The Border Battle Of The Bands 2015

[Jonny Come Lately]

Introduction
A while ago in another topic (the ‘Eagles Mentions In The Press’ thread) I mentioned the possibility of starting a game in this section which pits numerous legendary bands against each other in an attempt to determine which band is the best:

https://eaglesonlinecentral.com/foru...t=225&page=232

Obviously there is one band which I think would receive quite a lot of popular support on this forum and therefore it's definitely best that this band is excluded. I don't think I need to tell you which one (suffice to say they share their name with a bird of prey...)

Having seen an earlier version on this game that was played on the forum a few years ago, well before I joined (there are links to the relevant thread on the page I previously linked to) I would say that my version is similar in some ways but different in others. I am less bothered about determining whether a band was influential or not, simply about their level of greatness and therefore while I think it definitely best that the Eagles are left out, I am more than happy to include The Beatles in the game. Also, unlike the earlier game I intend for each round to be split into individual ties or battles where you pick which band you think is better (or prefer) until you get to the grand final where the final two surviving bands are pitted against each other to determine the winner of the battle.

I firmly believe that this game should focus solely on bands and not solo artists. I would include the likes of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Neil Young & Crazy Horse and even The Jimi Hendrix Experience in this as the more important name in those cases is the name of the singer. However, bands which are clearly dominated by one member, such as Dire Straits and Creedence Clearwater Revival, are as valid for inclusion as any other.

Gameplay Format
I intend for the game to feature 32 bands. I toyed with the idea of more but I felt that once I got beyond 40 bands it became more difficult to ensure that the artists remained sufficiently legendary, while 32 is enough to include more than just the most obvious bands.

In summary, I think there should be five rounds where the number of bands is halved in each round, following this format. This shows the number of ties in each round and how the number of bands will eventual dwindle to just the final two.
Round 1 – 32 bands -> 16 bands (16 ties; 2 rounds of 8 ties)
Round 2 – 16 bands -> 8 bands (8 ties; 2 rounds of 4 ties)
Quarter Final – 8 bands -> 4 bands (4 ties)
Semi Final – 4 bands -> 2 bands (2 ties)
Final – 2 bands -> WINNER!

I’m also quite tempted to include a third place play-off round, which would round off the podium by giving a bronze medal winner alongside the winning band and the runner up, but if I do this I will probably run it at the same time as the final.

There will be some differences between rounds as clearly the number of ties will decrease throughout the game.
First round (32) – The 32 bands will enter the draw where I will randomly draw bands against each other. There will be 16 matches or ties in total, of which eight will be done at the same time (so there will be two sets of ties in this round). If the two bands in a match get the same number of votes, I will allow an extension to deadline for that match alone and the next vote will win (‘sudden death’). If no one votes in the next day then I may have to give myself a second vote or else it’s down to tossing a coin... fingers crossed this doesn’t happen.
Second round (16) – The draw is made in the same way as for the first round. There are eight ties, again in two sets (four at a time). However, this time, if the two bands in a tie receive the same number of votes, the band which received more votes in the previous round will win. If they got the same number of votes in the 1st round as well, sudden death will again applied.
Quarter-Final ( - Four ties, with all ties taking place at the same time from this point on. Rules otherwise as before.
Semi-Final (4) – Two ties, which will be run simultaneously. Down to just four bands with the winners entering the final.
Final (2) – And then there two. The two survivors face each other in the showdown to declare the victor.

WINNER – TBC!

I will allow a couple of days for you to vote in each round, I think this works well in the Survivor games so I will use the same approach.

If you strongly dislike both bands in a pairing, or simply don’t care who wins one particular match (but feel strongly about other matches), by all means abstain from voting in that tie if you intend to vote on the other matches in the round.

If you are familiar with the FA Cup in English football (soccer), or a similar sporting cup competition, then my idea for this game is fairly similar, with bands drawn against each other in the same way that different teams are drawn against each other in the cup, with the winner proceeding to the next round. I mentioned the FA Cup specifically because it is famous for not 'seeding' teams against each other which means that two big teams can play each other in the early rounds. For example, I have seen my favourites Liverpool face our arch rivals Manchester United in the third round in the last five years - this fixture is one of the biggest in English football and TV promoters would prefer this clash to be in the high profile final than at an early stage which means one of these big names will have to be eliminated there and then.

Likewise, using this system with the draw being made randomly (I have identified a couple of methods of ensuring a random draw) means that there is nothing to stop, for instance, The Beatles from facing The Rolling Stones in the first round, with clear parallels with the early round Liverpool-Manchester United match. I admit this is potentially quite controversial but I do not want to give any band special treatment – as you are meant to vote for your favourite, I think this will ensure a worthy winner.

Having explained how I plan for the game to play out, I will now post a list of bands which I believe are suitable candidates for the game. If you have any questions about the game feel or unsure about any aspect, feel free to ask me.

EDIT: The game starts on page 6, with the posts making up the preliminary round and the first half of the first round proper continuing through to page 15. This is followed by a break in play with about three pages of discussion. The game resumes from page 18 onwards.