Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five consisted of Ben Folds (piano, vocals), Darren Jessee (drums) and Robert Sledge (bass), although they occasionally swapped instruments. That's right - there were only 3 of them, and none of them played guitar! (unless you count the bass as a guitar.)
Oh, and for your information, they broke up in late 2000, saying that they'd done everything they could do with the band and wanted to break up and go in different directions to keep their music fresh.
Ben Folds Five were another example of a great American band who never really made it big in the UK (q.v. Counting Crows, +LIVE+, Matchbox Twenty, et al.)
The band's first album (self-titled) was a work of art - seamlessly blending pop, ballad and punk music, all without the aid of a guitar. They even ventured into heavy metal and rap!
It was different - possibly too different, so it didn't perform very well sales-wise. Sales of the album did pick up however, after the success of their second album Whatever and Ever Amen. The poppy single Brick catapulted the band to US fame and both albums started selling like hotcakes (on a cold day).
With their new-found fame, the band felt suffocated by their record label, so rushed out a third album - Naked Baby Photos - a collection of demos, outtakes, live tracks, b-sides and songs they'd done for soundtracks. Despite being a quick hash-together, the album is fantastic, proving that the band could really do no wrong.
This third album, released them of their obligations to their label and the band went on to sign with a bigger record company. They then released their fourth album, The Unauthorised Biography of Reinhold Messner. This album somewhat abandoned their punk roots, but none the less, it sold very well. Ben also released a solo album Fear of Pop - Volume One. It was a strange concept album, which I have yet to purchase.
Ben then married and went to live in Australia. As the band were spread out across the globe they found it more and more difficult to record new material and in 2000, they broke up. Ben Folds has since recorded a new album, Rockin' the Suburbs, which is expected to be released on 11/9/01.
Update: Rockin The Suburbs has been released. More news soon.