10,000 Maniacs

Formed by Natalie Merchant and John Lombardo in New York in 1981, 10,000 Maniacs released their debut album Secrets Of The I-Ching in 1983. It went largely unnoticed, but was good enough to win them a deal with Elektra Records, and in 1985 they released their second album The Wishing Chair. Their biggest success was third album In My Tribe, which was widely praised by critics and achieved commercial success, staying in the US Album charts for 18 months. It has now sold over two million copies in America alone.

Blind Man's Zoo (1989) also did well in the charts, cementing their reputation with fans. Our Time In Eden (1992) was the last studio album to feature lead singer Merchant, though she did stick around long enough to record an MTV Unplugged session with the band. Lombardo, who had left the band just prior to In My Tribe, later re-joined, and Merchant was replaced by singer Mary Ramsey for subsequent tours and recordings. In 2000, original lead guitarist Rob Buck died. A version of the band continues to tour, although the line-up is frequently changing.