For every glorious anthem and sold-out tour, there’s a trail of broken friendships, creative feuds and bruised egos left behind.
From the psychedelic ’60s to the post-punk ’80s and beyond, rock history is littered with bands that could barely stay in the same room together, let alone share a stage. Success brings pressure – fame, money, drugs, and clashing visions – and nowhere is that cocktail more combustible than inside a touring van or recording studio.
Some groups imploded spectacularly, undone by addiction or affairs; others simply suffocated under the weight of ambition and control. Yet, paradoxically, that very tension often produced their best music: passion pushed to breaking point, inspiration born from chaos. These are the bands that turned dysfunction into art – the volatile, brilliant, and occasionally unbearable collectives that proved great chemistry doesn’t always make for a peaceful working life.
1. The Who
The Who’s history was pretty much defined by volatility. Pete Townshend’s perfectionism clashed with Roger Daltrey’s personality and vocal ambitions, while Keith Moon’s destructive behaviour often derailed recording and touring.
The band frequently argued over song structures, album concepts, and live performances. Moon’s antics – smashing hotel rooms, disappearing for days, and erratic drumming – added unpredictability, while internal rivalries between Townshend and Daltrey over creative direction created lingering resentment. Being in The Who meant navigating a group where genius and chaos were inseparable, and where professional disagreements were amplified by ego, drugs, and rock-star excess.
2. The Police
Sting’s dominance over The Police created constant tension with drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers, both hugely experienced musicians in their own right. The band’s charismatic frontman controlled songwriting, lyrics, and vocal direction, meaning that recording sessions and tours were fraught with arguments, often over creative decisions or ego clashes.
While the band’s musical chemistry produced hits, interpersonal conflicts made collaboration stressful and exhausting, culminating in The Police’s eventual breakup after a short, but intense seven-year spell. They look happy enough in the clip below, though…
3. Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac (L-R Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood) backstage at the Los Angeles Rock Awards on September 1, 1977 - Getty Images
They look cheerful in the picture above: but the truth is that few bands have worn their dysfunction on their sleeves quite like Fleetwood Mac. During the recording of their most iconic album, 1977’s Rumours, romantic entanglements created constant tension: Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks’ turbulent past, John and Christine McVie’s marital breakup, and Mick Fleetwood’s affair with a band assistant all overlapped.
Arguments over lyrics, arrangements, and credit were frequent, often erupting into shouting matches in the studio. Despite (or perhaps because of) this chaos, Rumours became one of the best-selling of all time, but the experience left band members emotionally drained. Drug use and alcohol exacerbated tempers, and even minor disagreements could escalate into weeks of icy silence.
Rumours is often cited as a masterpiece born from pain, but anyone working in the band during this period would attest that Fleetwood Mac was as much a pressure cooker of personal turmoil as a pop-rock juggernaut.
4. Heart
Heart’s power came from the sisterly chemistry of Ann and Nancy Wilson – and so did much of its drama. In the ’70s, the Seattle siblings were trailblazers, mixing Zeppelin-style hard rock with emotional depth. But fame, constant touring, and industry sexism created strain, both personally and professionally. Creative disagreements emerged in the ’80s as the band shifted toward polished pop-rock, alienating some members.
Heart’s most serious rupture, though, came decades later in 2016, when Ann’s husband was charged with assaulting Nancy’s teenage sons, leading to a bitter family fallout. Communication between the sisters broke down completely, and Heart went on hiatus. Though they later reconciled, the episode revealed how easily love, loyalty, and legacy can fracture under pressure – even in rock’s most resilient sister act.
5. Sex Pistols
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From day one, the Sex Pistols were a perfect storm of ego, ideology, and manipulation. Johnny Rotten’s confrontational intelligence clashed with Steve Jones’s streetwise swagger and Paul Cook’s pragmatism, while Sid Vicious – who replaced Glen Matlock on bass – brought instability through heroin use and violent unpredictability. Manager Malcolm McLaren thrived on the chaos, deliberately pitting bandmates against each other to generate publicity and reinforce his vision of the Pistols as anarchy incarnate. He encouraged outrage, leaked gossip, and stirred rivalries, knowing discord sold records.
The fights weren’t just verbal. Equipment was smashed, hotel rooms trashed, and Rotten once attacked by his own fans after McLaren’s media provocations. The band’s infamous 1978 U.S. tour – marked by cancellations, brawls, and Sid’s rapid descent into addiction — ended with Rotten’s bitter onstage farewell: ‘Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?’ For the Pistols, internal warfare wasn’t just a byproduct of fame – it was the entire show.
6. The Beatles (later)
By the time Let It Be rolled around in 1969, The Beatles were a band in near-constant meltdown. Personal tensions, romantic entanglements, and differing artistic visions created a toxic atmosphere in the studio. George Harrison briefly quit during sessions, frustrated by Lennon and McCartney’s dominance, while Paul McCartney frequently clashed with both John and Ringo over arrangements and production decisions.
Manager Allen Klein’s heavy-handed control only worsened matters. Arguments over songwriting credits, musical direction, and even the sequence of tracks became routine. Despite producing some of their most iconic work, the final months of The Beatles illustrate that unparalleled creativity can coexist with near-total dysfunction, making the band as notorious for infighting as for innovation.
7. ABBA
Few bands have turned personal turmoil into perfect pop quite like ABBA. Formed from two married couples – Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad – the group’s sunny harmonies masked mounting emotional strain. As both relationships crumbled under the pressures of fame and relentless touring, their music grew more bittersweet, transforming heartbreak into art on songs like The Winner Takes It All.
By the early 1980s, the divorces were complete, and the band quietly dissolved. The split left scars but also gave ABBA’s music its poignancy – that strange alchemy of sadness and melody that still resonates decades later. Behind the sparkle and sequins was a story of love lost in real time.
8. Roxy Music
He was one of the 1970s’ most magnetic frontmen. Behind the scenes, though, Bryan Ferry’s perfectionism and domineering style caused recurring friction with his Roxy Music bandmates. Andy Mackay, Brian Eno and Phil Manzanera often felt constrained by Ferry’s control over songwriting, arrangements, and image. Creative tensions frequently erupted in the studio, particularly over Eno’s experimental ideas versus Ferry’s pop instincts. While the band achieved commercial and critical success, internal discord made collaboration a test of patience and diplomacy.
9. Guns N’ Roses
Guns N’ Roses were powered by drama and dysfunction as much as by riffs and attitude. Axl Rose’s mercurial perfectionism collided head-on with Slash’s laid-back, instinctive approach and Duff McKagan’s punk-bred pragmatism. Axl treated the band as his personal vision, obsessing over details and control, while Slash and Duff preferred the raw, improvised energy that defined their early sound.
That creative tension produced some of the fiercest, most passionate rock of the era – but it also made everyday life unbearable. Studio sessions dragged on for weeks, tours teetered on chaos, and personal relationships frayed under the strain of Axl’s volatility and the others’ frustration. Guns N’ Roses thrived on that friction; it gave their music its fire, even as it slowly burned the band from within.
10. The Mamas & The Papas
On the surface, The Mamas & The Papas were the embodiment of carefree Laurel Canyon harmony. Behind the sunny façade, however, was a tangle of heartbreak, jealousy, and betrayal. Founding couple John and Michelle Phillips’ marriage imploded when Michelle began an affair with fellow member Denny Doherty – who, complicating matters further, was adored by Cass Elliot. The emotional fallout turned rehearsals into therapy sessions and performances into tense exercises in endurance.
Drugs and exhaustion only worsened the strain, while John Phillips’ controlling nature alienated his bandmates. By 1968, the group had splintered, leaving behind a handful of exquisite hits and a cautionary tale about how love triangles and ego can derail even the most angelic harmonies. Their signature warmth and melancholy now sound like the soundtrack to their own unravelling.
11. Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd’s classic lineup was as fractious as it was brilliant. By the late ’70s, singer/bassist Roger Waters and lead guitarist David Gilmour were locked in a bitter struggle over creative control. Waters’ increasingly authoritarian approach clashed with Gilmour and keyboardist Richard Wright, who resented being sidelined during writing and recording.
Tensions exploded during sessions for their epic 1979 double LP The Wall, with Wright temporarily fired and Waters taking near-total control. Touring amplified the friction, as every setlist decision and artistic choice became a battleground. Even drummer Nick Mason’s famously diplomatic presence could not mediate all disputes. The bitterness reached a point where legal battles followed Waters’ eventual departure, and the band’s remaining members carried on under acrimonious conditions. Pink Floyd’s legacy of innovation was inseparable from its internecine strife.
12. The Go-Go’s
Behind their sunny pop hits and infectious energy, L.A. New Wavers The Go-Go’s were in constant turmoil. As the first all-female band to top the U.S. charts with their own songs, they faced immense pressure – and responded with partying, cocaine, and ego clashes. Songwriting credits became a battleground, with Charlotte Caffey and Jane Wiedlin earning the bulk of royalties while others felt sidelined.
Belinda Carlisle’s growing fame as frontwoman added further tension, as did management conflicts and exhaustion from endless touring. By 1985, resentment and burnout had splintered the band. Though they reunited several times, The Go-Go’s’ story remains one of camaraderie undone by success – proof that even the brightest pop dreams can turn fractious behind the glitter.
13. Van Halen
Van Halen’s dynamic shifted dramatically depending on the era. During the David Lee Roth years, the band thrived on theatricality and excess, but Roth’s egotism often clashed with Eddie Van Halen’s perfectionism and Michael Anthony’s pragmatism. Recording sessions were tense, with frequent arguments over solos, lyrics, and production decisions.
After Roth’s departure and Sammy Hagar’s arrival, creative differences and personality clashes continued, particularly around musical direction and touring schedules. Internal feuds, combined with heavy partying, made being in Van Halen a high-pressure, unpredictable experience – a situation that persisted across decades and lineup changes.
14. The Clash
The Clash were united by left-wing politics – but divided by personalities and artistic vision. Joe Strummer favoured raw, politically urgent punk, emphasizing working-class struggle and revolutionary messaging, while Mick Jones leaned toward more melodic, experimental, and commercially accessible sounds. Paul Simonon often felt caught in the middle of their creative tug-of-war.
Managerial disputes with Bernie Rhodes, who clashed with band members over control and finances, added tension. Differing views on fame and activism – whether to pursue mainstream success or remain a confrontational voice for social change – further strained relationships. Touring and recording, especially during 1981’s sprawling Sandinista! sessions, magnified tempers and exhaustion, making collaboration a constant challenge.
15. The Runaways
The Runaways were both a groundbreaking all-female rock band – and a study in exploitation and dysfunction. As teenagers thrust into the male-dominated ’70s rock world, Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Cherie Currie, and Sandy West were managed by the volatile Kim Fowley, whose manipulative and abusive behaviour became the stuff of legend. Undoubtedly one of rock's worst managers, Fowley bullied, humiliated, and manipulated the teenage band to maintain control. He allegedly subjected them to verbal abuse, encouraged sexualised publicity stunts, and fostered rivalries for shock value.
Within the band, meanwhile, creative control was constantly contested: Jett pushed for punk rawness, Ford leaned toward heavy metal, and Currie battled with fame and addiction. The endless touring, misogyny and infighting left them emotionally and physically spent. Though their existence was brief, The Runaways shattered barriers and paid the price – pioneers whose trailblazing spirit came wrapped in chaos, resentment, and the exploitation of youth and ambition.
All pics: Getty Images
