3. Blaze Bayley in Iron Maiden
Bruce Dickinson’s departure from Iron Maiden in 1993 also marked the time of many longtime fans departing. While he himself was a replacement for Paul Di’Anno, it was under Dickinson’s tenure that the band became the worldwide sensation that they were. His replacement, former Wolfsbane singer Blaze Bayley, never really caught on with fans, and was eventually fired after two albums.
The only person that really made sense to front the band after that was Dickinson, who eventually returned to the band for 2000’s Brave New World. Since then, the band has arguably become even more popular than they ever have been, and Maiden have their own pilot to boot.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkgMNxfbsU0[/youtube]
2. Gary Cherone in Van Halen
If we were to make a list of the five most successful bands to make a singer change, Van Halen would be on that list as well. Sammy Hagar wasn’t a natural choice to replace David Lee Roth in the band, but he fit, and the band’s four albums with Hagar in the band were just as popular as the first six with Roth, if not as iconic. When Hagar left the band after eleven years, claiming Eddie Van Halen’s drinking was a problem, instead of returning to Roth (though they did give it a shot), they chose former Extreme singer Gary Cherone.
The resulting album, Van Halen III, sold poorly and the band’s tours weren’t that well-attended. His three-year tenure in the band was short-lived. Then the band went on a four year hiatus, re-emerging with Hagar. It was 14 years before the band released a follow-up to III, and A Different Kind of Truth had Roth back on vocals.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_dCgKQ1kOc[/youtube]
