Mud

In the popular imagination, they’re probably best remembered now for their 1974 Christmas number one ‘Lonely This Christmas’, which remains a staple of the festive period for miserablists across the land, but there was actually plenty more to Mud than just that one son; after forming in London in 1966, they went on to define the early stages of the glam rock genre, taking old-fashioned rock and roll influences and the pop sounds of the time and infusing them with an attitude that made them stand out from the crowd at the time. They continued as a band, too, right up until 1990, although the original lineup had dissolved as early as 1979; right up until the point that the name Mud became defunct, though, they retained a cult fanbase across Britain. Since the split, the fortunes of the band members have varied wildly; original frontman Les Gray passed away back in 2004, whilst drummer Dave Mount went into the insurance business and left the music industry behind, bassist Ray Stiles joined the Hollies and guitar player Rob Davis, incredibly, was behind a slew of huge pop hits in the early noughties, including Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ and Spiller’s ‘Groovejet’.