10 Bands Who Justifiably Should Have Been Huge

9. The House Of Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj-P_hIGB-o&list=PLSM5L5q7BKKqLa6wCmdmXaF05qkNHrqFy After the initial magical blast of their first record on Creation, The House of Love had a buzz about them not seen the like of in the pre-internet age. To give you the context, The Smiths had just split up, leaving a hardcore fan base bereft and looking for the next band that followed the mould; a band with a nonchalant singer who wrote lyrics to die for, a guitar player who would knock your socks off and a world class rhythm section to fill out the sound and add that missing nuance that the majority of indie bands at the time were lacking. Well, that was the idea, but the template was fulfilled to the letter by the Stone Roses, The House of Love just didn't take off. And there are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, they chased the money after album number one, signing for Fontana for an advance of nearly half a million quid. The man who wrote the cheque - Dave Balfe - had just hit pay dirt with Tears for Fears and expected a similar return on his investment. Instead of being emboldened by such faith in their abilities, The House of Love fell to pieces; their album for the major label lacked the charm, intensity and most importantly the quality of songs on their debut. Secondly, their egos got in the way and the genius guitarist Terry Bickers left, being thrown out of the tour van for burning a succession of £20 notes, whilst songwriter Guy Chadwick lost his mojo. What would have happened if they'd stayed on Creation? Well the answer to that is simple; they would have been huge, given the time to build and with a backer who truly believed in them. As it is we're left to wonder what should have been.