Any that have come close?
The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra
Any Orchestra then really (of any substantial age).
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s last original member died in 2023 and they’re still touring.
And half that band half already died almost 50 years ago.
The search results are interesting, but I haven’t heard of half the bands:
Bands with No Original Members
- Opeth: No original members remain, with the last, David Isberg, leaving in 1992.
- Jinjer: All founding members from their 2008 formation have left.
- Napalm Death: Formed in 1982, the band replaced its entire original lineup within the first five years.
- Molly Hatchet: None of the members from the 1978 original lineup or first album are present.
- Thin Lizzy: Still tours with no original members, including only two who played on earlier studio material.
- Blood, Sweat & Tears: Has had nearly 200 members, with all original members leaving early in their career.
- The Spinners: While they had long-term members, by 2010, the original lineup was gone.
- In Flames: No original members from their 1990 inception remain.
- Foreigner: Due to health issues, founding member Mick Jones ceased touring with them.
- Judas Priest: No original members are in the current touring lineup.
- Yes: Features no original members.
Bands with Only One Original Member Left (Often Considered “One-Member” Bands)
- AC/DC: Angus Young is the sole remaining original member, as of 2024.
- Iron Maiden: The only remaining original member is bassist Steve Harris.
Some of these are real stretches involving band names getting swapped around.
The original band called “Judas Priest” broke up entirely. KK Downing, and Ian Hill were in a band called Freight together. Al Atkins of the now-defunct Judas Priest joined Freight, and they decided the now-available name of Judas Priest was cooler. It was not the same band. Furthermore, before their first album was recorded Atkins was replaced with Halford, and Tipton also joined. So I would count Ian Hill, Rob Halford, and Glenn Tipton all as founding members.
Opeth is similar. The first Opeth before Ackerfeldt broke up without recording any albums.
Are there any original members of Ghost?
it’s always been the same frontman so yea
:3
Journey apparently only has one original member left. I mention them because I remember them having a lot of turnover.
Neal Schon, the guitarist, is the only one who’s been in the band constantly since the start. Until very recently they still had a couple (Ross Valory & Jonathan Cain) who played in the heyday.
And they still sound as awesome now as they originally did.
