Thirteen bands that shaped rock from the 1980s onwards, from R.E.M., Nirvana and Pearl Jam to Green Day, Linkin Park, Coldplay and the virtual band Gorillaz, plus the punk revolution that started it all.
When the hair metal of the 1980s started to feel tired, a new generation of bands took rock in a different direction. College radio favourites R.E.M. showed that an independent band from Athens, Georgia, could fill stadiums, and in 1991 Nirvana's Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the Billboard chart. Within a few years grunge, pop-punk and funk-rock had all broken into the mainstream.
This collection follows that story from the punk revolution of the 1970s, which gave the whole scene its do-it-yourself attitude, to the arena acts of today. It includes Seattle's Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl's band after Nirvana; California's Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers; and the 21st-century giants Linkin Park, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons and Maroon 5.
Many of their best-known songs came about by chance. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was named after a deodorant, "Losing My Religion" grew out of mandolin practice, and Chester Bennington disliked "In the End" so much that he tried to keep it off the album. Linkin Park were rejected by record labels 44 times before Hybrid Theory became the best-selling debut album of the century.
These bands also fought the music industry as often as they topped its charts: Pearl Jam took on Ticketmaster, Coldplay refuse to license their songs to advertisers, and Gorillaz were created out of frustration with MTV. Choose a band below and read fifteen facts about it.
Every item on this page, with the one fact most people get wrong about it.
| Name | Where you'll meet it | The fact worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Nirvana | Aberdeen, Washington, 1987-1994 | Nevermind knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the Billboard album chart. |
| Pearl Jam | Seattle, 1990-present | The band was originally named after NBA player Mookie Blaylock. |
| Foo Fighters | Seattle, 1994-present | Dave Grohl recorded the band's entire first album by himself in six days. |
| Green Day | Berkeley, California, 1987-present | A mud fight at Woodstock '94 cost bassist Mike Dirnt some of his teeth. |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | Los Angeles, 1983-present | They recorded their breakthrough album in a mansion said to be haunted. |
| Linkin Park | Agoura Hills, California, 1996-present | Record labels rejected them 44 times before Hybrid Theory became the best-selling debut of the 21st century. |
| R.E.M. | Athens, Georgia, 1980-2011 | Their 1996 deal with Warner Bros., worth about $80 million, was then the largest recording contract in history. |
| Fall Out Boy | Chicago, 2001-present | Only a blizzard stopped them from playing a show on every continent. |
| Imagine Dragons | Las Vegas, 2008-present | "Radioactive" spent 87 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, a record at the time. |
| Coldplay | London, 1996-present | Chris Martin learned to sing "The Scientist" backwards for its reverse-motion video. |
| Gorillaz | Virtual band, 1998-present | They entered the Guinness Book as the world's most successful virtual band. |
| Maroon 5 | Los Angeles, 1994-present | They started as a struggling alt-rock band called Kara's Flowers. |
| Punk Rock | New York and London, 1970s | CBGB, the birthplace of American punk, originally opened as a venue for country, bluegrass and blues. |
Longest-Charting Hit
87 weeks
Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" spent 87 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, a record at the time. Imagine Dragons
Biggest Record Deal
~$80 million
R.E.M.'s 1996 deal with Warner Bros. was the largest recording contract in history at the time. R.E.M.
Most Rejections
44 times
Linkin Park were turned down by labels 44 times before Hybrid Theory became the century's best-selling debut. Linkin Park
Most Best Rock Album Grammys
5 wins
Foo Fighters hold the all-time record for wins in the Best Rock Album category. Foo Fighters
Aberdeen, Washington, 1987-1994
Nirvana went through several names, and Dave Grohl was their fifth drummer, before Kurt Cobain's songs brought grunge to the world. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was named after a deodorant, and their MTV Unplugged set defied what the network expected. Their only competitive Grammy was won after Cobain's death.
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Seattle, 1990-present
Pearl Jam rose from the tragic end of Mother Love Bone after Eddie Vedder wrote lyrics for their demo on a surfing trip and sent back his audition tape. They refused to make music videos, took on Ticketmaster's monopoly and released official bootlegs of their own concerts. They have built a reputation for never playing the same setlist twice.
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Seattle, 1994-present
The Foo Fighters took their name from World War II slang for UFOs and grew into America's biggest stadium rock band. They hold the record for most Best Rock Album Grammys and once recorded a platinum album in Grohl's garage. An Italian town gathered 1,000 musicians to play "Learn to Fly" to invite them over.
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Berkeley, California, 1987-present
Green Day started as Sweet Children and led the 1990s pop-punk revival, selling more than 75 million records. Dookie was recorded in just three weeks, and the theft of an album's master tapes led them to make American Idiot instead. That album later became a hit Broadway musical.
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Los Angeles, 1983-present
The Chili Peppers fused funk, punk and pop and have sold more than 100 million records. "Under the Bridge" began as a private poem Anthony Kiedis never meant to sing, and George Clinton produced their second album. Guitarist John Frusciante has left and rejoined the band twice.
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Agoura Hills, California, 1996-present
Linkin Park renamed themselves so they could buy a web domain, and Chester Bennington was working at Burger King before he joined. He disliked "In the End" and tried to keep it off the album, yet it became one of their biggest hits. In 2024 the band returned with co-lead vocalist Emily Armstrong.
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Athens, Georgia, 1980-2011
R.E.M. picked their name from a random dictionary search and turned alternative rock into a stadium phenomenon. "Losing My Religion" was born from mandolin practice, and they deeply resented their own hit "Shiny Happy People". When they split in 2011, they did so peacefully, without lawsuits or drama.
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Chicago, 2001-present
Fall Out Boy got their name from a fan's shout and Patrick Stump originally auditioned to be the drummer. The members split all earnings equally, and their 2013 comeback album was recorded in total secrecy. Uma Thurman had to approve the song named after her personally.
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Las Vegas, 2008-present
Imagine Dragons learned their craft playing six-hour cover sets in Las Vegas casinos, and their name is a secret anagram. Singer Dan Reynolds lives with a chronic autoimmune condition and campaigns for health awareness. Giant Japanese taiko drums are a core part of their live show.
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London, 1996-present
Coldplay formed at University College London under the name Pectoralz and run the band as an equal democracy. They refuse to license their music for adverts, and their tours use kinetic dance floors that generate electricity. Drummer Will Champion even had a cameo in Game of Thrones' Red Wedding.
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Virtual band, 1998-present
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett created Gorillaz out of frustration with MTV. The hit "Clint Eastwood" was built on a keyboard preset, and the band pioneered hologram performances. They even recorded an entire album on an iPad.
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Los Angeles, 1994-present
Maroon 5's breakthrough album Songs About Jane was inspired by a single heartbreak, and the origin of their name remains a secret. "Moves Like Jagger" rescued them from commercial stagnation, helped by Adam Levine's long run on The Voice. They have even performed live at the Pyramids of Giza.
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New York and London, 1970s
Punk was a deliberate rejection of the technical showing-off of early 1970s rock. Safety pins and ripped clothes started as necessity rather than style, and the Ramones' simple songs were carefully arranged. Its do-it-yourself spirit fed fanzines, skate culture, grunge and emo.
Read the full article →8 questions, every answer is somewhere above.
1. What inspired the title "Smells Like Teen Spirit"?
2. Which NBA player was Pearl Jam originally named after?
3. How long did Dave Grohl take to record the first Foo Fighters album on his own?
4. How many times did record labels reject Linkin Park before their breakthrough?
5. Which instrument was R.E.M.'s Peter Buck practising when he came up with "Losing My Religion"?
6. What did the title of Coldplay's "Yellow" come from?
7. What did Red Hot Chili Peppers famously wear at Woodstock '94?
8. What record did Gorillaz enter the Guinness Book for?
Alternative rock grew out of the independent and college-radio scenes of the 1980s, inspired by punk's do-it-yourself attitude rather than the virtuoso guitar solos and big productions of classic rock. Bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana proved that this rawer sound could also sell millions.
Nirvana's 1991 album Nevermind dethroned Michael Jackson at the top of the Billboard chart and pushed grunge and alternative rock into the mainstream almost overnight, ending the reign of 1980s hair metal.
Dave Grohl was Nirvana's drummer, the band's fifth. After Kurt Cobain's death he recorded the first Foo Fighters album by himself in six days and went on to lead one of the most successful rock bands of the following decades.
Gorillaz is a virtual band created by Blur's Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998. Its cartoon members front real recordings, and the group has entered the Guinness Book as the world's most successful virtual band.
Punk grew out of stripped-down garage rock in New York clubs like CBGB and exploded in Britain in the mid-1970s amid mass unemployment. It deliberately rejected the technical showing-off of 1970s rock and later shaped grunge, emo and indie rock.
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