10 Unlucky Musicians Who Narrowly Missed Out On Making It Big

This entry may come as a surprise to some, but for much of their career before the drum stool was taken up by the godfather of rock and roll mischief, The Who were accompanied on drums by someone much less conspicuous.

Formed in the early '60s, The Detours, as they were known at the time, consisted of Pete Townshend on guitar, John Entwistle on bass, Roger Daltrey on vocals, and bricklayer-turned-drummer Doug Sandom. Sandom was much older than the rest of the band, with Doug being in his early 30s with the rest of the mod favourites still in their teens. Sandom's wife and family also were not keen on him frequently returning home late from gigs.

Aside from the generational difference because of the age gap, Sandom's drumming was not liked by the group's management and several record executives at various auditions. After changing their name to The Who in early 1964, Sandom was dismissed and then gave one month's notice for leaving the future superstars.

Just over a month from Sandom's departure, The Who recruited nowadays rock and roll icon Keith Moon as their drummer. That same year they released their debut original single I Can't explain, and over the next two decades became one of the most popular and successful bands of all time.