...she was the 'right' drummer for the VU.

In the same way the Ringo was the 'right' drummer for the Fabs (despite not being the best drummer in the group) and Meg is the right drummer for the White Stripes.

I aint dissing the Velvets!

That's what i meant.

Ish.

Are you saying that Spurs should replace Gomes with Phil Collins?

i saw a band called The Bastard Sons of Hamish McAlpine

that may well prove your rule to be correct:

1/The Who never got going until Keith Moon joined.
They died when he "dis-joined".

2/The Rolling Stones are still going despite everything....."Sir" Charlie Watts is still in the stool.

3/John Bonham died...so did Led Zeppelin.

Genesis would have been half the group they were without Jimmy Rimmer between the sticks.

Question: who is the Bruce Grobbelaar of rock?

Ian Paice is a great shot stopper, but rubbish at coming out for crosses.....Peter Shilton uses two bass drums !!

Why did i start this?

And could someone explain the 'Andy Goram' thing for those who can summon the energy to read it as I cant be bothered?

pocket?

I cannot think of a single exception, and can think of lots of examples.

Maybe one that comes to mind is Oasis: didn't they have two drummers, and were equally successful with each? I probably can't comment though as I hate Oasis and don't actually rate either of their drummers...

(As an aside, has anyone else noticed the strange coincidence regarding the number of drummers in rock history called "Alan White"? What's that all about?)

Different band when Topper Headon replaced Terry Chimes

Who - never the same band without Moony

Iron Maiden - Nicko McBrain vs Clive Burr (sounded more 'solid' with Nicko)

Oasis - different drummers for different phases of career
Tony McCarroll: Beakthrough
Alan White: Big Success
Zakk Starkey: The Overblown/Bloated Period)

Squeeze (Glison Lavis), Blondie (Clem Burke) & Roxy Music (Paul Thompson) - would they have been the same bands without the recognisable/signature sound/beat/thud of thier respective drummers?

The original drummers in Sister of Mercy & Echo and The Bunnymen were the best

...on the Classic Albums: Aja doc, Gadd doesn't even get a mention. I wonder if they fell out? Rick Marotta got a whole section to show us how he came up with the beat for Peg, but Gadd? Nada. I was waiting to hear about the whole title-track, sight-reading-the-chart-got-it-second-take thing.

The Swindon lads were never quite the same after letting that Terry Chambers go down under on a Bosman.

Not that I'm an expert on them but Bill Bruford's effortless ability to play in 127/43 before a swift transition to 3.23/8 or whatever must have made his successor sweat a bit.

I'd agree that the songs got better, but I'm not convinced that the dynamism of the recordings improved to quite the same extent.

Bruce Springsteen only really got going when Max Weinberg joined the band.
The Sex Pistols would have sounded a mess without Paul Cook.
Gilson Lavis is a fine drummer but Squeeze were at their live peak for the brief period Pete Thomas was behind the kit.
On the subject of The Who (several posts above), I'd say that Zak Starkey does a very creditable impersonation of Keith Moon, which is part of the reason they are still such a powerful band live.
Rick Buckler's style is unique and The Jam would have sounded quite different with any other drummer.

is not really the exception we've been looking for as the DC5 were pretty typical 60s chart fodder but, damn, was he one-dimensional.

I may get a dressing down for this but I've always thought Mitch Mitchell is a far better drummer than Ginger Baker. In fact I think it's the main reason I prefer the Experience to the Cream.

I would be interested to know if anyone agrees with me? Sometimes I feel a bit out on a limb because I think even Jimi thought Ginger Baker was better. But I just can't hear it.

The key comparison is to compare Hendrix's Sunshine Of Your Love with Cream's version. Hendrix's one just leaps about with energy and the Cream one is a bit lumpy with all that heavy tom stuff.