Top 10 Bands with the MOST Drama Behind the Scenes
#10: Aerosmith
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If you think Steven Tyler and Joe Perry can peacefully coexist without drama, you should dream on. These two were nicknamed the “Toxic Twins” due to their issues with less than legal substances. Although they mostly moved away from troubling habits, both stirred up drama in other ways. At one point, Perry’s then wife Elyssa got into a heated argument with Tom Hamilton’s wife Terry that involved milk being thrown. Perry eventually left the band after this intense incident. But even after he rejoined, he fought with Tyler on and off stage. It didn’t help that Tyler agreed to judge “American Idol” before giving anyone else a heads up. For a band that sings about “Sweet Emotion”, they’ve had a lot of bad feelings backstage.
#9: The Beach Boys
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We’re picking up bad vibrations. This popular band’s roster included Brian Wilson and his cousin Mike Love. Unfortunately, these family members didn’t always get along. Love has sued Wison multiple times over the years for everything from defamation to song royalties. The legal proceedings led to millions of dollars being won and rising tensions. Love went on to tour with his own band that bears the Beach Boys name without the original members. When this band announced they would perform at a 2020 fundraiser for Trump, Wilson publicly voiced his distaste. The news of these incidents and more make us think that any family reunions between them must be tense.
#8: Simon & Garfunkel
While they’re known for their peaceful ballads like “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, the 60s folk-rock duo could barely stand each other. The wedge was worsened when they were cast in the 1970 film adaptation of “Catch-22”. When Paul Simon’s part was cut from the movie, he had to wait nearly a full year for Art Garfunkel to finish filming. After recording “Bridge over Troubled Water” the duo went their separate ways. Their attempts to reunite and work together again often ended in disaster. In one incident, a throat injury Garfunkel suffered due to choking on lobster resulted in the duo having to cancel shows in 2010. The chances of these two making music together again is slim to none.
#7: The Eagles
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This band couldn’t “take it easy” and let their behind-the-scenes drama bleed onto center stage. While they didn’t know it beforehand, a 1980 benefit concert for California Senator Alan Cranston would be the Eagles’ last live performance for 14 years. The trouble started when the politician greeted the band backstage. When guitarist Don Felder was thanked, he infamously said “You’re welcome...I guess.” Eagles frontman Glenn Frey was enraged by this response and threatened to harm his bandmate while they were performing onstage. Unsurprisingly, the band agreed to take a hiatus not long after the heated conversation between the two.
#6: Guns N’ Roses
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With a debut album entitled “Appetite for Destruction”, the beef between clashing hard rockers Slash and Axl Rose was bound to go nuclear. After two decades of creative differences, Axl called Slash “a cancer” and accused him of hogging the limelight in a 2009 interview.” But things only got worse from there. In 2012, Axl was the sole member of Guns N’ Roses not to attend their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The audience even led a vulgar chant against when his name was called. Against all odds, things in Paradise City improved and Slash and Axl Rose started touring and performing alongside each other once again from 2016 onwards.
#5: Fleetwood Mac
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Fleetwood Mac’s biggest album was also their most explosive. All five members of the band were undergoing relationship problems at the time of recording “Rumours”. Keyboard player Christine McVie and bassist John McVie divorced after eight years of marriage. Meanwhile, lead singers Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham were working through a rocky relationship. And Fleetwood had to deal with his wife being unfaithful to him. All of this drama did not foster a healthy work environment. And the lyrics to songs like “Go Your Own Way” reflected the drama the band was going through. Considering the amount of heartache that was going around the group, we definitely understand why their music process wasn’t all that happy.
#4: Pink Floyd
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Things really started to go south for the band after they started arguing about content for their “The Final Cut” album. After bassist Roger Waters left the band in 1985, he wanted his former bandmates to stop using the name that made him famous. After a two-year legal battle that was eventually settled out of court, frontman David Gilmour won the case and was able to keep the rights. Years later, Waters publicly acknowledged that the lawsuit wasn’t the best move and even rejoined the band for their 2005 reunion. But the peace was seemingly broken again when Waters got a “ban” from several of Pink Floyd’s online outlets.
#3: The Beatles
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The Fab Four’s descent into darker, trippier sounds mirrored their real-life relationship. This quartet was little more than coworkers by their breakup in 1970. Much of their issues emerged during the making of the 1968 “White Album”. Although the band agreed not to bring love interests into the studio, John Lennon began bringing his girlfriend Yoko Ono into work. As tensions rose around the studio, Lennon expressed his strong dislike for McCartney’s song “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” Ringo Starr also quit in the middle of the chaos. After these contentious recording sessions, the Beatles members started to appear separately. Before long, they were pursuing their own solo projects.
#2: Mayhem
Mayhem guitarist Euronymous was a highly controversial figure. When one band member took their life, he used the tragedy to try to make the group look more hardcore. A couple years later after this despicable act, Varg Vikernes joined Mayhem. During a summer night in 1993, this new member got into a heated argument with Euronymous. By the end of the conflict, Euronymous had lost his life. Vikernes was sentenced to 21 years in prison in the aftermath of this gruesome crime. In the wake of all the turbulent and sad events, it seemed as if Mayhem would no longer continue. But a new version of the band reformed in 1994 and kept moving forward from a dark past. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Creedence Clearwater Revival The Band Had a Very Public Meltdown at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Metallica Dave Mustaine Was Fired in a Very Dramatic Way The Rolling Stones Keith Richards Wrote a Controversial Memoir Blink-182 Mark Hoppus Was Excluded from Tom DeLonge’s Side Project Kings of Leon There Were Backstage Fights Between Brothers
#1: Oasis
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Blood runs thicker than water...unless you happen to be Liam and Noel Gallagher. These two members of Oasis are behind one of the nastiest family feuds in music history. Their conflicts span three decades of online, onstage, and mid-interview fighting. One of their many arguments was actually turned into a single called Wibbling Rivalry. Not only did Oasis survive this single, but it even managed to chart at #52 in the UK. Unfortunately, the arguments between brothers have also gotten physical on several occasions. All of their arguments led the band to constantly be on thin ice with every passing performance. Even after the band split in 2009, the relationship between the brothers is still rocky.
