There's nothing more rock 'n' roll than replacing a frontman. Unless you're a diehard fan of these bands, you probably never knew about these surprising replacement singers.
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00:00There's nothing more rock and roll than replacing a frontman. Unless you're a diehard fan of
00:04these bands, you probably never knew about these surprising replacement singers.
00:09For ACDC fans, there are two eras, Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. Yes, there was that strange
00:13period in the 2010s when Johnson didn't perform because of health reasons, and the Aussie
00:17rock band teamed up with Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose. But let's not talk about that too much.
00:22There was another ACDC vocalist before Scott, though. In fact, he was the original singer
00:26for the band between 1973 and 1974, Dave Evans.
00:30As Evans explained to NRK in 2012, the group started gigging and planning songs for their
00:35debut album right out of the gate. Unfortunately, there was tension between Evans and the band's
00:39then-manager, especially after a stint on a tour when the singer's voice gave out, and
00:43the manager stepped in to do the songs.
00:45Then it all came to a head one day. Evans explained,
00:47We had a night off in Adelaide. We'd all had a few drinks and spoke up, and the manager
00:52sort of smart-mouthed me. I just flew across the room and got stuck into him. The boys
00:56pulled us apart and nobody got hurt.
00:58Evans completed the tour and departed ACDC. He was replaced by Scott, whom Evans described
01:02as a nice bloke and a person who got on well with everyone. The Scott era lasted for six
01:07years before Bon Scott's tragic death in 1980 forced ACDC into another frontman replacement.
01:13Music fans know the history of how Phil Collins became a singer for Genesis. The drummer took
01:17over lead vocals after the departure of Peter Gabriel, and the band didn't look back. While
01:22fans can spend plenty of time arguing over who's the better singer between the pair,
01:25there's no disputing Collins' time at Genesis yielded plenty of hits.
01:28All good things must come to an end, though, and Phil Collins quit Genesis in 1996 to pursue
01:33his solo career. Genesis replaced Collins with Scottish singer Ray Wilson. Speaking
01:37to Rolling Stone in 2022, Wilson explained that he secured the gig because both he and
01:41Genesis were signed with Virgin Records at the time. Someone at the company put Wilson
01:45in touch with the band, and Wilson said he thinks he got the role because he sounded
01:49a bit like Gabriel, which fit the direction of where the band wanted to go.
01:52With Wilson as a singer, Genesis released the album Calling All Stations. This version
01:56of the group didn't last long, though. The album was poorly received in the U.S., and
02:00they called it a day soon thereafter. Later, Genesis and Collins joined forces for reunion
02:04tours.
02:05In the early 2000s, no one could escape Drowning Pool's bodies. The track became synonymous
02:11with new metal and showed up absolutely everywhere. Unfortunately, the band's joy was short-lived
02:15as frontman Dave Williams died in 2002. In 2003, Jason Gong Jones joined Drowning Pool
02:21as their new lead singer. Jones contributed to the 2004 album Desensitized. The biggest
02:26single off the album was the track Step Up, which also featured on the Punisher soundtrack,
02:30but it was a far cry from the success of Bodies.
02:33Jones left the band in 2005, telling Altitude he was unhappy with the musical direction
02:37and what he was paid. Drowning Pool countered this by saying Jones actually owed them money.
02:41If I recall, we bailed him out of jail for a cool $65,000.
02:46Either way, his stint with the band didn't last long.
02:49Soil's Ryan McCombs replaced Jones for a few years before Jason Moreno took over as
02:54vocalist, only for McCombs to return as lead singer in 2023.
02:58The Sex Pistols arrived for a good time, not a long time. Even though the group operated
03:02as a full-time band for the briefest of periods, they reunited sporadically throughout the
03:06decades for shows. Parking out the lyrics was John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, whose ferocious
03:12look, hostile demeanor, and outspoken political views remained synonymous with the band even
03:16as the years went on.
03:17And my advice is always to any member of the working class, get smart, read as much as
03:22you can, and find out who's using you.
03:24But in 2024, Rotten didn't return for the reunion shows, which may have to do with the
03:28fact that he was embroiled in a court case with his former bandmates years earlier regarding
03:32the use of Sex Pistols songs in the Danny Boyle-directed television series Pistol. Instead,
03:37the band performed with former Gallows frontman Frank Carter under the name Frank Carter and
03:41the Sex Pistols.
03:43Zoli Teglas was no stranger to Pennywise fans. For years, he had performed with the
03:47melodic hardcore band Ignite and built up a following for his energetic onstage performances.
03:52But no one could have predicted that he would step in to replace Pennywise's longtime frontman
03:55Jim Lindbergh. In 2009, Lindbergh shocked the punk rock world by announcing his departure
04:00from the band. A year later, he told Alternative Press,
04:03"...the band just wasn't working anymore. I think we all wanted to do it as long as
04:06it was still fun, and we had been having a lot of conflict with touring and the way we
04:10had been doing things. It was just kind of difficult for us to get along."
04:14Pennywise announced Teglas as their new vocalist in 2010, and he recorded the album All or
04:17Nothing with the group. In 2012, Teglas injured his back during a show and required surgery,
04:22forcing the group to cancel shows. Lindbergh rejoined Pennywise that same year.
04:28Puel isn't exactly one of the most influential rock bands of all time. They're mostly known
04:31for 2000's hit, Hemorrhage in My Hands. But that song definitely works because of vocalist
04:36Brett Scallion's powerful and raspy delivery of the emotionally charged lyrics. In 2007,
04:41Torrin Green was announced as the new singer for Puel after Scallions left the band to
04:45join a project called Riders on the Storm. Scallions rejoined Reincarnation of Puel in
04:492010. However, he left once again in 2020. Puel continued with a new singer in the form
04:54of John Corsale. But this proved to be a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, as he was quietly replaced by a former
05:00contestant on The Voice, Aaron Scott.
05:03Did you know that the 2001 film Rockstar, starring Mark Wahlberg, is loosely based on
05:07the story of Tim Ripper Owens, who was a fan of Judas Priest and went on to front the band
05:11after the departure of Rob Halford?
05:13"...picked up the phone and spoke to him and says, hey man, is that really you on the tape?
05:17And he says, that's really me, man."
05:20It's the ultimate rock and roll dream story, but we're not here to talk about Owens. See,
05:24even though he replaced Judas Priest's famous frontman, Halford wasn't actually the band's
05:28first singer, either. That honor belongs to Al Atkins, who was part of the group from
05:32inception in 1969 until 1973. Speaking to The Examiner in 2012, Atkins opened up about
05:38his decision to leave the band. He said,
05:40"...I was the only one in the band that was married with a kid to feed. And without a
05:43record deal and the backing we needed, I just couldn't survive anymore. So I decided to
05:47get a haircut and a 9-to-5 job."
05:49Atkins added that he came to regret his decision, but he was happy to see his former bandmates
05:53achieve success with Halford. He also said that Judas Priest wouldn't have sounded anything
05:57like they do had they continued with him.
06:00When you're talking about early-2000s pop punk, it's impossible to not mention Yellowcard,
06:04who slotted themselves comfortably next to other hard hitters like Good Charlotte and
06:07Sum 41. The addition of a violin in their sound makes them stand out from the jump,
06:11but their music is also aided by Ryan Key's distinct voice and songwriting ability. It
06:16could have turned out much differently had Yellowcard stuck with their original lead
06:19singer, Ben Dobson.
06:20As guitarist Benjamin Harper told BW Music, most of the members of Yellowcard met in high
06:25school around 1997 and played a faster, more aggressive style of punk with Dobson as the
06:29voice of the group. After two albums with Dobson, the group parted ways with their vocalist.
06:34He hopped on board, and their sound evolved into the one that launched them to fame.
06:38Kasabian contributed to the indie rock explosion of the 2000s, though band member Serge Porzarno
06:43might fight anyone over that categorization of their sound. Unquestionably, vocalist and
06:47co-founder Tim Meehan played his role in getting the group noticed, and formed a part of Kasabian's
06:51biggest moments for over two decades. But in 2020, Meehan was handed his marching orders
06:56after he admitted to assaulting his ex-fiancée. The band released a statement discussing how
07:00heartbroken they were with what happened, adding,
07:03As soon as we found out about the charges made against Tom, we as a band made the decision
07:06that we could no longer work with him. Instead of hiring a new crooner, Porzarno shifted
07:10to the frontman position permanently. He had already contributed backing vocals in the
07:14years prior, but now he assumed all singing duties. Speaking to The Guardian in 2024,
07:19Porzarno admitted he's not an extrovert, but he's found power in adapting to the role of
07:22a frontman by how he presents himself on stage. He said,
07:25It probably sounds silly, but once I put on an outfit, I know I can do it, even if sometimes
07:29I don't feel I can.
07:32Faith No More has had no shortage of vocalists in the band's history, though the two singers
07:35most notably associated with the act are Mike Patton and Chuck Mosley. In the early 1980s,
07:40the group ran the gauntlet in order to find the right personality after parting ways with
07:43original vocalist Mike Morris. One of the musicians who performed with Faith No More
07:47was none other than Courtney Love.
07:49I demanded to be in their band.
07:51Speaking to Classic Rock, keyboardist Roddy Buttom showered Love with praise, stating,
07:55She sang with us for probably six months. She was an awesome performer. She liked to
07:59sing in her nightgown adorned with flowers. While she had the perfect rock and roll aura
08:02and stage presence, Faith No More bassist Billy Gould admitted that Love was a lot of
08:06work and her chaotic personality prevented them from moving forward with her in the long
08:10term.
08:11Not long after that, Mosley would join Faith No More as a singer on a permanent basis.
08:15Things turned out more than okay for Love, as she went on to form the acclaimed alternative
08:18rock band Hole and become a celebrity in her own right.
08:22Look through Journey's history and it's clear that it's been, well, quite the journey. So
08:27many people have gone in and out of the band that it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask yourself
08:30if you've ever been a member of the rock group. Since 2007, Arnel Pineda has served as the
08:35frontman for the band. But who did he replace? That depends on who you ask, because the band's
08:39website totally skips over Jeff Scott Soto's stint from 2006 to 2007, after he replaced
08:45Steve Auzeri.
08:47Speaking to the RobCast podcast, Soto mentioned how it stings to be erased from history. He
08:51said,
08:52I was in the background listening to Neil Schoen doing interviews when we were doing
08:55the European tour, saying I was their new singer and that we could finally get past
08:58the ghost of Steve Perry and blah, blah, blah. I was there and I heard all of that. And to
09:02not have that acknowledgement now, it just hurts."
09:05Schoen addressed the issue in a Facebook comment under an article, saying that Soto helped
09:08Journey to finish a tour with Def Leppard, but he failed to convince the band that he
09:12was the right singer for them. In Schoen's words, it didn't work out.
09:16Think bad brains and only one vocalist comes to mind — HR. The musician solidified himself
09:21as the frontman of the hardcore punk band, and despite a few other singers zipping in
09:25and out of the band over the years, HR remains the most iconic voice of the bunch. During
09:28one of the stints when HR departed Bad Brains in 1990, Chuck Mosley of Faith No More stepped
09:33into the lead singer's role for a short period. From 1990 to 1992, Mosley performed around
09:3860 shows with Bad Brains, but he never recorded an album with the band. He was replaced as
09:43the frontman by Israel Joseph I, who then made way for HR a few years later. Tragically,
09:48Mosley died at the age of 57 in 2017.
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