So that appears to be the list of bands who started off, got together or called themselves a band in 1970. But as these new suns rose (well, some of them anyway) what of the stars that fell to earth? Which bands, formed in the sixties but unable to break through or for whatever reason calling time on their careers, folded in 1970? And what, if anything, happened to them? Glad you asked.
The Beatles
You don’t need me to tell you what happened when the “world’s greatest rock group” decided to call it a day, do you? Four, well, three successful solo careers, (sorry, Ringo: drummers don't have successful careers, didn't you know that? What do you mean, talk to Phil Collins?) that is until poor John Lennon got shot by some fu
cking lunatic in the 1980s. Or was it the CIA? Makes you think, doesn’t it? No, it really doesn’t.
The Nice
As already explained in two entries above, the Nice basically became the springboard for the launch of the career of Keith Emerson, at the helm of the new supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer, who would usually be known simply as ELP. The other two didn’t do so badly either. Actually, they did. As related already, Lee Jackson formed Jackson Heights, but all they experienced over five albums was lows, leaving him to join Patrick Moraz in the rather appropriately-titled Refugee, while Brian Davison formed Every Which Way, which went no which way and after one album he followed his former bandmate for refuge with Moraz. Rather unfortunately for both, it would seem, Moraz then ditched them both to go occupy the empty seat left behind Rick Wakeman’s keyboard banks in Yes.
All three rejoined in 2002 for a Nice reunion concert series. Davison died six years later of a brain tumour, while Emerson shot himself, doing a Cobain in 2016, leaving only Lee Jackson as the remaining member of the Nice.
Organisation
After releasing their only album,
Tone Float, Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider-Esleben left the band to form a little-known outfit named Kraftwerk, leaving the remaining Organisation members to head back to college. Ah, those Germans, huh?
Quill
Never heard of them? Not to worry, neither have I. They were gone by 1970, though not before making something of a name for themselves across their native US soil by supporting not only bands like The Dead, The Kinks, The Who and Deep Purple, but also once opening for Steve Martin! How many rock bands, never mind prog rock bands, can say that? They even played at Woodstock (and again, how many prog bands managed that?) but somehow the gods were against them, as their performance, due to be broadcast in the famous film about the festival, was omitted due to a glitch in the tape. Don’t you just love those ancient recording mechanisms? Hey, they were even produced at one time by Jon Bon Jovi’s cousin, Tony!
Headed by two brothers, Jon and Dan Cole, the disappointment at missing out on the biggest advertising and
PR opportunity of the sixties depressed the two, and Jon went off to pursue a career in alternative power sources. Today he runs one of the world’s largest solar power companies. Dan got into the production and management business, software development and eventually became a private investor and management consultant. He didn’t give up the world of music though, and is apparently still writing and recording in his own studio.
Sam Gopal
Who? We didn’t even cover them. Him. Whatever. But to be fair, neither did we cover Quill, and they’re on the list, so maybe he, they, whatever was or were a big prog name before… no. I see first of all it’s a he, and second he is or was a psych musician. One guy huh? How do you suppose one guy disbands? Was he a leper? A Transformer before his time? Let’s find out.
Oh no wait: Sam Gopal
is a guy’s name, but he also named his band after himself. How very arrogant of you, sir. Well it seems our Mr. Gopal has the distinction of having been the only prog, well, prog-worthy act to have come from the fair shores of Malaysia, of all places, so that’s interesting in itself. Why is he in an article about prog, you ask? Frankly, so do I. I guess one claim to fame is that he, sorry they performed on the same stage as Pink Floyd, The Crazy World of You-Know-Who and Soft Machine, though not at the same time I expect. The mighty Hendrix sat in with them on one gig. Impressive, though hardly prog I think.
Oh look! At one point Sam’s lineup included Hawkwind and later Motorhead metal god Lemmy. Now that is good! Doesn’t say what happened to our Sam, but he/they is/are down as having kicked it to the curb in 1970, so I guess that was the end of them. Him. Whatever.