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It often takes bands years of toil and several line-up swaps to finally receive their first break of success and immortalized themselves through their music, which is probably why some of the members of these bands slip away from the minds of listeners over time. These members often had very short stints with the bands or went on to achieve greater fame as solo artists or members of some other group. Below are a few of such forgotten members of iconic bands.
5/5
Stuart Sutcliffe of The Beatles
Before becoming the “famous four”, The Beatles started off as a five-piece group with Stuart Sutcliffe as the original bassist, and the only member of the band not born in Liverpool. Through their common interest in art, Sutcliffe became fast friends with John Lennon, and it is widely accepted that the two of them that came up with the name ‘The Beatles’. Sutcliffe accompanied Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Pete Best to Hamburg where The Beatles first rose to fame. Sutcliffe was known for his quieter demeanor and for sporting dark sunglasses on stage. Realizing music was not his true calling, he went on to pursue a career in painting. However, he did not live long enough to see the full success of Beatlemania as he passed away at the age of 21 from a brain hemorrhage. Paul McCartney later borrowed Sutcliffe’s bass guitar when he took over as bassist and developed his “upside-down” playing style after he was instructed not to change the guitar’s strings.
4/5
Jimmie Nicol of The Beatles
Jimmie Nicol became a drummer for The Beatles at the very height of Beatlemania. Just before their Australasia tour in 1964, Ringo Starr came down with tonsillitis and had to be hospitalized. Unwilling to cancel part of the tour, George Martin suggested Jimmie Nicol as the ideal replacement since he was a member of a Beatles cover band. He was flown in and prepared in just over 24 hours. Though the band members were skeptical at first, they soon began to enjoy working together, and a genuine friendship was formed. Nicole left after Ringo’s recovery. His association with the group did little for his career, being soon thrust back into obscurity and filing for bankruptcy nine months later. When Paul McCartney heard of this, he offered Nicol a gig with Peter and Gordon. Though disillusioned with his career, he never sold his story, out of respect and his friendship with the band. Once he got back on his feet, he quit the industry and started a steady home renovation business. The song ‘Getting Better’ was inspired by his conversations with the band members who would often ask him how he was coping and his reply would always be “It’s Getting Better.”
3/5
John Kiffmeyer of Green Day
John Kiffmeyer was a member of John Kiffmeyer and performed under the stage-name Al Sobrante, rising to fame in the Punk scene. When Isocracy dissolved, he replaced Raj Punjabi as the drummer in Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt’s band Sweet Children, later renamed Green Day. His former connections in the Punk scene were a major factor that landed Green Day their first record deal. However, Kiffmeyer was still a student and the band had to bring in Tré Cool to fill in for him. Soon Cool became a permanent member as Kiffmeyer focused on other endeavors and began serving as an executive producer on the band’s Kerplunk album. He also joined The Ne’er Do Wells and The Ritalins before investing himself in a managerial and production career.
2/5
Tony Chapman of The Rolling Stones
Having played previously in The Cliftons, Tony Chapman was one of the prompt respondents of Brian Jones’ ad searching for musicians to form a band. However, he left the band before they made it big, believing his style conflicted with the musical direction of The Rolling Stones and also because their schedule conflicted with his job as a traveling salesman. His major contribution to the band was introducing them to fellow Clifton player Bill Wyman, who remained a bassist for The Stones for the better part of three decades. He remained in the industry for quite some time, associating with several groups including The Preachers, until leaving it entirely to enter the world of Fine Arts before he retired to Portugal.
1/5
Doug Sandom of The Who
Doug Sandom had been the drummer of the group since their time together as The Detours, but while the other members were younger men in their late teens, Sandom was already married and in his late 30s. Being a full-time bricklayer, Sandom’s wife disapproved of him staying up late and neglecting his day job. In 1964, The Who was rejected by a record label whose producer expressed his dislike of the Sandom’s playing. This and his bitter relationship with the guitarist Pete Townshend led to his removal from the band and he was replaced by Keith Moon. Both Sandom and Townshend later regretted this decision and made amends before Sandom’s death in 2019 at the age of 89.
These names are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to music virtuosos whose names did not stand the test of time but that in no way means their contributions to their group’s successes were any less.
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