Camper Van Beethoven

 

 

Another staple on College Rock radio in the '80s, CVB were the consummate band of Smart Alecs - from their name, to the album titles, to the often leftfield/surrealist lyrics. 

Guadalcanal Diary

 

Guadalcanal Diary hailed from Georgia and often had "jangly" guitars, so they couldn't escape comparisons to REM. They were reasonably popular on College Radio, but never did breakthrough to the mainstream and folded in 1989.

James "Midge" Ure

 

 

Midge Ure's career has been stunningly successful and yet, his profile outside of the UK has been relatively under the radar.  In 1979/80, he was the singer/songwriter of Ultravox, songwriter/keyboard player in Visage, and guitarist for Thin Lizzy(!). He also co-wrote Band Aid's huge single "Do They Know It's Christmas (Feed the World)" and helped organize Live Aid with Bob Geldof. Oh, and he's done quite a bit of solo work, to boot!

Hoodoo Gurus

 

 

Long-running Aussie band, Hoodoo Gurus, have a knack for pop melodies, rock music, and a quirky sense of humor.  They're still around, too, recently having done a worldwide trek.

Howard Jones

Howard Jones struck gold with his first album, scoring a hit with "What Is Love?" In the MTV era, there was a seemingly endless supply of Brits with a quaff and smooth voice, but Jones quickly carved out a niche with further hits like "No One Is To Blame," "Things Can Only Get Better," "Life In One Day," and "Everlasting Love."

The Wonder Stuff

 

Miles Hunt, the irascible singer, and his merry men have been making music for over 30 years now, from indie band to press darlings and back to indie band.

Metric

 

 

Hard to believe this band has been around for 20 years now. The female-fronted Canadian group started with their own self-released album, built up a following and then hit the big time (relatively speaking) when their 2009 album produced several singles that got massive play on the indie airwaves, followed by more success in 2012. And then for whatever reason, they fell out of favor and have been largely forgotten, despite releasing 3 quality releases since.