3 Supergroups From the 1980s That Should Have Been Charting Superstars

The 1980s boasted quite a few supergroups in the rock music space. Many of those supergroups are dead and gone in the 2020s, sadly. But I can’t help but think that a few of them would have continued to chart well if they had stayed together. Let’s take a deep dive into just a few supergroups from the 1980s that I think would have been charting superstars if they had not broken up when they did.

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The Highwaymen

A whole lot of country with a little bit of a rock and roll attitude, The Highwaymen were one of the biggest supergroups of the mid-to-late 1980s. The group, made up of powerhouses like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, and Willie Nelson, ultimately came to an end in 1996. But their best works were released in the 80s, like their debut album, Highwayman, from 1985. Their music in the early 1990s also continued to chart quite well.

Sadly, while I think this group would have found ongoing charting success through the 1990s and 2000s, there was realistically no avoiding their breakup. Toward the late 1990s, Jennings and Cash started to have health problems. A touring schedule really wasn’t in the cards. The pair would pass away in the early 2000s, followed by Kristofferson in 2024. Nelson is the only remaining member of the group today.

The Lords Of The New Church

If you were a punk rock or gothic rock fan in the 1980s, you might have heard of The Lords Of The New Church. This British-American supergroup was founded in 1981 and originally had a lineup of some well-known people in the 1970s punk scene. A few names include Stiv Bators (The Dead Boys), Brian James (The Damned), Dave Tregunna (Sham 69), and Nick Turner (The Barracudas), though the band’s lineup changed often through the years.

This group enjoyed some decent success during their first run in the 80s, such as their self-titled debut album from 1982. That record peaked at No. 3 on the UK Indie chart. A few of their singles through the 1980s charted well, too, including a cover of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin”. The band ultimately broke up on stage in 1989, but reunited off and on through the 2020s.

Gogmagog

This entry on our list of supergroups from the 1980s was about as short-lived as it gets. Heavy metal supergroup Gogmagog was only around in the year 1985, and they released just one EP, I Will Be There. A lot of big names from Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, and Whitesnake were in this group, including Paul Di’Anno, Pete Willis, Janick Gers, Neil Murray, and Clive Burr.

Gogmagog didn’t find any commercial success when they were together. However, they did gain a cult following in the years following their breakup. Some of their songs were re-released in 2022, but I really think this band would have been successful on the rock charts if they had stayed together, rather than becoming retrospective cult favorites years later.

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