Eagles Obscurity

[Funk 50]

An all time top 60 selling UK albums update has just been published. No sign of the Eagles.

Prince and David Bowie, aren't there either. Top sellers are Queen. They've done incredibly well out of the death of Freddie Mercury. Out of the top 10, only Adele is a current artist.

I think the Eagles have suffered through their policy of media invisibility. Nobody has heard of them. Nobody wants to to get to know them better. They need to start investing in some serious media promotion.

The proposed Hotel California tour could have really upped their relevance but it looks like, as a rudderless ship, they're on Glenn's, Prelude To Obscurity.


http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-60-official-biggest-selling-albums-of-all-time-revealed__15551/

[Annoying Twit]

I would have thought that both HC and GH would have got there.

[UndertheWire]

No records from The Rolling Stones, The Who, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin or Prince, either.

I'd be interested to see sales total for all albums over those years in the UK. I've read that peak album sales were in 2005 and I suspect that the surge in sales that the US saw in the mid-70s didn't show through in the UK until several years later.

ETA:
http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t450/hairynosed/12-official-recessions-by-album-record-sales-by-year-1972-2008_zpsbnj6qxk2.png

[NightMistBlue]

Good gawd, no Zep or Stones?! But mooks like Scissor Sisters and Robbie Williams are there. Does not compute.

There's got to be something hinky in the way sales were tabulated.

[Annoying Twit]

Good gawd, no Zep or Stones?! But mooks like Scissor Sisters and Robbie Williams are there. Does not compute.

There's got to be something hinky in the way sales were tabulated.

There is no correlation between record sales and quality. Over the past decade Justin Bieber must have been a big seller.

[NightMistBlue]

I'm very surprised at rock music being so underrepresented. We have Britannia to thank for many mighty bands, yet it seems dippy pop music is far more popular in the UK.
It's been awhile since I looked at the all-time U.S. best sellers but I recall AC/DC and Zep were way up there, along with the Eagles, Garth Brooks and the inevitable Michael Jackson.

[UndertheWire]

The one I'm amazed by is Meatloaf and "Bat out of Hell". How does that get to be #19?

Rock music started to go out of fashion in the UK from around 1977.

I don't think we had "Classic Rock" radio, either.

[Freypower]

An all time top 60 selling UK albums update has just been published. No sign of the Eagles.

Prince and David Bowie, aren't there either. Top sellers are Queen. They've done incredibly well out of the death of Freddie Mercury. Out of the top 10, only Adele is a current artist.

I think the Eagles have suffered through their policy of media invisibility. Nobody has heard of them. Nobody wants to to get to know them better. They need to start investing in some serious media promotion.

The proposed Hotel California tour could have really upped their relevance but it looks like, as a rudderless ship, they're on Glenn's, Prelude To Obscurity.


http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-60-official-biggest-selling-albums-of-all-time-revealed__15551/


They no longer exist. What is there to promote? As for the 'rudderless ship' comment.... well, if you wish to put it that way, but a non-existent ship doesn't need a rudder, does it?

Let's be honest. They were never that big in the UK.

I am pleased at No. 8 & that's all I will say.

[Funk 50]

The one I'm amazed by is Meatloaf and "Bat out of Hell". How does that get to be #19?

Rock music started to go out of fashion in the UK from around 1977.

I don't think we had "Classic Rock" radio, either.

The thing about Bat Out Of Hell is that it's very profitable for the record company compared to the artist. With a healthy profit margin to gain the record company are motivated to continually re-release Back Out Of Hell with generous promotion.

If Meatloaf got a bigger cut of the proceeds, maybe they wouldn't be so willing to keep pushing it. which could be why the Eagles don't feature in the list, The Eagles have control over their archive and they wont willingly let anyone, who's unwilling to pay up front, discover it. That was a beneficial policy in the analog age but it's suicidal in the digital age.


They no longer exist. What is there to promote? As for the 'rudderless ship' comment.... well, if you wish to put it that way, but a non-existent ship doesn't need a rudder, does it?

Let's be honest. They were never that big in the UK.

I am pleased at No. 8 & that's all I will say.


I think the ship adrift in the ocean analogy is an accurate one. Nine of the top ten selling albums are by acts that no longer exist. The product is still available. The Eagles name is still a very valuable asset but that value will diminish if neglected. Top sellers, Queen have become far more profitable since lead singer Freddy died due to good luck and management.

Despite being released at the end of October, Long Road Out Of Eden was the 6th highest selling album in the UK in 2007.
http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20070107/37502/


When Hotel California was released, British radio was, pretty much, singles chart based. Singles sales peaked with Paul McCartney's dirge Mull Of Kintyre and then went through a gradual decline.

As the relevance of the singles chart declined, radio stations changed their playlists, oldies, rather than classic rock, radio stations have taken over. The Eagles still got a lot of air time but their solo material was, apart from Henley, largely ignored. Since the internet and YouTube came into the picture, the importance of radio has diminished, as a consequence, the Eagles profile has diminished.

That's a brief skip through 40 years of UK Radio according to F50. :bye:

[UndertheWire]

As the Eagles were never huge in the UK, they're not part of the culture and it takes more effort (and cost) to find a market. How much of an impact did the documentary have in the UK? Azoff would have access to sales figures for the DVD and sales of the back catalogue and would be able to judge how much effort to put into the UK. Getting the doc shown by the BBC was a good move as it reached an audience who'd forgotten they liked the music and who then bought the catalogue on CD. Yes, that would be me.

As for steering the ship in the future, I think they'll be heading towards the Hotel California and a 40th anniversary release. Timing would fit nicely with the Kennedy Centre Awards. Maybe they could throw in a few extras.

[NightMistBlue]

Maybe there's not enough money in the UK market to motivate the Eagles? One cynical wag who wrote for Creem magazine back in the 80s said being big in Britain is the financial equivalent of being big in Montana (a sparsely-populated western state).

But most artists still promote themselves in the UK, obviously. The only band I know of to consciously say "aw, who cares" is Van Halen.

[UndertheWire]

I've read that it was easier to break a band in the UK because it was a geographically small market with centralised press. Guns 'n' Roses and Tom Petty benefited from that. However, there's a reason why all the British rock bands headed to the US to make their fortunes. Or reasons: a population with more disposable income to spend on records and concerts and less tax to pay on the profits.

Montana isn't a good comparison because the UK is anything but sparsely populated, but I see the point about it being a small market. The population is about a fifth of the USA but the cost of doing business is probably a lot higher. And then there's the problem of extracting your profits.

[Funk 50]

I don't think Montana has produced any bands to match The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, U2, Coldplay etc etc. The Eagles didn't relocate to Montana to make their first record. (I'm sure Montana is a wonderful place :D)

I don't know how, why or what it is, the argument that it's geographically, a nationwide market, looks a sound one, but the UK is a world leader when it comes to pop/rock music. :shrug:

[DivineDon]

I don't think Montana has produced any bands to match The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, U2, Coldplay etc etc. The Eagles didn't relocate to Montana to make their first record. (I'm sure Montana is a wonderful place :D)

I don't know how, why or what it is, the argument that it's geographically, a nationwide market, looks a sound one, but the UK is a world leader when it comes to pop/rock music. :shrug:

Just to clarify U2 are Irish not a UK band.

[OutlawManNJ]

Over time as the world accumulates News, history and Culture pop or otherwise, there is only so much of it that can be played, taught in school, read and remembered etc.... only the "strong survive". Beatles for example...Mozart....meanwhile big acts in their time are slowly forgotten in time. NOt sure where the Eagles fall...I think they have enough radio friendly songs to live on for a while.

How many huge acts in the 50s and 60s that sold millions and today are barely remembered...Ray Coniff just to throw out 1 example (my uncle is a huge fan, Coniff sold millions of records...but I bet 1 in 50,000 people today have no idea who he is.

[NightMistBlue]

. . . the UK is a world leader when it comes to pop/rock music. :shrug:

I couldn't agree with you more, believe me. Nobody does it better than the Brits (generally speaking!). Remember, we were speculating about why the Eagles - unlike the vast majority of bands of their stature - didn't seem to over-exert themselves to woo the British record buying public.

[Freypower]

I still fail to see what difference it makes & why anyone should think that now they don't exist they suddenly need to remind the UK of who they are. Who they WERE. It's a bit late for that.

They should have released DVDs of their last two tours, for the world, not just the UK, and perhaps their chances of being remembered would have improved.

I don't agree that there will be any special 40th anniversary release of Hotel California. I don't believe there are any extras. They put out the Capital Centre show with HOTE & they probably think that's enough. They don't need the money & the UK critics will never change thier opinions.

It is Glenn the solo artist who needs to be remembered, not the Eagles. And I can't see that happening either.

[Brooke]

I wish they would put out dvds of their last two tours. I doubt they would do one for LROOE now since they have done the HotE tour. HotE would overshadow that, but it's not too late for one for HotE tour.

I wonder why they don't want to be remembered? That's the way it seems. :sad:

[sodascouts]

I think that putting out a documentary detailing the entirety of their career indicates that they want to be remembered better than yet another concert DVD (although of course I wanted one of those, too).

Honestly, though, even if they have never put out one DVD set, these guys still have an incredible legacy of music that will ensure they'll be remembered for quite a while.

All things must fade in time, but when you've sold as many records as they have, you don't disappear too quickly. Something tells me they'll outlast the likes of the Scissor Sisters, a band I've never even heard of.

[Funk 50]

I think the Eagles have already outlasted The Scissor Sisters although I think they're in hibernation rather than split.

The UK Top 60 was albums rather than acts. I was surprised that no Eagles albums made the top 60, I'd be even more surprised if the Eagles weren't a top 60 act.

If the remaining Eagles struggle to sell-out live venues and they miss playing to the huge audiences they've been playing since 1994, surely they are going to reunite for some Eagles shows.

[Freypower]

I think the Eagles have already outlasted The Scissor Sisters although I think they're in hibernation rather than split.

The UK Top 60 was albums rather than acts. I was surprised that no Eagles albums made the top 60, I'd be even more surprised if the Eagles weren't a top 60 act.

If the remaining Eagles struggle to sell-out live venues and they miss playing to the huge audiences they've been playing since 1994, surely they are going to reunite for some Eagles shows.

They cannot reunite as the 'Eagles' without Glenn Frey.

Those days are over. They are far better off concentrating on their solo careers. They are never going to have audiences like that ever again & I am sure they know that & accept it.

[sodascouts]

While I'm hesitant to say "never", everything they've said and done since Glenn's death supports Freypower's statement that they understand and accept that they cannot continue as the Eagles without Glenn. Don said twenty years ago that he wouldn't do the Eagles without Glenn. That would hardly change now that he's gone.

It's not about money. They know quite well that even at the peaks of their solo careers, they didn't sell as many tickets as the Eagles did 40 years after their biggest hits were on the charts. They aren't such fools that they would expect those kind of crowds to suddenly materialize now. Joe didn't do a double act with Bad Company just because he wanted to hang out with them. Don's upcoming leg in the States has been booked in smaller venues for a reason.

Plus, they are hardly desperate for money at this point in their lives. I don't have to know their net worth to the dollar to see that these guys are more than comfortable financially, to put it mildly!

I very much doubt they share Funk 50's concern that they will fade into obscurity more quickly if they don't spend the rest of their lives touring and/or releasing additional material under the Eagles mantle without Glenn.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I totally agree with your post, Soda.

However, as far as the comments that the Eagles no longer exist - I have some discomfort around that. The Eagles still do and always will continue to exist as an entity. Their music lives on and will for many years, IMO. They may even release more DVDs, CDs, Broadway shows or other media.

However, although they could change their minds with the passage of time, I can't see them ever functioning again as a recording or touring band without Glenn. It's not impossible, but I think it is highly doubtful given their past history and ages. It's also possible that they could decide to play some special events together. As has been stated many times, even by the band members themselves, Glenn was the 'man with the plan', the 'spark plug', and the one that made things happen for the band.

[buffyfan145]

I agree with Soda and Dreamer too. I think of the Eagles now exactly like the Beatles and how they do still exist as an entity or legacy band. There are Beatles/solo Beatles things coming out yearly and I know of a lot of things that are in the works for the next year for Beatles fans such as some movies, books, even toys. The Beatles never existed in my lifetime but their fanbase is so massive and they still keep getting fans younger and younger as they discover them. I've heard that being a Beatles fan is like being a historian of any subject and collecting things is a part of it. As long as there are fans there's still interest there whether it's movies/documentaries, books, album collections, etc and the remaining members performing solo.

[Freypower]

I agree with Soda and Dreamer too. I think of the Eagles now exactly like the Beatles and how they do still exist as an entity or legacy band. There are Beatles/solo Beatles things coming out yearly and I know of a lot of things that are in the works for the next year for Beatles fans such as some movies, books, even toys. The Beatles never existed in my lifetime but their fanbase is so massive and they still keep getting fans younger and younger as they discover them. I've heard that being a Beatles fan is like being a historian of any subject and collecting things is a part of it. As long as there are fans there's still interest there whether it's movies/documentaries, books, album collections, etc and the remaining members performing solo.

Yes, that's true & so are Soda's & Dreamer's posts.

[travlnman2]

I saw Joe in October of last year at the Mohegan Sun Aerenea which is a pretty average size aernea for concerts. Place was sold out and had alot of Middle Age people but alot of Young people 15-39 age too and he recived a standing ovation