8 - Asia - 6.7m
Formed in 1981 from a bunch of prog rockers the combination of John Wetton, from King Crimson and Uriah Heep, on bass and vocals, Steve Howe and Geoff Downes, from Yes, on guitar and keyboards, along with Carl Palmer, of Emerson Lake and Palmer, on drums made quite an impact. Close to seven million sales and even a US number-one single with “Heat Of The Moment."
7 - Mike + The Mechanics - 10m
This may be a surprise appearance, at least in terms of the high position. Formed by Genesis guitarist Mike Rutherford in 1985, the early lineup included Paul Young and Paul Carrack on vocals plus Adrian Lee on keyboards, and Peter Van Hooke on drums. They had a huge hit with ”The Living Years” but had many other hit songs besides. Ten million album sales show how popular they were. The band has a tour underway now, although it’s just Rutherford from the original members remaining.
6 - The Three Tenors - 15.9m
A slight change in style from the various rock-based supergroups. The trio of Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, and Placido Domingo brought opera and other stage and show songs to the list. Originally a collaboration for the soccer World Cup in Italy in 1990 they went on to repeat that success at three more such events over the years. That led to more top-selling albums - almost 16 million in total, plus tours and TV appearances bringing many classical songs to the wider public.
5 - Bad Company 17.8m
Back to good old rock and roll with the hugely successful Bad Company. Formed in 1973 by Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke from Free, along with Mick Ralphs from Mott The Hoople and King Crimson's Boz Burrell, the band had six studio albums before ending in 1982. There was a reunion in 1998 and 1999, for a further album and tour. As you can see, at almost 18 million album sales, they were very popular.
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