All of these (with the possible exception of No. 15) went on to greater success (or at least recognition) with their later names.

1. The Big Thing
2. Halfnelson
3. Skull
4. The Golliwogs
5. The New Anon
6. Tom and Jerry
7. Twisted Kites
8. The Neon Boys
9. Chubby and the Turnpikes
10. The Crossfires
11. TW4
12. The Impediments
13. The Boys Next Door
14. Earth
15. The Moments

And I think that some of these are pretty easy.

4. Creedence Clearwater Revival
6. Simon & Garfunkel
8. Richard hell & Voidoids

Twisted Kites = REM.

14. Earth - Black Sabbath

2. Sparks
13. Birthday Party

So far, answers to 2,4,6,7,13 and 14 are correct. Answer to 8 is incorrect.

Then it must be Television.

That it is. :)

15. Ray, Goodman & Brown (?)

That's right.

Still need answers for 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12.

11. Styx

5 genesis

5. is indeed Genesis, and 11. is Styx.

Good job so far. Only 1, 3, 9, 10, and 12 need answers.

12. The Replacements

Yes.

1. wham? or duran duran?

No and no--although both would probably have liked it to be true. :rolleyes:

Probably not the one you´re thinking about, but the Swedish band Teddybears (haven´t they had some hit in North America lately?) was called Skull in the beginning - or, rather, emerged from the death metal band Skull.

Right, that isn't the one I'm looking for. The one I'm thinking of is an American band that changed its name from Skull because (or so the story goes) it made them sound too much like a metal band (ironies abound). Hint: the name was changed to another short name starting with "S".

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of other bands also had the name Skull.

10 is (are)(were)? The Turtles

You (are) (were) correct! :)

So the only ones left for answering are 1, 3, and 9. Good job, all.

9, Tavares

1. Chicago
(with a little help by Google, I have to admit)

bradx is right about Tavares, and you're right about Chicago. No big deal about Google in this case--some hardcore fans of Chicago probably aren't aware of the band's former name.

Only 3. left to answer. Somehow, I think even using Google won't make it extremely easy. ;)

Silver, if that metal bit was a clue?

Sorry, not Silver. I'll give some more clues if no one gets it soon.

Looks like some clues are needed for No. 3. The group is from Ohio, has always had three members, had two albums released on a major label and a few more on larger independents, and has had national (and international) exposure, though probably not quite as much as Pere Ubu.

Bumping this thread. Surely the clues should lead someone to the answer.

Number 3 is still unanswered. In addition to the above-quoted clues, I previously posted that the name was changed from Skull to another short name also starting with "S." I'll spell it out even further: the original incarnation of the group had three women. Later on, one of the women left/was kicked out (depending on who's telling the story) and was replaced by a man. C'mon, this shouldn't be so hard--scratch must not have seen this thread--he would know the answer.

Scrawl? Were they that popular?

Yes, Scrawl is the answer. Granted, they never filled stadia like Bonehead and his UBlew buddies. But I think it's fair to say they expanded somewhat beyond a local/regional act.

FWIW, the late, great Puncture magazine (which featured Scrawl on the cover at least once) once ran a Cannanes tour diary (yes, another non-Rolling Stones level band) by then-member Dave Nichols for a tour on which they played a lot of gigs with Scrawl. For almost every show, Nichols complained how much his own band sucked and how great Scrawl was! I've never seen the Cannanes live but some of the recorded stuff I've heard ain't bad at all.