it somehow despite being a stupidly obsessive fan.

They were the first band I became aware of, that were known for their rabid fanbase. As in whenever they announced a tour, fans would get tickets for as many dates as they could and follow them.

The latest film they've put out to accompany the Gold Against the Soul tour is weird. It's a fictionalised account of their 1993 Japan tour, from the perspective of a fan following them around the country, through archive footage.

I've noticed a lot of people (usually into K-Pop) using the word "stan" like it's a positive thing and it boggles my mind. So you're that hardcore into identikit boybands you'll drive yourself off a cliff with your pregnant girlfriend in the boot of the car because they don't reply to you...

Rev+

Never really got the same sense of organisation or solidarity from Manics fans.  They'd all be there with their leopardskin and boas, but would have bought their tickets separately and would fuck off home in ones or twos at the end, having not really interacted with each other.  Kind of fitting in a way, but in another way it's not much different to everyone being handed a glowstick on the way in.

The one dedicated band of followers that has always mystified me - and I've a feeling I must have mentioned this before on here - was the squad that devoted themselves to the Dublin band 'Power of Dreams' in the early 90s.  I'm not saying they were shit, just that they were standard-issue indie at the time, and I never got why this mob followed them to every date up and down the country when they came over to England.  Green German army surplus jackets, obviously.

Jockice

Quote from: Rev+ on June 19, 2020, 12:31:38 AM
Never really got the same sense of organisation or solidarity from Manics fans.  They'd all be there with their leopardskin and boas, but would have bought their tickets separately and would fuck off home in ones or twos at the end, having not really interacted with each other.  Kind of fitting in a way, but in another way it's not much different to everyone being handed a glowstick on the way in.

The one dedicated band of followers that has always mystified me - and I've a feeling I must have mentioned this before on here - was the squad that devoted themselves to the Dublin band 'Power of Dreams' in the early 90s.  I'm not saying they were shit, just that they were standard-issue indie at the time, and I never got why this mob followed them to every date up and down the country when they came over to England.  Green German army surplus jackets, obviously.

I remember Power Of Dreams. A very slightly above average band. With average being the type you could see play in a local pub every night of the week. Think their record label (Polydor perhaps) tried really hyping them up but it just didn't work.

SweetPomPoms

Prince.

I'd forgotten how scarily obsessive they were until the Revolution played Shepherd's Bush a couple of years ago and they all came out of the woodwork.

famethrowa

Quote from: SweetPomPoms on June 19, 2020, 01:23:31 PM
Prince.

I'd forgotten how scarily obsessive they were until the Revolution played Shepherd's Bush a couple of years ago and they all came out of the woodwork.

I can really believe that. I mean yes he was good and all for a few years, but 'kin hell these people need to calm down.

Sin Agog

Some people are just mad about the royals.

dr beat


Lisa Jesusandmarychain

I think most bands , once they reach a certain level of fame, attract a coterie of hardcore fan followers. I mean, maybe even someone like Gay Dad might have had a small nucleus of supporters following 'em around, calling themselves the Daddies, or the Gayers, or worrever.