Obscure? Maybe if you were only into mainstream pop (there was still a much bigger gap between "commercial" and "alternative" back then than there is today, and there wasn't the easy access of the internet), but some of those bands where pretty big.
They were big for indie bands. They were obscure compared to actually big bands like U2 or Dire Straits. Their names would be met with blank stares in most milieux. See the comment elsewhere about "organizing a shoegaze party at a local bar, low attendance of course and ending up being kicked out by the manager because "this isn't music!"."
