In an industry as volatile and fast-moving as rock music, everything can turn on a penny. These are the bands whose talent far outstripped their fortune – artists who, through some cruel twist of fate, missed out on the success their music promised.
Rock’s unluckiest bands
12. Grand Funk Railroad
Despite being one of the biggest bands of the 1970s, Grand Funk Railroad have been somewhat forgotten in music history. They were adored by fans, selling out stadiums thanks to their blue-collar working-class outlook. Perhaps because they never played into the hands of the critics, Grand Funk Railroad have been written out of history.
They also endured legal battles with their manager, a common feature of many of rock music’s unluckiest bands. They fired Terry Knight in 1972 over financial disputes and lack of royalty payments but he, in turn, sued for millions, which led to a two-year battle that included the band’s equipment being seized at Madison Square Garden. Fortunately, the band’s new lawyer was able to convince Knight to wait until the end of the show to repossess the gear – not least because the gig was a benefit for a drug rehab centre.
11. Television
Television should have been the architects of the New York punk era, but they were perpetually outpaced by fate. They were the first to play CBGB, yet they watched as The Ramones and Blondie signed deals and released albums while they agonized over their sound. When they finally released the masterful Marquee Moon in 1977, the raw simplicity of punk had already shifted the goalposts, leaving Tom Verlaine’s intricate, crystalline guitar weaves to be hailed by critics but largely ignored by the charts. Brilliant yet ill-timed, they remain rock’s ultimate 'what if' story.
10. Love
Cult rock band Love were one of the most influential American bands of the 1960s, thanks to their unique blend of psychedelia, folk and garage rock. They were also one of the first racially diverse American pop bands, who wanted the band and its music to reflect their own lives and the musical styles they had been exposed to.
But it wasn’t all rosy. Tension between frontmen Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean began to grow with the band’s third album, with MacLean wanting more of his songs on the album. He left the band shortly after this, and Lee dismissed all the other members. By this time, meanwhile, heroin addiction had gripped guitarist Johnny Echols and bassist Ken Forssi, who were constantly pawning off rented equipment for drug money.
9. The Move
The Move’s poor luck came from their infamous manager, Tony Secunda, who orchestrated one of British rock’s most notorious publicity stunts when he released a postcard promoting the lead single for their debut album with a picture of Prime Minister Harold Wilson in bed with his secretary. Unfortunately for The Move, Wilson noticed – and he wasn’t happy. He sued for libel and won, with all royalties from the song awarded to various charities instead of the band.
This was a major income loss for The Move, for whom this would have been a career-defining payday. The single, ‘Flowers in the Rain’, was the first track ever played on BBC Radio 1 to launch the station.
8. Anvil
Anvil’s trajectory is a masterclass in industry misfortune. Despite pioneering the speed metal sound that birthed the 'Big Four' (Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth), they were systematically sidelined by disastrous timing and legal gridlock. A pivotal delay in releasing Forged in Fire allowed their disciples to leapfrog them, while a subsequent, soul-crushing contractual dispute trapped the band in limbo during the genre's mid-80s commercial explosion.
Isolated in Toronto and lacking the ruthless management of their peers, Anvil watched from the wings as their own innovations became stadium anthems for others. They remained a blueprint for greatness that the world simply forgot to build. While their contemporaries gained traction, Anvil continued to play in small venues, lacking the exposure that others enjoyed.
A lucky turn came much later. In 2009, the documentary, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, was released, highlighting their struggles. This gave them a late-career boost, with more attention now given to their earlier albums.
7. The New York Dolls
Many have argued that The New York Dolls slipped through the cracks of glam rock and punk rock – perhaps missing out on the mainstream success of both movements, eventually leading to the band being dropped by their label in 1975.
As with many bands of this era, The New York Dolls were plagued by tragedy from drug abuse. Original drummer Billy Murcia died from a drug-related accident in 1972, on the band’s first UK tour, with the new drummer Jerry Nolan dying from a stroke and guitarist Johnny Thunders dying from a drug overdose in 1991. By 2025, all the original members had passed.
6. Moby Grape
San Francisco band Moby Grape had a unique sound, blending elements of folk, psychedelia, rock and roll and blues – and really, they should have been hugely successful. But sadly, their journey was plagued with poor luck and bad marketing choices from their label.
For the band’s self-titled debut album, Columbia Records tried out a new marketing strategy, releasing five singles simultaneously. While this was an attempt to create hype, it had the unfortunate effect of confusing radio programmers and made the band seem commercial and over-promoted. This peculiar marketing strategy was matched by a disastrous launch party, an event which supposedly saw 10,000 purple orchids dropping from the ceiling, causing attendees to slip and fall, and hundreds of bottles of ‘Moby Grape’ wine – with no corkscrews.
The band’s second album was a failure, but did garner them new UK listeners. Amid their success, band member Skip Spence began abusing LSD, which led to erratic behaviour and turbulent relations within the band. He was then forced out, before the band released their third album. Bob Mosley left the band shortly after, leading to the band’s first dissolution. Legal woes followed too, as their manager Matthew Katz claimed to retain ownership of their name, withholding royalties and blocking releases.
5. The La’s
After the success of their hit single ‘There She Goes’, The La’s failed to gain any real traction, mostly due to their perfectionism and dissatisfaction with recordings – particularly by lead singer Lee Mavers. This led to pressure within the band, with internal conflicts leading to constant, unrelenting changes in the line-up and shifts in direction.
As a result, the band became archetypal one-hit wonders. They were never able to build on the success of ‘There She Goes’ and their sole 1990 album, and eventually entered a prolonged hiatus not long after.
4. Big Star
Formed in Memphis by the brilliant but volatile Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, Big Star's 1972 debut #1 Record was a melodic masterpiece that critics adored. However, their label, Ardent, was distributed by the crumbling Stax Records. Due to catastrophic logistical failures, the album simply never reached stores. Fans couldn't buy it, and the momentum died on the vine.
The bad luck deepened with 1974’s Radio City; despite containing the quintessential jangle-pop anthem 'September Gurls', the distribution woes persisted. Chris Bell, the band’s perfectionist architect, departed in frustration. By the time they recorded the hauntingly fractured Third/Sister Lovers, the band had essentially disintegrated, and the album sat unreleased for years.
They were a band of 'Zelig' figures: perfectly positioned to soundtrack the decade, yet thwarted by corporate collapse, leaving them to become a ghost story that inspired everyone from R.E.M. to The Replacements.
3. Mother Love Bone
The story of Mother Love Bone is one laced by tragedy, with their career abruptly ended by the death of their charismatic lead singer, Andrew Wood, just days before the scheduled release of their major-label debut album. Wood died at the age of just 24 from a heroin overdose, and the timing of his death was painfully poignant, one day shy of the one-year anniversary of their first EP release and at the brink of the band breaking into the mainstream.
The band were unable to continue, dissolving before the success of their debut album Apple could ever be fully realised. The album was released posthumously a few months later, becoming a foundational album of 90s grunge. Its surviving members, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, ultimately regrouped and formed Pearl Jam, which enjoyed great success – but was much more sombre in mood.
2. The Exploding Hearts
The story of The Exploding Hearts is devastating, with three out of the four members of the Oregon-based punk rock band killed in a car accident shortly after the release of their debut studio album, Guitar Romantic, in 2003. The band were heading home after having played at the Bottom of the Hill, a venue in San Francisco.
It is believed that Matt Fitzgerald fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the van. Fellow band members Adam Cox and Jeremy Gage were thrown from the van, and all three died, leaving guitarist Terry Six and the band’s manager Rachell Ramos with minor injuries. The band’s legacy is now entirely wrapped up with this tragedy.
1. Badfinger
There are few bands in rock history with such a cautionary tale to their name. Once hailed as one of Britain’s most promising bands, Badfinger began making music in the mid-1960s in Swansea, Wales, as The Iveys. Their early sound would earn them later comparisons to The Beatles, but they struggled to get traction – until George Harrison recommended them to Apple Records, The Beatles’ new label. He then produced their hit single ‘Come and Get It’, which launched them into the spotlight. More hits were produced, with critical acclaim following shortly after.
The trouble was that, thanks to their manager Stan Polley (undoubtedly one of the worst managers in rock history), Badfinger's finances were a mess. He mishandled contracts, failed to pay royalties, and landed the band in terrible debt. Apple Records were not much help either, mired in their own difficulties after the breakup of The Beatles. Albums were delayed and promo was limited, meaning that the band’s success slowly ground to a halt.
This inevitably led to disagreements within the band, stalling creative collaboration too. In 1975, lead singer and guitarist Pete Ham took his own life, reportedly driven to despair by the financial ruin he and his bandmates had fallen into. 1983 brought yet more tragedy, with bassist Tom Evans also taking his own life. Had their finances been better managed and the quality of their music matched by sustainable commercial success, the trajectory of Badfinger might not have been so tragic.
Top pic Moby Grape
Pics Getty Images
