by Sam Meaghan
24 of the greatest three-piece bands of all time
Three really is the magic number
ZZ Top: Since their debut album way back in 1971, ZZ Top have continued to stay at the top of their genre of, blues rock. They are genuine roots musicians in their own right, and have continued to experiment with their sound, anybody remember their heavy synth period? It was great. Either way, a classic three-piece.
The XX: Their minimalist sound, rather strangely, shook the world of music when their Mercury-winning debut album came out. It was so unexpected, and for that reason, well received. If it's not the constant switch in vocals that makes this band great, it is almost certainly Romey Madley Croft's against the grain guitar playing that will.
The Subways: They were simply electrifying around the time of their debut album, Young For Eternity - and they remain equally as arresting to this day. A classic live show for the band, would feature a topless guy and a lot of moshing. Their music was simple, but it had real grit and was different from the norm at the time.
Them Crooked Vultures: What a mouth watering proposition they are. Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. The real question about Them Crooked Vultures is, when will we get the second album?
The Jam: The soundtrack to Mod culture, and the first real punk band to have style and class. Other bands were about aggression, but The Jam were more than that - they were a look and a lifestyle.
The Cribs: The Wakefield three-piece have just been so consistent throughout their career. Formed completely of family members, it is an unusual but really cool formation that made the band. Also, their live show is ridiculously good. Some would say you haven't lived until you've been covered in Ryan Jarman's beer as he walks on stage.
Saint Etienne: Normally when football and music come together, you envisage a very boozy chant in your local pub. Yet Saint Etienne, named after a football club, were iconic in their own right spurring on the indie dance genre we all came to know and love.
Nirvana: It wouldn't be a list about three-piece bands without including this incredible, and gone-too-soon, band - setting the template with using the bare essentials to have a maximum impact, and inspiring a generation of three-piece acts to follow.
Muse: Among them, were Muse. They're breaking records left, right, and centre - most recently becoming the first band in history to have headlined Glastonbury on every single night. They pride themselves on their sometimes ridiculous live show, and a monolithic and genre-bending wall of sound that defies the fact that there's only three of them.
Motorhead: The passing of frontman, Lemmy Kilmister, has been a hard one for all music fans to take. This band are up there with Black Sabbath in helping to create and define heavy metal, but these guys can also be credited with punk. Without Lemmy's acerbic crooning, so many bands may never have existed. What's more, it's always going to be a secret how this band managed to make such a noise with only three of them.
Mini Mansions: Another stripped back three-piece, but one that really are experimental. From 'Any Emotion' through to 'Vertigo' you can never quite tell what this band are going to do next, but that doesn't matter because you know it's always going to be good whatever it is.
Manic Street Preachers: Though they only became a three-piece from 1995 onwards, the Manics recovered from the loss of missing lyricist and 'guitarist' Richey Edwards to go from one reinvention to another - becoming an award-winning, festival-headlining and essential band in the process. The Manics go marching on.
Haim: The natural chemistry of the sisters Haim led immediate success with the release of their debut album, Days Are Gone. We can't wait to see what they do next.
Green Day: With a youthful energy to match their sideways tales of castaways and dropouts gone awry, Green Day basically set the bar for pop-punk for the rest of time. Since their first couple of albums, the band have created a cult following and rightfully so made several statements with their politically charged songs.
Doves: Often forgotten, Doves actually created a lot of what we heard in the mid 2000s. Contemplative, soul-lifting, but still sonically new, and most importantly, unique.
Dinosaur Jr: Yet another three-piece band, that considering a relatively small size, know how to make a racket. Dinosaur Jr. not only create quintessential moody indie-rock, but they make some fascinating guitar lines. They are simple in stature, but still all the more appeasing.
Cream: Not only are this band written into the history of english music but they're also written into rock history. They were simply fantastic, and inspired a whole generation to go and learn guitar.
CHVRCHES: Pop never sounded quite so huge.
Blink 182: Fart jokes, feelings and a whole lot of fire, there's no one quite like Blink.
Biffy Clyro: The Scottish rockers have experimented with all sorts of sounds, but have never strayed too far from their twisted, batshit, math-riff approach. While they may be headlining festivals and selling out arenas, they'll always be our beloved outsiders. 'Mon the Biff.
Sleater-Kinney: An out and out punk band. Sleater-Kinney are known for being outspoken. Being part of the riot grrrl scene in the Pacific Northwest. The band were one of the best to come out of their crop.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Never mind watching, playing with Jimi Hendrix was probably quite an experience in itself. Collectively, they pretty much made the psychedelic rock genre.
It's always a shock when you find out that your favourite classic rock band make such a racket when there are only three of them. Better yet, it's always a shock when your favourite techno band can manage to make so many blissful beats when there are so few members to the group.
It's become something of a cliché that three-piece bands are regarded as garage rock when people think of them. But this compiled list proves it's not all heavy power chords and broken drum skins, in the case of The XX particularly, the band couldn't be further away from that.
Here are 24 of the greatest three-piece bands of all time.