What were the worst band break ups?

That one is sad. All original band members are alive and kicking, so there's still a bit of time.

 

Allmans, the first time around

 

The Bee Gees' breakup was pretty acrimonious, but they were brothers, so they got back together 2 years later.

 

On this board, the Beatles are the best at everything, including fractious break ups.

 

My (uninformed) impression is that he has no problem with them, but just doesn't want to play in the Jam anymore.

 

One stabbed the other with a fork over french fries.

 

Rolling Stones - been going on for over fortyfive years now and proved very painful both to many fans and lots of people involved with the band.

 

I see what you're saying, and because I love the Replacements, I like to imagine a world in which Bob Stinson could have stayed.

But I just see a hugely difficult situation there. Stinson was a great guitar player but he didn't write any songs. And here we have Westerberg, who was being praised as the greatest songwriter of his generation, who wants to try new things, while Stinson (so I've heard) tries to hold him in narrower bounds. So Westerberg has to sneak around and record things like "Here Comes a Regular" by himself. And it doesn't help that Stinson has pretty serious (and diagnosed) mental health problems. He'd disappear at gigs, be too drunk to play, etc.

It would have been great if the band sat down soberly and said, "Look, let's do an intervention and try to get Bob back on an even keel," etc. Except the rest of the band was nearly as messed up as Stinson was.

I'd even say it's too simple to say they went downhill after Stinson was booted. I think Pleased to Meet Me is a masterpiece (their third in a row)--would Stinson have tolerated "Skyway"? And then a smelly attempt to go commercial (and even that has a couple of great songs on it), and then another very strong (if depressing) record All Shook Down.

And Stinson was slipping away before he left. According to Tommy Erdelyi (Ramone), who produced Tim, Stinson came in for one day during the recording of that record, laid down the solos, and left. And I'd say his playing on it is nowhere near as good as on Let It Be, Sorry Ma, Hootenanny, etc.

Anyway I'm not arguing with you--just saying it was hopeless, and that maybe "hypocritical" is too strong. And also that they did great things after he was gone.

 

Grand Funk. Mark got screwed over by trusting Don by not reading the fine print. Sad considering they're all still alive and could have some great concerts.

 

That's nothing--me and my brother always fight over things--including french fries. Pretty sure I was stabbed once-- okay maybe just jabbed-- on the hand with a fork when I helped myself to his fries. We're still together.

 

I think it is hard to top Pantera.

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned NWA yet.

 

the stranglers with hugh after fights and kicks no?

 

xtc in a certain way too!

 

The impression I got from interviews at the time was that Weller didn't think The Jam were the right vehicle for the jazz infused soul flecked Europop he had in mind for the future.... and he was right. The very name The Style Council seemed hilariously pretentious at the time, but by god he turned out some great records, My Favourite Shop being a stone cold classic.

Paul Weller, even his mis-steps are incredible.

 

Do you mean Television in 1978 or the more recent ejection of Richard Lloyd? The 1978 breakup was reportedly quite amicable. Apparently they just all got together at a Chinese restaurant and reminisced about the old days.

The more recent "breakup" appears to have been more fraught, since Richard is (it would seem) not a well man mentally.

 

How about the Verve? Take your pick which breakup.

1995. Deep into drugs, smashing one another with their instruments.
1998. Nick's alcoholism, etc., spirals out of control, along with (by some accounts) Richard's ego, although there is evidence to suggest otherwise.
2009. Simon Jones's wife getting into it with Richard Ashcroft's (Kate Radley), everyone but Richard wants to party all night but Richard (recovering from alcoholism and depression) doesn't want anything to do with the rest of the band, possibly on doctor's orders. So they don't even talk outside of gigs.
2010-11. Simon, Nick, and Pete planning to reform as a new group, Pete wanders off, Simon and Nick are mad at him.

Now they all seem to be suspicious of one another.

 

The Gin Blossoms. It all began with Doug zhopkins drinking issues. Then when the vand kicked him out (I dont knowif they did all they could to intervene) THEN stripping him of his record,royalties and giving them to the guy who replaced him as a means to force him to leave (they he.d the money already earned, gave it,to him but robbed him of all future royalties). Turned out that Hopkins may have suffered from bipolar disorder.

The band broke up when they couldn't match their previous album in quality and their was some rancor between the remaining members before reforming. They couldn't match it because, quite simply, they had fired their most talented songwriter.

 

It would be nice if that were true, but it appears it is not. Based on Robertson's account of the visit, it sounds like Levon was unconscious or at best only minimally responsive at the point when Robertson visited him:

"Last week I was shocked and so saddened to hear that my old band mate, Levon, was in the final stages of his battle with cancer. It hit me really hard because I thought he had beaten throat cancer and had no idea that he was this ill. I spoke with his family and made arrangements to go and see him.

On Sunday I went to New York and visited him in the hospital. I sat with Levon for a good while, and thought of the incredible and beautiful times we had together. It was heartwarming to be greeted by his lovely daughter Amy, whom I have known since she was born. Amy’s mother, Libby Titus, and her husband, Donald Fagen, were so kind to help walk me through this terrible time of sadness. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Sandy."

Note that Robbie says he spoke with the family, not with Levon himself, in order to make arrangements for the visit. And note that he says he "sat" with Levon and thought about the times they'd had together. There's no mention of a conversation (or in fact any verbal interaction) between them. I think it was a nice gesture of Robertson to go see him, but it was not a reconciliation of their differences.

 

Yeah. From what I've read, Stinson wasn't fired so much for his substance abuse as for his general unreliability... not showing up for gigs, or arriving halfway through a gig, plus not participating in a lot of the recording sessions. Obviously those things were tied into his substance abuse and mental illness problems, but it's not accurate to say that the Mats were hypocritical to boot him because they all had substance abuse issues too.

 

The break-up in 1993 was not very dramatic; Charles sent David and Kim a fax informing of his decision, while he called Joey, who also played on his first solo album. Though the channel of communication indicates they weren't on speaking terms... Kim leaving the band a couple of years ago seems to have been purely her own decision.

 

Which lead to the "fake Zombies" tour!

 

Pink Floyd came to mind first. Live 8 was something I never would have envisioned.

 

I also have to wonder if Don wanted to do songs like Mark has done that are focused on his religious beliefs.

 

yes, Live 8 was unexpected. I'm glad that aRoger and Dave got past their issues for this. It was cool and for s great cause.