MC5 › Similar Artists

New York Dolls - 97% match to MC5

One of the most influential rock bands of the last 40 years, the New York Dolls predated the punk and sleaze metal movements that followed and offered a crash course in rebellion with style. Formed by a group of friends from New York’s rough Bowery district, the New York Dolls’ origins can be traced to the band Actress which featured Johnny Thunders (John Anthony G Read more

The Stooges - 95% match to MC5

Purveyors, with the MC5, of classic, high-energy American rock, the Stooges’ influence on successive generations is considerable. They were led by the enigmatic James Jewel Osterberg aka Iggy Stooge and Iggy Pop (James Newell Osterberg, 21 April 1947, Muskegon, Michigan, USA) who assumed his unusual sobriquet in deference to the Iguanas, a high-school band in which he d Read more

The Dictators - 80% match to MC5

Formed in 1973 in New York City, USA, the Dictators predated by two years the punk rock of bands such as the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, yet they exhibited many of that genre’s hallmarks from their inception. Purveying loud, three-chord rock without long solos, and drawing their lyrical inspiration and visual images from such disparate facets of popular culture as fast fo Read more

Johnny Thunders - 70% match to MC5

John Anthony Genzale Jnr., 15 July 1952, New York City, New York, USA, d. 23 April 1991, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Johnny Thunders first gained recognition as a member of the New York Dolls, an aggregation that built a reputation for its hard R&B-influenced rock sound and glam/punk appearance in the early 70s. First calling himself Johnny Volume, the guitarist joined Read more

The Sonics - 68% match to MC5

Dead Boys - 63% match to MC5

Radio Birdman - 58% match to MC5

This highly rated Australian band was formed in Sydney, New South Wales, in 1974. Its Detroit/ MC5 guitar-based sound was propelled by two American medical students, Deniz Tek (Detroit, Michigan, USA; guitar) and Phillip ‘Pip’ Hoyle (guitar/keyboards), plus Rob Younger (vocals), Warwick Gilbert (guitar), Ron Keeley (drums), Carl Rourke (bass) and, joining later, Ch Read more

13th Floor Elevators - 48% match to MC5

Formed in Austin, Texas, USA in 1965, this influential psychedelic rock band evolved from the nucleus of the Lingsmen, a popular local attraction. The original line-up included Stacey Sutherland (guitar), Benny Thurman (bass), John Ike Walton (drums) and Max Rainey (vocals), but the latter was replaced by Roky Erickson (Roger Kynard Erickson, 15 July 1947, Dallas, Texas, USA Read more

Blue Cheer - 45% match to MC5

San Francisco’s Blue Cheer, originally comprising Dickie Peterson (Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA; vocals/bass), Leigh Stephens (guitar) and Paul Whaley (drums), harboured dreams of a more conventional direction until seeing Jimi Hendrix perform at the celebrated Monterey Pop Festival. Taking their name from a potent brand of LSD, they made an immediate impact with 1967 Read more

The Pretty Things - 45% match to MC5

One of the UK’s seminal R&B bands, the Pretty Things formed at Sidcup Art College, Kent, England, in September 1963. The original line-up featured a founder member of the Rolling Stones, Dick Taylor (Richard Clifford Taylor, 28 January 1943, Dartford, Kent, England; guitar), plus Phil May (b. Phillip Arthur Dennis Kattner, 9 November 1944, Dartford, Kent, England; v Read more

Flamin' Groovies - 43% match to MC5

This unflinchingly self-assured act evolved from an aspiring San Francisco-based garage band, the Chosen Few. Roy Loney (13 April 1946, San Francisco, California, USA; vocals), Tim Lynch (b. 18 July 1946, San Francisco, California, USA; guitar), Cyril Jordan (b. San Francisco, California, USA; guitar), George Alexander (b. 18 May 1946, San Mateo, California, USA; bass) and R Read more

The Hellacopters - 43% match to MC5

Formed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1994, the Hellacopters fuse the raw Detroit sound of the MC5 and the Stooges with the robust musical stylings of AC/DC and Motörhead, to produce a virulent package that recalls the garage band sound of the late 60s. The band comprises former Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson aka Nicke Royale (guitar) and former Entombed roadies, Kenny H&arin Read more

The Damned - 39% match to MC5

Formed in 1976, this UK punk band originally comprised Captain Sensible (Raymond Burns, 24 April 1954, Balham, London, England), Rat Scabies (b. Chris Millar, 30 July 1957, Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey, England; drums), Brian James (b. Brian Robertson, England; guitar) and Dave Vanian (b. David Letts, England; vocals). Scabies and James had previously played in the unwieldy Read more

The Seeds - 39% match to MC5

Mott The Hoople - 37% match to MC5

Having played in a number of different rock bands in Hereford, England, during the late 60s, the founding members of this outfit comprised Overend Watts (Peter Watts, 13 May 1947, Birmingham, England; vocals/bass), Mick Ralphs (b. Michael Geoffrey Ralphs, 31 May 1944, Hereford, Herefordshire, England; vocals/guitar), Verden Allen (b. 26 May 1944, Hereford, England; organ) an Read more