History Main / ThebandMinusTheFace

* Cat Stevens' backup guitarist Alun Davies released an album titled ''Daydo'' in 1972 using some of Stevens' backing band, making this a Cat Stevens album in all but name (though Stevens himself appeared as guest artist). Critical reception was rather mixed (mainly because of its inclusion of [[WesternAnimation/AliceInWonderland "I'm Late"]]), and ''Daydo'' remains Davies' lone solo album to date.

* UsefulNotes/{{Synthwave}} group Dead Astronauts lost their lead producer and vocalist Hayley Stewart when she went solo as Mecha Maiko in 2016, but they have since carried on with Florence Bullock in her place.

* After Alice Deejay's girl trio split up, the producers attempted to start anew as Candee Jay with vocalist Ilze Lankhaar. But like the aforementioned fellow Dutch act 2 Unlimited, the reformation only lasted for one album.

* After Michael Hutchence, the singer for Music/{{INXS}}, tragically died in 1997, the group continued on with a new lead singer named Jon Stevens, who joined the group in 2002. Stevens then quit the group a year later to focus on a solo career, and the band eventually became involved with the ''Rock Star'' television series, where they crowned Canadian unknown J.D. Fortune as the new lead singer. Fortune released an album with the group (which received moderately good reviews and spawned a surprise top 40 hit with "Pretty Vegas"), the band "fired" him via an informal handshake at a UsefulNotes/HongKong airport, then re-hired him immediately afterwards, then the band continued with Fortune until replacing him with Irish singer Ciaran Gribbin for the last two years of their existence.

* Faithless, following a decade-long hiatus, reunited in 2020, sans rapper and FaceOftheBand Maxi Jazz, to produce the album ''All Blessed'' with an ensemble of guest vocalists.

* When Ian Matthews left Music/FairportConvention, he started his own country rock group, Matthews Southern Comfort, which released two albums. Afterwards, Matthews went solo, but his backing band renamed themselves Southern Comfort and did three albums without him.
* Music/FearFactory disbanded in 2002 after all members were in a feud with founding member Dino Cazares, but reformed the following year without him. This line-up made 2 albums: ''Archetype'', which was favourably received, and ''Transgression'', which, to date, is considered by many fans as their worst album.
** Dino Cazares finally came back in 2009 after Fear Factory was pretty much in hiatus since 2006. As a result, Raymond Herrera and Christian Olde Wolbers left the band. '''For good'''.
* In the world of GospelMusic, this happens pretty frequently, with a group forming around a person, or name, and trying to keep going after the founder/dominant personality is gone. When JD Sumner of JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet died, Ed Enoch tried to keep the name and keep going but was forced for a few years to call the group Ed Enoch and Golden Covenant, which few knew or cared about. He finally got the rights to the name, but without JD, nobody thought of them as the Stamps. James Blackwood was the driving force behind the Blackwood Brothers, especially as his actual brothers eventually all left. When he left as well in 1980, leaving the group in the hands of his son and nephew, not many were thrilled with it and tried to pretend the group no longer existed. Several years after James's death, his son Jimmy started the group up again, eventually helping the group live up to its name when his brother Billy joined. Billy is the only Blackwood still with the group today, and their popularity is once again fading. Hovie Lister and the Statesman Quartet were gospel superstars, but after Lister's death, the other four members tried to keep going as the Happy Rhythm Quartet. No one remembers this happening. The Cathedrals officially ended their run with the death of Glen Payne, but several groups rose from their ashes, including the Legacy Five and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. Both have repertoires that heavily draw from their years with the Cathedrals, but wisely, neither group has even tried to use that name.
* A few years after Music/TheGuessWho broke up in 1975, they received offers to reunite. The best-known members -- Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman -- were busy with their solo careers, but some of the other members formed a new version of the group -- and at the same time, bassist Jim Kale secured rights to the band's name. While the classic lineup played some gigs and released the live album and video ''Together Again'' in 1983, the rest of the Guess Who's post-1975 releases have come from [[RevolvingDoorBand several different lineups]], many of which had Kale as the only original member, none of which featured Cummings or Bachman.
* Music/WaylonJennings, Tommy Allsup, and Carl Bunch backed up Music/BuddyHolly on the ill-fated Winter Dance Party, and after the crash, Holly was replaced with Ronnie Smith, and this new lineup later became the Jitters. They had little success, they soon broke up, Jennings became a solo star, and Smith was committed to a Texas state hospital for drug abuse in 1962, where he hanged himself in the bathroom.

* After Shannon Hoon's death in 1995, Blind Melon reformed with a vocalist who had a somewhat similar style and released one album under the name Unified Theory; years later they reformed again with a vocalist with a ''very'' similar singing style, this time touring and releasing an album under the Blind Melon name again. Both albums had relatively good reception from fans, but didn't attract much attention outside of the fan base.

* Welsh indie rock band Joanna Gruesome lost lead singer Alanna [=McArdle=] in 2015 just weeks after they had released their second album ''Peanut Butter''. The band replaced her with two new singers for their ensuing tour, but they never released another album or single, and eventually split into other projects.

* BigBand legend Music/GlennMiller died during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, but there have been two posthumous versions of The Glenn Miller Orchestra. Tex Beneke, the original band's singer/saxophonist, kept the band going immediately after Miller's death; however, he ran into CreastiveDifferences with Miller's estate, who organized their own orchestra in 1956. Not only did that version continue recording and touring, it still exists today.

* After Music/MeatLoaf attained massive popular success with ''Music/BatOutOfHell'', songwriter-producer Music/JimSteinman wrote a followup album for the singer. When he proved unable to perform due to illness, Steinman brought Meat Loaf's band into the studio and sang the songs himself, releasing the album, ''Bad for Good'', under his own name. While critics generally deemed it mediocre and found Steinman's voice a poor substitute for Meat Loaf's, it achieved a Top 40 hit with "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through". Meat Loaf would eventually record most of the songs on the album himself for various projects.

* In the world of gospel music, this happens pretty frequently, with a group forming around a person, or name, and trying to keep going after the founder/dominant personality is gone. When JD Sumner of JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet died, Ed Enoch tried to keep the name and keep going but was forced for a few years to call the group Ed Enoch and Golden Covenant, which few knew or cared about. He finally got the rights to the name, but without JD, nobody thought of them as the Stamps. James Blackwood was the driving force behind the Blackwood Brothers, especially as his actual brothers eventually all left. When he left as well in 1980, leaving the group in the hands of his son and nephew, not many were thrilled with it and tried to pretend the group no longer existed. Several years after James's death, his son Jimmy started the group up again, eventually helping the group live up to its name when his brother Billy joined. Billy is the only Blackwood still with the group today, and their popularity is once again fading. Hovie Lister and the Statesman Quartet were gospel superstars, but after Lister's death, the other four members tried to keep going as the Happy Rhythm Quartet. No one remembers this happening. The Cathedrals officially ended their run with the death of Glen Payne, but several groups rose from their ashes, including the Legacy Five and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. Both have repertoires that heavily draw from their years with the Cathedrals, but wisely, neither group has even tried to use that name.

* By 1970, after Music/TheMonkees' [[Series/TheMonkees TV series]] had been canceled ''and'' both Music/MichaelNesmith and Peter Tork (the only members of the band who were actual musicians) had left, the band's future looked bleak. However, Saturday morning reruns of the show did well enough that the two remaining members -- Micky Dolenz and Davy Jones -- made one more album -- ''Changes'', a return to the bubblegum pop of the group's earliest hits, only not as good. Despite songs from ''Changes'' being inserted into the existing reruns, the LP didn't even make the Billboard Top 200 album chart on its initial release, and The Monkees were finished -- until their successful 20th-anniversary reunion in 1986. When ''Changes'' (along with the rest of The Monkees' catalogue) was subsequently reissued, it finally made the charts, peaking at #152.

** D12 feature on Music/{{Gorillaz}}'s "911" without Eminem, due to a plane booking mishap that had left the rest of the group stranded in London with Damon Albarn. After meeting, they decided to get together for a project, with Albarn rapping as replacement for the more notorious TokenWhite.

* On AprilFoolsDay 2008, Music/BraveSaintSaturn announced that lead singer and guitarist Reese Roper was leaving the band and that bassist Keith Hoerig would take his place. It was, of course, a joke--made funnier by the fact that Reese had started the band in the first place so he could record some songs that wouldn't fit the style of [[Music/FiveIronFrenzy that other band he was in]].

** Music/{{Eminem}} also took breaks from the band while he was filming ''Film/EightMile'', leaving them to tour their material without their most beloved member.
** D12 feature on Music/{{Gorillaz}}'s "911" without Eminem, due to a plane booking mishap that had left the rest of the group stranded in London with Damon Albarn.

* Music/{{SS501}} (as SS501 Special Project Group) promoted with 3 members in 2008 while Kim Hyun-joong was busy filming Series/BoysBeforeFlowers. Park Jung-min was also participating in the musical Theatre/{{Grease}}. The project group later became official in their own right in 2016 as Double S 301.

* D12's ''Devil's Night Mixtape'', at first, didn't feature their iconic member Music/{{Eminem}} due to scheduling issues (though he'd wanted to be on it). Due to a negative reaction from D12 fans, a couple of hours after release, the band updated the tracklist to add a two-minute intro of Eminem freestyling, clearly recorded in a hurry... not least that it's completely a capella.

* Music/TomPetty's backing band, The Heartbreakers, released a {{retraux}} SurfRock album, ''Surf-N-Burn'', under the alias The Blue Stingrays.

* Music/InformationSociety reformed in 2006 with Christopher Anton replacing Kurt Harland on vocals, aside from a guest appearance by the latter on "The Seeds of Pain". Harland contributed to a few live performances following the release of ''Synthesizer'', and properly rejoined the band for ''_Hello World'' in 2014. Ironically, Harland previously [[InvertedTrope inverted this trope]] by [[IAmTheBand recording solo under the Information Society name]], whilst founder Paul Robb went solo as Think Tank.
* Music/{{ETHS}} most prominent member was the original lead singer Candice Clot, who left the band in 2012 and got replaced by Rachel Aspe. They only released an EP and a studio album before Eths disbanded. Rachel left in 2016 and Candice (with other members of the original line-up) came back for the final tour in 2017.

* When Music/LouReed left The Music/VelvetUnderground in 1970, guitarist Doug Yule (whom Reed had brought in to replace Music/JohnCale) kept what was left of the band touring for two years, then recorded the album ''Music/{{Squeeze 1973}}'' with session musicians (including Music/DeepPurple drummer Ian Paice). According to the Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeeze_(Velvet_Underground_album) article]], ''Squeeze'' "could justifiably be regarded as a Doug Yule solo album in all but name", and the only reson it was issued as a VU album was [[invoked]]ExecutiveMeddling from the group's manager. While the album has [[https://web.archive.org/web/20141218203842/http://bobchaos.com/squeeze/squeeze1.html its defenders]], rock critic David Fricke sums up the general consensus when he describes it as [[FanonDiscontinuity "an embarrassment to the VU discography."]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet Homer's Barbershop Quartet]]", The Be-Sharps' career trajectory mirrors that of Music/TheBeatles, including the popular Chief Wiggum's replacement by the far more talented Barney Gumble and the group's rise to pop stardom with Barney in the lineup.

* Music/TheBand. In 1965, Music/BobDylan recruited an unknown group called Levon and the Hawks as his backing band for his first electric tour. After his 1966 motorcycle accident the following year led him to withdraw from the public eye for a time, the group changed its name to The Band and went into business for itself, with considerable success. They played this straight with some later reunions minus Robertson (depending on whether you view him or Levon Helm as The Face). In the 80s the four other members did some tours of tiny clubs and theatres but halted after Richard Manuel was DrivenToSuicide. In the early '90s, the three remaining members reunited again with some success, but the death of Rick Danko (and later Helm) finally put a stop to The Band once and for all.

* A few years after The Guess Who broke up in 1975, they received offers to reunite. The best-known members -- Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman -- were busy with their solo careers, but some of the other members formed a new version of the group--and at the same time, bassist Jim Kale secured rights to the band's name. While the classic lineup played some gigs and released the live album and video ''Together Again'' in 1983, the rest of the Guess Who's post-1975 releases have come from [[RevolvingDoorBand several different lineups]], many of which had Kale as the only original member, none of which featured Cummings or Bachman.

* When Music/LouReed left The Music/VelvetUnderground in 1970, guitarist Doug Yule (whom Reed had brought in to replace Music/JohnCale) kept what was left of the band touring for two years, then recorded the album ''Music/{{Squeeze 1973}}'' with session musicians (including Music/DeepPurple drummer Ian Paice). According to the Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeeze_(Velvet_Underground_album) article]], ''Squeeze'' "could justifiably be regarded as a Doug Yule solo album in all but name". While the album has [[https://web.archive.org/web/20141218203842/http://bobchaos.com/squeeze/squeeze1.html its defenders]], rock critic David Fricke sums up the general consensus when he describes it as [[FanonDiscontinuity "an embarrassment to the VU discography."]]

* When Music/TheWho lost drummer Keith Moon after 1978's ''Who Are You'', the band replaced him with Kenney Jones. Everything went OK for a while, including a decently-received tour, until 11 fans were killed at a concert in Cincinnati a year later. The band then released two studio albums with Jones, ''Face Dances'' and ''It's Hard''. While the former had a bonafide hit in "You Better You Bet" and a charter in "Another Tricky Day", the latter was panned by just about everyone (though ''Magazine/RollingStone'' infamously awarded it 5/5 stars). Though they've reunited since then (recently without bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002) many times for tours and even a studio album ''Endless Wire'' which was warmly received, they've never REALLY been Music/TheWho since Keith passed away.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E22StevenAndTheStevens Steven and the Stevens]]", [[CheerfulChild Steven]] uses TimeTravel to collect [[MesACrowd four of himself]], then starts a band called [[PlanetOfSteves Steven and the Stevens]]. However, eventually, Steven-1 becomes such a tyrant that the others kick him out, resulting in Steven and the Stevens...without Steven?

* On ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse,'' [[CheerfulChild Steven]] uses TimeTravel to collect [[MesACrowd four of himself]], then starts a band called [[PlanetOfSteves Steven and the Stevens]]. However, eventually, Steven-1 becomes such a tyrant that the others kick him out, resulting in Steven and the Stevens...without Steven?

* The Music/DeadKennedys' messy breakup resulted in the band continuing to tour without singer Jello Biafra, angering fans who felt that the new version of the DK's betrayed everything the original group stood for -- for example, rewriting "MTV Get Off the Air" into "[=MP3=] Get Off the Web"[[note]]For those of you who don't get ''why'' this is a betrayal, [[TechnologyMarchesOn back in the days of home taping being the main way to pirate music]], the DK's intentionally left the B-side of the ''In God We Trust Inc.'' cassette blank with the message "Home taping is killing record industry profits! We left this side blank so you can help." printed on the label; many DK's fans immediately noted the hypocrisy and abandoned the band in the post-Biafra years.[[/note]]; this may help explain why the new DK's have gone through no less than ''four'' singers. Atypically for this trope, the post-Biafra Dead Kennedys haven't attempted any new material (all their releases since the split have been compilations or live albums dating from the Biafra era), while Jello has released several solo/spoken word albums, collaborated with multiple bands - including Lard, the Music/{{Melvins}}, Music/{{DOA}}, and Music/{{Ministry}}, among others - and has even started a new band, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. The kicker? ''More Dead Kennedys fans have voiced their support for Jello's post-DK's career than they support the current Dead Kennedys.''

* Music/{{Wilco}} was originally seen as Uncle Tupelo minus singer/lead guitarist Jay Farrar (who left to form Music/SonVolt), but this was gradually averted as the band formed their own musical identity and most of the founding members (excepting leader Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt) either left the band or were fired.

* After Melanie Thornton left La Bouche, the rest of the group produced the single "All I Want" with Natacha Wright, which was a flop. Following [[AuthorExistenceFailure Thornton's death in a plane crash]], they [[PosthumousCollaboration posthumously used]] vocals from her unfinished solo material to produce "In Your Life" and its B-side "Take Me to Heaven Tonight".

** When the original line-up reunited to record new material in the mid 1970s (minus founder member [[AuthorExistenceFailure Keith Relf]], alas), they had to do so under a new name (Illusion, taken from the title of their second album), because Renaissance Mk. II were still a quite successful going concern.

* Speaking of Bad Company and Paul Rodgers, the band reunited in 1986 minus Rodgers, hiring Brian Howe as his replacement and taking on a more contemporary hard rock sound. (To be fair, they only used the name "Bad Company" at [[ExecutiveMeddling the insistence]] of Creator/AtlanticRecords.) While Howe-era Bad Company didn't do too badly on the charts, hitting the Top 40 thrice, fan and critical reception were nowhere near that of the classic Bad Company with Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, bassist Boz Burrell, and drummer Simon Kirke. Eventually, Howe himself was replaced by Robert Hart. The classic lineup would briefly reunite in the late 1990s, recording four new songs for a GreatestHits compilation before Burrell left. (He [[AuthorExistenceFailure died]] in 2006, ending further reunions of the classic lineup.) Since then, Rodgers and Kirke (joined by Ralphs when his health permits) have toured sporadically, although there have been no studio recordings since 2002 when two new songs were included on a LiveAlbum.

* The Music/DeadKennedys' messy breakup resulted in the band continuing to tour without singer Jello Biafra, angering fans who felt that the new version of the DK's betrayed everything the original group stood for -- for example, rewriting "MTV Get Off the Air" into "[=MP3=] Get Off the Web"[[note]]For those of you who don't get ''why'' this is a betrayal, [[TechnologyMarchesOn back in the days of home taping being the main way to pirate music]], the DK's intentionally left the B-side of the ''In God We Trust Inc.'' cassette blank with the message "Home taping is killing record industry profits! We left this side blank so you can help." printed on the cassette; many DK's fans immediately noted the hypocrisy and abandoned the band in the post-Biafra years.[[/note]]; this may help explain why the new DK's have gone through no less than ''four'' singers. Atypically for this trope, the post-Biafra Dead Kennedys haven't attempted any new material (all their releases since the split have been compilations or live albums dating from the Biafra era), while Jello has released several solo/spoken word albums, collaborated with multiple bands - including Lard, the Music/{{Melvins}}, Music/{{DOA}}, and Music/{{Ministry}}, among others - and has even started a new band, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. The kicker? ''More Dead Kennedys fans have voiced their support for Jello's post-DK's career than they support the current Dead Kennedys.''