Although the Rolling Stones have been often thought of as the chief rival to the Beatles in the 60’s, it was the fellow Liverpool alumni Gerry and the Pacemakers who was the first to challenge the Fab Four in terms of popularity. Their first three singles charted #1 in the U.K. which made them the first band to accomplish that feat. What hindered the Pacemakers was the very thing that made them popular. Their music was light and bouncy and as the times abruptly changed in the mid 60’s, they were not able to change with it. By 1966, they were finished, but to those who relished the carefree sound of the Mersey Beat there were none better.

10cc may have been best known for their Soft Rock hits, 10cc was not exactly your traditional Soft Rock band. Utilizing the occasional Progressive Rock and Art Rock elements on occasion, 10cc really singled themselves out form their peers by their satirical lyrics and sense of irony made them one of the smarter Pop bands; even though many of their listeners did not get the joke.

Long lasting careers have never been the staple of most Punk bands, but the Mekons were not your average Punk band. In their near thirty year career their seemed to be no musical style that they haven’t flirted with and it was always done with the wry sense of humor that they became known for. Despite their interesting and diverse catalogue of music, the Mekons maintained a loyal fan base which is rare for an act that altered their sound so frequently. Likely, this was due to the band’s ability to always sound “real”; an attribute that is not found in a lot of today’s (or any day’s) music.

Already in with the Police, Sting had carved a very successful career as a solo artist. Too many fans however, Sting’s solo work went too far down the Adult Contemporary road and lacked a lot of the substance that the Police had. This isn’t to say, that his songwriting as a solo artist was sub par, because it wasn’t. However, it just wasn’t as clever as his previous work, and this is a weird case of being in the shadow of one’s self.