STEWART COPELAND

My apologies for this, but i could really use some brain cells for a piece that I'm working on.

Can you folks name some bands that, like the Police, reunited despite the unlikelihood of such a thing? I need examples of bands that reunited *before* the Police's February 2007 Grammys performance -- so the Eagles and the Doors (or the Doors-ish) are helpful, but Zeppelin not so much.

I really only need a couple of examples for a single sentence, but my scrambled brain is struggling to come up with some decent options from which to choose. I'm less concerned with the why of the impossibility (conflict, circumstance, Dead Member Syndrome, whatever) and more interested in the level of surprise associated with the reunion.

Because this is for a broad audience, I don't want to get any more obscure than bands like Jesus & Mary Chain or Stone Roses -- but in general, is there any band (aside from the Police) that you can think of that got back together --- even for one show -- whose reunion was more unexpected or unlikely than, say, the Eagles?

Thank you!

Out of my hat:

Blondie

Haircut 100

New Kids On The Block

Motley Crue

Poison

The English Beat


The Motels

Vixen

Elvis Costello & the Attractions

Pink Floyd (Live 8 )

The Velvet Underground

There's been two different versions of the Beat for some time now, one in US headed by Dave Wakeling and one in the UK with Ranking Roger...has to be one of the strangest setups!

Big news reunions might include, (just a few I can think of):

Cream (04 ish?)
Wu Tang Clan (06?)
Van Halen
Pixies (06)
The Specials (09)
Dead (08-09)
Phish (09)
STP
Sex Pistols--Filthy Lucre some years back (and another last year)
X

still waiting for the holy grail of punk reunions: Dead Kennedys with Jello--about 0% on that one...

and 'new wave,' Talking Heads (ok and XTC)

and old school metal, Sabbath

and post-punk/'modern rock' the SMITHS...

My immediate thought was Pink Floyd at Live 8.

Cream in c.2005. I think for just 1 show.

Beatles, so of, for Beatles Anthology for 2 songs.

[quote="njperry"]Cream in c.2005. I think for just 1 show.

Beatles, so of, for Beatles Anthology for 2 songs.[/quote]

Free as a bird? NFW that could be considered as a reunion. They weren't even in the studio at the same time.

Devo - they officially broke up in 1991 before officially reuniting in 1995

Iggy & the Stooges - Iggy made an album with both Asheton Brothers in 2003, "reuniting the three surviving founding members of The Stooges for the first time since 1974" - [Wikipedia]

Big Star* - Chris Bell's dead, but Alex Chilton got together original member Jody Stephens, plus Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow to play the band's material for a few dates circa 2005.

(*the band was one of the only rock acts on legendary Memphis soul label Stax, and is considered insanely influential by many folks, most notably The Replacements - who released a song called "Alex Chilton" on "Pleased to Meet Me")

These last two really curled the toes of many in certain rock communities - Iggy had a serious drug problem through most of the 70s, allegedly burned a lot of bridges & most folks thought the Stooges would never live again. In the case of Big Star, Alex Chilton had famously been resisting performing Big Star songs for literally 20 years before the reunion.

I had a few more, but have been beaten to them by my smart, good-looking forum-mates One I'm still waiting for, personally: Dave Davies to rejoin the Kinks fold....

Thought of one more: Steely Dan. Breakup from 1981 - 1993, still doing a lotta live shows & collaborating. I seem to remember people freaking out back in 2000 when "Two Against Nature" came out - first album of theirs since "Gaucho" in 1980. Helped that it won, like, 50 Grammy awards.

Fleetwood Mac? But the hiatus there wasn't very lengthy or well-defined...

The Smiths are your band.

Morrissey and Marr will never get back together, but it would be awesome if they did.

Edit:
Aw shit. I didn't read the question right.


Probably Pink Floyd as the others said. It's pretty ironic that Waters left Floyd and now he's the one wanting to get back together with them and they want nothing to do with him. At least I think that's the story. Sound familiar at all?

Thank you, thank you, thank you, all. I knew there were obvious answers screaming at me; I just couldn't seem to hear any of them.

Much appreciated, everyone.

Though now SuperCat has me jonesing to see Sabbath.

and Dead Kennedys with Jello
That would be one to see.

Personally I am hoping for the Kinks to finally happen and maybe one day Talking Heads.

[quote="TOWOS"]Out of my hat:

Blondie

Haircut 100

New Kids On The Block

Motley Crue

Poison

The English Beat


The Motels

Vixen[/quote]




Awwwwwww bollocks, did I miss seeing Haircut 100?!!!!

Haircut 100?

What would the setlist be, three songs?

Completely outside DM's brief, but scarily it seems Spandau Ballet are about to announce a reunion. I heard it on Twitter. It must be True.