Warring siblings, personality clashes, royalty disputes, business decisions made be managers, and good old-fashioned ‘musical differences’. There are plenty of reasons why band members fall out, shattering the hallowed old myth of ‘us against the world’ camaraderie.
1. Cream
The original rock supergroup formed in 1966, Cream were seemingly constantly at war despite their massive success. Bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker absolutely hated each other, having previously clashed in blues-rock pioneers The Graham Bond Organisation, and Eric Clapton was often obliged to play the Derek Smalls 'lukewarm water' role between these warring factions.
Bruce would infamously play at deafening volume to drown out Baker’s drumming and Baker would respond in kind, creating a feedback loop of intensity and aggression. Clapton once described a gig at which he simply stopped playing - and neither of his bandmates noticed.
The remarkable thing is that they managed to stay together for so long, without serious injury or death, creating such sublime music. The inevitable split came in 1968, with two sold-out farewell gigs at the Royal Albert Hall.
2. The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes' ironically named Tour of Brotherly Love in 2001 brought together two lots of famously warring siblings for a jaunt across the USA and Canada. To the surprise, perhaps, of the parochial UK media, which tends to exaggerate the global significance of British bands, Oasis went on first with the Black Crowes as headliners.
Remarkably, the tour was a great success with 19 out of 21 booked shows going ahead. Each night, the brothers would join forces to deliver a closing cover of songs by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones (hear their take on 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking', below) – possibly through gritted teeth.
The Robinson brothers’ feuding has led to several Black Crowes splits and hiatuses over the years. But they’ve never achieved the same level of success separately as they have together, which is presumably why they reunite so frequently.
The most significant split seems to have come in 2015, but by 2019 they were back together for an ill-fated tour which was disrupted by the Covid pandemic. But, remarkably, they’ve stayed the course since then, recently releasing their tenth studio album, A Pound of Feathers, which reached number 12 on the US Billboard chart and enjoyed considerable critical acclaim.
3. Van Halen
Replacing a lead singer is always a tricky task. Doing so twice is asking for trouble. No one would argue that David Lee Roth is the greatest vocalist in rock, but he has bags of personality – an increasingly rare commodity in modern rockers – which proved to be his downfall.
In 1985, Roth released his solo EP Crazy From the Heat, which proved a great commercial success. His falling out with Eddie Van Halen subsequently led to his departure from the band, although the precise reasons for this remain contested. Van Halen promptly recruited meat’n’potatoes rocker Sammy Hagar as their new frontman, which seemed like an odd choice but resulted in four multi-platinum number one albums in the US.
But, once again, all was not happy in camp Van Halen, and the relationship between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers finally broke down in 1996, with Hagar claiming he’d been fired. Eddie Van Halen insisted he’d quit.
- Van Halen feature in our list of rock's 9 luckiest breaks
Then, later that year, the four original members of Van Halen appeared at the MTV Music Video Awards, leading to speculation about a reunion. But first they teamed up with Gary Cherone of Extreme for Van Halen III, which reached number 4 in the US, but was not deemed to be a success by Van Halen standards, as was the accompanying tour.
Cherone’s inevitable departure was at least achieved without acrimony, paving the way for temporary reunions with Hagar and Roth respectively. Eddie’s death from cancer in 2020 seems to have finally put paid to the Van Halen soap opera.
4. Jane’s Addiction
The most interesting band to emerge under the American ‘alternative rock’ banner, Jane’s Addiction were a fascinating stew of art-rock, metal and prog rock who made their debut with 1988’s stunning Nothing’s Shocking album, which pre-dated grunge and nu-metal. At the band’s core were frontman Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro (later to serve time in the Red Hot Chili Peppers), who proved a volatile combination.
Inevitably, Jane’s Addiction broke up and got back together several times, but the nail in the coffin came during a 2024 reunion show in Boston, which was cut short when Farrell shoved and punched Navarro in front of a packed audience and Navarro had to be restrained from retaliating. The rest of the tour was cancelled, lawsuits ensued and that was it for Jane’s Addiction.
5. Eagles
'Three more songs till I kick your ass, pal.' Amusingly, the Eagles were singing 'Best of My Love' when Don Felder sidled up to Glenn Frey and delivered this threat. Yep, the audience may have been wigging out on mellow vibes, but the mood in Camp Eagles was positively poisonous at Long Beach Arena, California, on July 31, 1980.
The show had been a fundraiser for Democrat Senator Alan Cranston. But Frey alleged that Felder had insulted the senator before the band took the stage. 'Inside, both of us are thinking, "As soon as this is over, I’m gonna kill him." That was when I knew I had to get out,' recalled Frey. Felder ended the show by smashing his guitar and speeding away in a waiting limo.
Of course, that wasn’t it for the Eagles, as the clamour for a reunion led to the ironically named Hell Freezes Over tour in 1994. But in 2001, Felder was fired from the band and responded with a flurry of lawsuits. Once these were resolved, the Eagles returned to touring and released a new album, Long Road Out of Eden, in 2007.
Glenn Frey died in 2017, leaving only core members Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmidt. They are currently playing a farewell tour, with Deacon Frey taking the place of his father.
6. Guns N’ Roses
'Unless certain people in this band get their shit together, these will be the last Guns N’ Roses shows you’ll f***ing ever see. ‘Cos I’m tired of too many people in this organisation dancing with Mr. Goddamn Brownstone.'
Washing your dirty laundry in public took on a whole new meaning when Axl Rose decided to berate his bandmates in front of 70,000 people during an LA gig supporting the Rolling Stones in October 1989. Axl had been typically late for the show and was in a particularly foul temper, letting rip at the other members of Guns N’ Roses for their various addictions.
'Mr Brownstone' was, of course, their song about heroin addiction, written by Slash and Izzy Stradlin, who were suitably ashamed by Axl’s outburst. In addition to their drug problems, the band hadn’t played live in more than eight months and were sloppy and unfocused. 'That night officially rang the bell for the end of an era in GNR,' wrote bassist Duff McKagan later.
Although Duff’s pancreas 'exploded' in 1994 and Slash was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2001, the cleaned-up duo eventually rejoined Guns N’ Roses in 2016.
7. Pink Floyd
'Money/It's a gas/Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash'. So sang David Gilmour on 'Money', one of the key tracks on Pink Floyd's 1973 masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon. Rather ironically, it was the division of royalties between band members that played a key role in Pink Floyd's later troubles.
When it came to 1977's Animals album, Gilmour received less for the epic 'Dogs' than Roger Waters did for the comparatively brief 'Pigs on the Wing'. Waters’ effective takeover of the band continued with 1979's The Wall – a concept album whose concept was very personal to him. That said, Gilmour did contribute one of the all-time-great guitar solos to 'Comfortably Numb'. Keyboard player Rick Wright was fired during the making of the album and band relationships were at a low point, despite its success.
The follow-up album, The Final Cut, comprised offcuts from The Wall and was a Roger Waters solo album in all but name. He left shortly afterwards. Solo albums, litigation, Waters-free Floyd albums and occasional reunions ensued.
8. The Kinks
The band that practically defined sibling rivalry, The Kinks lasted, remarkably, from the early sixties until 1997 with two constant members – brothers Ray and Dave Davies. Reports of their warring are legion, but remarkably they created some of the most brilliant, distinctively English music in rock history during their existences, ranging from pop and R’n’B to hard rock and theatrical rock. They’ve even been claimed as 'the original punk rock band'.
9. The Wildhearts
The most volatile (and arguably the most brilliant) British band of the 90s, The Wildhearts are led by Ginger Wildheart (David Walls to the taxman). Despite seemingly constant feuding with their first record company East West, they chalked up a string of top ten singles and two top ten albums. Restlessly creative Ginger has split the band more often than anyone cares to remember and has recorded a string of solo albums in a variety of styles ranging from classic rock to country. He is currently the only remaining original member of the band.
Alas, Ginger was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer, Mantle Cell Lymphoma, earlier this year. He continues to write and record songs and insists that Wildhearts’ touring plans will not be interrupted.
10. Yes
Honestly, where to start? The Yes lineup was comparatively stable during their early '70s peak, until Rick Wakeman left after the Tales From Topographic Oceans tour. He’d so disliked the album and the experience of playing it live that he famously sent out for a curry during a sold-out performance at Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1973. Yes soldiered on, with Patrick Moraz on keyboards, until Wakeman rejoined for 1977’s chart-topping Going For The One.
But things were never relaxed in the Yes camp. The fairly dreadful Tormato album – so named because a tomato was thrown, possibly by Wakeman, at the artwork – was a commercial success and spawned an equally successful tour. Wakeman and Anderson subsequently left the band and, in one of the most bizarre twists in rock music history, were replaced by the Buggles duo of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes for 1980's heavier Drama album. Drummer Alan White and bassist Chris Squire were next to depart, leaving Downes and Howe to form the all-conquering ‘supergroup’ Asia.
And, not for the last time, that seemed to be it for Yes. But then Phil Carson of Atlantic Records introduced Squire and White to South African guitarist Trevor Rabin. Anderson was tempted back, as was original Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye, and they embarked on 1983’s phenomenally successful 90125 album (featuring poptastic lead single ('Owner of a Lonely Heart'), with Horn acting as producer. An attempt to repeat the trick with 1985’s Big Generator was somewhat less successful.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any more odd in the Yes camp, Anderson left and formed Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe - whose name sounded vaguely like a firm of solicitors and whose eponymous debut album proved quite a hit. Meanwhile, the remaining Big Generator incarnation of Yes were struggling to find a vocalist.
Perhaps inevitably, the two groups came together for 1991's Union album – hilariously dubbed 'Onion' by Wakeman, because it makes him cry whenever he thinks about it. An uncomfortable combination, the album was clearly a record company product rather than an organic artistic creation and has subsequently been disowned by most of those involved.
The great Yes soap opera eventually resulted in a reuniting of the ‘classic’ line-up (Anderson, Howe, Wakeman, Squire, White) for 1996’s Keys to Ascension, which combined live recordings with new tracks (such as the vintage-Yes 'That, That Is', below. The band rumbled on with various line-up changes, including the temporary recruitment of Rick Wakeman’s son Oliver on keyboards, weathering the deaths of both Chris Squire and Alan White.
Today, Yes is led by Steve Howe and features Jon Davison on vocals. Anderson, meanwhile, who is now 81, fronts his own outfit, The Band Geeks, who embark on their first UK tour this year. Wakeman has returned to his successful solo career. Any further reunions seem unlikely.
Pics Getty Images
Top pic Yes, 1972. L-R Steve Howe (guitar), Ian Anderson (vocals), Rick Wakeman (keyboards), Bill Bruford (drums), Chris Squire (bass)
