Just because a band is together and making music, doesn’t
mean that they get along. Take Van
Halen for example. In a recent
interview with Marc Maron on his ‘WTF With Marc Maron’ podcast Van Halen
frontman David Lee Roth acknowledged that he and the Van Halen brothers (Eddie
and Alex) have always hated each other. Roth also mentioned that tension was a
big part of the band’s success.
Fighting between bandmates is nothing new in music. Countless
bands have had distressed relationships between members. Sometimes the
infighting leads to members being fired or groups dissolving all together. And
while some of their icy relationships may have thawed over time, others
continue their feuds for decades.
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is taking a look
at some of the bands whose dysfunctional relationships are as big a part of
their legacy as the music itself. Here are seven whose saltiness is well
documented.
1.
Oasis:
One of the biggest bands to come out of the 1990s Brit-pop era, Oasis was known
almost as much for their infighting as they were for their hits. Brothers Noel
and Liam Gallagher were notoriously always at each other’s throats until 2009
when Noel quit the band for good after a physical altercation between the two
ended in Liam smashing Noel’s guitar backstage during the I-Day Festival. The
brothers continue to call each other names publicly nearly a decade after the
breakup.
2.
Guns
N’ Roses: Guns N’ Roses hit their stride in the 1980s and early 1990s,
releasing four albums with the classic line-up of Axl Rose, Slash and Duff
McKagan. However, that all fell apart in the mid-1990s when Slash left the band
due to tension and creative differences between him and Rose. For years neither
one had anything civil to say about the other, with Rose even ditching the band’s
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2012.The feud lasted for two decades,
ending in 2016 with a reunion tour that is still going today.
3.
The
Kinks: Decades before the hopeless family feuding that propelled Oasis, The
Kinks’ Ray and Dave Davies were the epitome of dysfunctional family bands.
Infighting from the time they were little gave way to infighting in the band
amongst all of their members. Their public roes were one of the factors in the
band getting banned from performing in the US for five years in the 1960s. Ray
and Dave’s relationship remained tepid for decades, as has Dave’s and Mick
Avory’s, however there is a planned reunion in the works.
4.
Simon
And Garfunkel: Paul
Simon and Art
Garfunkel were friends from a young age, meeting in elementary school and
eventually started making music together when they were teens. However, the two
had been at odds creatively since the beginning. Simon, who had been doing all
of the songwriting, felt that Garfunkel, who sang his compositions, was taking
advantage, hoping that Simon would just keep writing music while he did
whatever he wanted. The disagreement led to their break-up in 1970, and although
they have gotten together for a handful of reunions, the two have not performed
on stage together since 2010.
5.
The
Beach Boys: Another family band torn up by infighting, Brian Wilson and
Mike Love have been at each other’s throats for decades. The two have sued each
other numerous times for slander, writing credits or royalties. Wilson would go
on to have a successful solo career while Love ended up taking over the Beach
Boys name. Following their 50th anniversary reunion in 2012, the
first time Wilson had performed with the band in nearly two decades, Love
promptly kicked him out of the band without warning, which led to another
public squabble.
6.
Smashing
Pumpkins: Billy Corgan has long been the biggest creative force in the
Smashing Pumpkins. His control over the band led to tensions with bandmates
James Iha and D’arcy Wretzky and their eventual firing. Iha ended up reuniting
with Corgan in 2018. However Wretzky, according to conflicting reports, was
either not invited to the reunion, turned it down or had her invitation
revoked.
7.
Kiss:
Metal legends Kiss were notoriously split down the middle when it came to their
original line-up. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley had been of the belief that Ace
Frehley and Peter Criss were not pulling their weight in the band and fired
them. The long-standing feud carried over to the band’s 2014 Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame induction, where Simmons and Stanley refused to perform with Frehley
and Criss, even though all four were in attendance.
Music history is full of bands whose members could not get
along with one another. Whether due to family squabbles or creative
differences, some of these feuds are as legendary as the bands themselves.
Though most of the time they lead to the band’s dissolution or members
leaving/being fired, sometimes you have that rare instance where, like Van
Halen, it leads to more creativity.
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Find music from these bands and more at Vinyl Bay 777. As
Long Island’s top new independent record shop, we have thousands of titles to
choose from in a variety of genres. Browse our wide selection of new and used
vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our
Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles being added
to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay
777.
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