10 Groups with a Love-Hate Relationship

Be it due to betrayal, convenience, matters of the heart, ego or despotism, the reasons are as numerous as they are successful in undermining the artistic potential of some of our favorite groups. Here’s a sample of some less-than-neighborly relations in even some of the most famous of bands.

Simon & Garfunkel

Difficult to imagine in listening to the subtle and highly complementary harmonies of the famous folk duo, that these Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were anything but in-tune. The origin of the disaccord goes back to the mid-60s, when, faced with potential failure of the group, Paul Simon decided to continue his career solo. This betrayal slowly ate at the relationship, prolonged against their will due to the success of their album The Sound Of Silence.

Metallica

Just listen to "Some Kind of Monster" to assess the degree of psychological instability and bad blood that reigns in the kings of thrash metal. Group life succeeded in completely alienating the members. Dave Mustaine, the original lead guitarist, and Jason Newsted, bassist, may well owe years of therapy to their former bandmates after numerous clashes that eventually led to their departures.

Guns N' Roses

They were one of the biggest bands of the 80s, at a higher echelon amongst the hard-rock world in which they played. But lead singer Axl Rose's egomania fuelled terrible tension in the band, especially with Izzy Stradlin and even the relatively stable and calm, guitarist Slash. The tension has only recently subsided thanks to a 2016 tour.

Blink-182

They may have provided punk pop anthems to friend-themed films like American Pie, but unlike in the movies, there was no camaraderie for this hit trio. Tom Delonge, the amateur guitarist and UFO fanatic, left the adventure in 2005 (the first time), at the climax of the band's notoriety. To alleviate any frustrations, he rejoined the music scene with his band Angels and Airwaves. But relations with Mark Hoppus, the bass player, festered to the point that the singer was ousted again in 2015 without notice and replaced by Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. Hoppus denounced "his ungrateful and disrespectful behavior" and Travis Barker, the band's drummer, added that Tom "doesn’t want to record an album, but just do some shows with Blink when he needs money."

Kings of Leon

Life on tour, promiscuity and their after-effects can hurt even the most balanced of musicians. In the case of Kings of Leon, blood ties are not a guarantee against bad blood. The Followill Brothers, Caleb, Nathan and Jared, along with cousin Matthew know something about it. The first two fought like cats and dogs exchanging verbal and literal punches. Nathan even broke his brother’s arm during an in studio fight.

The Beach Boys

Another family story that went wrong: the three Wilson Brothers - Brian, Carl and Dennis on one side and cousin Mike Love on the other. The latter showed no compassion for Brian, the genius composer diagnosed with depression and other mental illnesses. Seeing an opportunity to impose his own artistic vision, Love struggled to capitalize on the sunny bluettes of the quartet's beginnings. The tensions culminated with a series of resounding lawsuits between the two men for copyrights and credits to songs.

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine doesn’t joke about commitments. Not tolerating the misbehavior of bassist, Tim Commerford, spokesman and singer of the group, Zack de la Rocha's strings began to unravel. The breaking point was reached during the MTV Video Awards Ceremony. Commerford, unwilling to accept the jury's decision for Limp Bizkit’s "Break Stuff" as the best music video, instead of "Sleep Now in the Fire" (whose filming caused a suspension on the New York Stock Exchange) climbed the stage structure refusing to come down and forcing the show to stop. He was arrested and taken to jail. Just weeks later, the group separated.

The Ramones

Sometimes, members of a group break up because of personality differences and sometimes, it is for contingent reasons, namely a fight over a woman. In the case of the Ramones ... both come into play. Joey Ramone already only moderately appreciated next to the ultra-conservative sensibilities of Johnny, their relationship evolved into cordial dislike after the latter stole the singer's girlfriend. "The KKK Took My Baby Away" was the scathing answer of the reserved young man.

Pink Floyd

It could be that the English group had a bit too much talent ... or perhaps ego. The worldwide success of the band, particularly thanks to The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, viciously kept the members chained together, while sharpening resentments between David Gilmour and Roger Waters. The latter didn’t suffer competition in the field of songwriting. Poor Rick Wright wasn't spared from any of this, finding himself part-time member of the group, having lost his membership status...

The Libertines

The phenomenon of the revival of English rock which animated the 2000s rests on the duet of uncontrollable frontmen Carl Barat and Pete Doherty: better referred to as the fraternal version of I love you, I love you not. Constant quarrels, reconciliations, theatrical flashes from a background of addictions. A complicated relationship to say the least that found its breaking point during the unlikely robbery of Pete's apartment by Carl. In 2015, the two musicians seemed to have buried their resentment, giving birth to the album Anthem For Doomed Youth but as anyone, the frontmen acknowledge that nothing is written in stone.

Published on: 20 de setembro de 2019