REPLACING a lead singer is always a tall order for a band. Let's face it - guitarists, bass players and drummers are a dime a dozen, but finding a new frontman with charisma, presence and a killer voice is not easy - especially if you've already built up a fan base that liked the first guy. Here are five more bands that soldiered on despite the loss of their vocalist.
Joy Division/New Order
SEMINAL UK band Joy Division were on the verge of big things when Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980 - their second album Closer was due out, as was their landmark single Love Will Tear Us Apart, and the band was due to leave for a US tour the next day. The three remaining members (Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris) began appearing as an unnamed trio two months later, with each of them having a crack at singing before Sumner got the job. In 1981 they released their first works under the name New Order, including the great post-punk single Ceremony and their debut album Movement. It wasn't until 1983 that they finally broke out from the Joy Division shadow thanks to the influential dance track Blue Monday, which was a smash hit and believed to be the biggest 12" single of all time (although their label Factory was said to have lost money on every copy sold because they cost more to make than their retail price). New Order have gone on to release eight successful albums and a swag of hit singles, including Bizarre Love Triangle, World Cup theme World In Motion and their rocking comeback track Crystal.
Alice In Chains
ONE of the big players in the Seattle grunge scene, Alice In Chains were also a victim the music movement's heroin curse. In 2002, four years after he last recorded with the band, singer Layne Staley was found dead from an overdose. He'd been a reclusive addict for many years and it was two weeks before anyone discovered his body. That appeared to be the end of Alice In Chains, who had been on hiatus already. Three years later, remaining members Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez, and Sean Kinney re-united for a benefit concert, with vocals handled by Tool's Maynard Keenan, Damageplan's Pat Lachman and Heart's Ann Wilson. A reunion tour in 2006 saw Comes With The Fall singer William DuVall join and in 2008 they released their first post-Staley album Black Gives Way To Blue to rave reviews. Some older fans weren't convinced, although second single Check My Brain sounds like the band back at their best.
Genesis
FEW bands have undergone as many changes across their career as UK stalwarts Genesis. Starting as a pop band in 1967, increasingly theatrical frontman Peter Gabriel helped shape the band into a prog band by the start of the '70s. But he eventually tired of the group in 1975 and decided to pack up his oddball monologues and eccentric costumes and go start a solo career. Gabriel's departure brought to an end Genesis' so-called "classic" era, as the band began searching for a new singer - a search that reportedly involved 400 candidates before they settled on their own drummer. And so it was that Phil Collins finally stepped up to the mic, having been with the band for five years and occasionally singing lead on a song or two. With Collins out front (a number of drummers helped with the drumming duties), Genesis slowly moved from prog to pop, eventually creeping into the mainstream thanks to the album Duke smash hit singles such as Misunderstanding, Mama, I Can't Dance, Follow You, Follow Me, and the awesome Invisible Touch.
Sublime
LIKE Joy Division, Sublime were on the edge of greatness when they lost their lead singer Brad Nowell in 1996. The band was set to release their major label debut (their third album overall) and had just started a tour when Nowell was found dead from a heroin overdose. Their impressively diverse self-titled record - which blended reggae, punk, hip-hop, ska and pop - was finally released two months after Nowell's passing and went five times platinum thanks to the single What I Got. Fast-forward 13 years and Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh decided to get the band back together, recruiting the awesomely named singer/guitarist Rome Ramirez to take the late Nowell's place. Nowell's estate weren't happy with the idea of Wilson and Gaugh re-using the name Sublime and brought in the lawyers - as a result the new line-up is called Sublime With Rome. The band has been touring and are currently in the studio working on a possible album for next year.
Small Faces/Faces
INFLUENTIAL pop-psych band Small Faces had a brief but brilliant career that included the hit single Itchycoo Park and the hazy concept album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, as well as a legacy that left its fingerprints all over the mod and Britpop movements. But feeling stifled by the music press and fans, which continued to view Small Faces as a pop band, and growing increasingly distant with his bandmates, lead singer Steve Marriott quit the band in 1969 and formed Humble Pie. Remaining members Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones recruited The Jeff Beck Group's Rod Stewart and future Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and changed the name to Faces, but they never found the same success, despite the stellar line-up. Both Faces and Small Faces had reunions over the years (Marriott's death in 1991 ended Small Faces), with Faces reuniting this year with Simply Red's Mick Hucknall filling in for an unwilling Stewart and Sex Pistols' bassist Glen Matlock replacing the late Lane.
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