A basic list, certainly open to anyone’s contributions, of musicians who have been in two or more bands that don’t have much else in common.

Inspired by finding out today that Blink-182’s Travis Barker was once in the Aquabats, a surf rock band in which all the members take on superhero identities.

Chris Slade (drums): Manfred Mann’s Earth Band / The Firm / AC/DC / Asia.
I can never find the original source of the quote (a search turned up my old blog), but AC/DC’s Angus Young is reported to have said upon the decision to go back to original drummer Phil Rudd that Chris was “probably the best musician in the band.” Little wonder he was later called in to play a more musically demanding gig with Asia.

Boz Burrell (bass/vocals): King Crimson / Bad Company
The story goes that Robert Fripp brought Burrell through the revolving door into King Crimson to sing, then taught him to play bass. Then he left prog-rock for blooz-rock as the bassist for Bad Company, where Paul Rodgers had the lead vocal spot. Maybe Fripp taught him well.

Ian McDonald (woodwinds/keyboards): King Crimson / Foreigner
Another musician to pass in and out of Fripp’s orbit before going for a less musically ambitious group.

Mandy Meyer (guitar): Krokus / Asia
“Hey, Steve Howe left the band! What do we do?”
“Well, we’ve got a guy who briefly toured with Krokus.”
“Who?”
“Krokus. They’re a Swiss heavy metal band.”
“Uh … OK. Cancel the tour.”

Patty Smyth (vocals): Scandal / Van Halen
Well, almost.

John Thomas Griffith (guitar/vocals): Red Rockers / Cowboy Mouth
Yes, the guy who did an awkward Belinda Carlisle dance through the video for the great pop-rock tune China has been tearing the roof off with crazed drummer/singer Fred LeBlanc for a couple of decades now. (Granted, Red Rockers’ Good As Gold veered toward “cowboy” territory.)

Porl Thompson (guitar): The Cure / Page and Plant
Well it’s opening time, down at the gallows pole …

Any others?