They went through various different names, including Action Front, Paisley Blues, and Club Fungus, before settling on Public Affection in January 1987. Their biggest success came in 1994 with their third album, Throwing Copper, which sold eight million copies in the U.S. That’s not all because domestic cup competitions including the world famous FA Cup and international tournaments such as the World Cup, Euros, AFCON, Copa America and Nations League are also at your fingertips.
When the band graduated from high school, they recorded a self-released cassette of original songs, titled The Death of a Dictionary, in 1989. When touring, Live has used additional musicians, including Kowalczyk’s younger brother Adam, British keyboardist Michael “Railo” Railton, rhythm guitarist Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon, and guitarist Zak Loy of Alpha Rev. Live earned fame for their single “Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)”, whose video received airtime on MTV. On August 16, 2024, the band released the song “Lady Bhang (She Got Me Rollin)”, which also features a guest appearance by Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots. In a March 2025 affidavit, Taylor stated, “Many of the implications and quotations contained in this article were based on my limited knowledge at that time, and I have subsequently learned through discovery that many of my impressions were not complete.” In August 2023, the Pennsylvania State Police charged Hynes with two felonies involving theft of nearly $4.4 million from the band’s business and its primary investor, though Hynes and the investor’s attorney claim that a settlement had been reached over such issues in August 2022.
On June 21, 2022, Kowalczyk announced that Chad Taylor had been fired from the band the day before. The record’s first single, “The Way Around Is Through”, was uploaded to YouTube on September 10, 2014, and officially released on September 16. On January 24, 2012, Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey announced that they were leading members in a project to renovate a four-story building at 210 York Street in York. A previously unreleased Live song, “Hold Me Up”, features in the 2008 Kevin Smith film Zack and Miri Make a Porno. On August 2, 2008, Daughtry and Live performed the band’s interpretation of “I Walk the Line” together at the redbeard Toms River Fest in Toms River, New Jersey.
Songs from Black Mountain, Radiant Sea, and live DVD: 2005–2008
“Lightning Crashes” also stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for ten consecutive weeks. The single “Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)” reached number nine on the Modern Rock chart and was followed by their debut album, 1991’s Mental Jewelry, which Harrison again produced. Gracey picked the name based on a comment by his girlfriend at the time.
- The first single was “Simple Creed”, which featured a rap by Tricky, but the events of 9/11, which occurred a week before V was released, meant that the melancholic “Overcome” received significant airplay and became the album’s selling point.
- When touring, Live has used additional musicians, including Kowalczyk’s younger brother Adam, British keyboardist Michael “Railo” Railton, rhythm guitarist Christopher Thorn of Blind Melon, and guitarist Zak Loy of Alpha Rev.
- The album contained four Modern Rock hit singles, but failed to match its predecessor’s success, with sales reaching two million.
- The single “Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)” reached number nine on the Modern Rock chart and was followed by their debut album, 1991’s Mental Jewelry, which Harrison again produced.
- On June 21, 2022, Kowalczyk announced that Chad Taylor had been fired from the band the day before.
- It was the third longest gap between an album first charting and reaching number one, behind Fleetwood Mac’s eponymous album in 1976 (58 weeks) and Paula Abdul’s Forever Your Girl in 1989 (64 weeks).
Kowalczyk’s return and takeover; dispute over name ownership: 2016–present
The success of these singles eventually gained Throwing Copper the number one position on the Billboard 200 album chart on May 6, 1995, its 52nd week on the chart. In May 2003, the band released the Jim Wirt-produced Birds of Pray, which reached number 28 on the US album chart, boosted by the unexpected success of the single “Heaven”, Live’s first U.S. The album contained four Modern Rock hit singles, but failed to match its predecessor’s success, with sales reaching two million. In February 2026, Taylor and Gracey issued a cease and desist letter to Kowalczyk, asserting that his rights to use the band’s name had been revoked by Action Front Unlimited, Inc. and demanding he stop using it for touring and other commercial activities. In September 2023, Live announced a co-headlining tour of Australia with Incubus for April 2024, marking the first time the two bands have toured together. In September 2022, Kowalczyk announced that he would be touring as Live without Dahlheimer or Gracey.
Throwing Copper: 1993–1996
They performed with new touring members, including Gracious Few bandmate Sean Hennesy on rhythm guitar and Alexander Lefever on keyboards. Also in 2001, Live contributed a live version of the song “I Alone” to the charity album Live in the X Lounge IV. Jerry Harrison returned as co-producer for 1999’s The Distance to Here, which entered the US album chart at number four and featured the hit single “The Dolphin’s Cry”. The success of Throwing Copper helped 1997’s Secret Samadhi (co-produced by the band and Jay Healy) to reach the number one position in its debut on the US album chart. The record featured the singles “I Alone”, “All Over You”, and the number-one US Modern Rock hits “Selling the Drama” and “Lightning Crashes”. After appearances on the MTV 120 Minutes tour, at Woodstock ’94, and on Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD tour, the band’s third album, Throwing Copper, achieved mainstream success.
The number one destination for real time scores for Football, Cricket, Tennis, Basketball, Hockey and more.
- When the band graduated from high school, they recorded a self-released cassette of original songs, titled The Death of a Dictionary, in 1989.
- Awake included “We Deal in Dreams”, a previously unreleased song from the Throwing Copper sessions, a cover version of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line”, and a new version of their song “Run Away”, with Shelby Lynne sharing lead vocals with Kowalczyk.
- On season five of American Idol, finalist Chris Daughtry was accused of performing Live’s version of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and claiming it as his own interpretation.
- On January 24, 2012, Taylor, Dahlheimer, and Gracey announced that they were leading members in a project to renovate a four-story building at 210 York Street in York.
- On August 2, 2008, Daughtry and Live performed the band’s interpretation of “I Walk the Line” together at the Toms River Fest in Toms River, New Jersey.
Kowalczyk’s return and takeover; dispute over name ownership: 2016–present
On season five of American Idol, finalist Chris Daughtry was accused of performing Live’s version of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and claiming it as his own interpretation. The record peaked at number 52 on the Billboard 200 album chart, and reached number three on the Billboard Independent album chart. Awake included “We Deal in Dreams”, a previously unreleased song from the Throwing Copper sessions, a cover version of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk the Line”, and a new version of their song “Run Away”, with Shelby Lynne sharing lead vocals with Kowalczyk. The first single was “Simple Creed”, which featured a rap by Tricky, but the events of 9/11, which occurred a week before V was released, meant that the melancholic “Overcome” received significant airplay and became the album’s selling point. It was the third longest gap between an album first charting and reaching number one, behind Fleetwood Mac’s eponymous album in 1976 (58 weeks) and Paula Abdul’s Forever Your Girl in 1989 (64 weeks). The band appeared on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, where they played “I Alone” and “Selling the Drama”, and they performed for the first time in the UK, on The Word.
