As there is another thread that speaks to new blood helping to improve a band, there must be some bands that lost just one player and went down the tubes. My pick? Moody Blues when they lost Mike Pinder.
Yes, thinking of Bonham too, but then with Led Zeppelin they didn't try to keep going; they just gave up.
Didn’t the Chili Peppers have a guitar player (Frusciante?) who helped them reach another level musically? And after he left they couldn’t sustain it? I might be remembering wrong.
• Queensrÿche after Chris DeGarmo • R.E.M. after Bill Berry • Supertramp after Roger Hodgson • The Rolling Stones after Bill Wyman (more so than after losing Brian Jones or Mick Taylor).
Stone Roses without Reni. Lost their unique sound, sense of the band being a gang and that's when it all started to fall apart.
Actually that’s not quite true. But good for the myth. Paul and George were working together right up to January 1970, and Klein convinced John to keep quiet about the whole thing forcing McCartney to go public, and then sue - that killed The Beatles. I love this quote from Harrison’s affidavit from Paul’s lawsuit (John and George being on the same side): “Since the (Get Back) row, Paul has treated me more as a musical equal. I think this whole episode shows how a disagreement could be worked out so that we all benefited. I just could not believe it when, just before Christmas, I received a letter from Paul’s lawyers. I still cannot understand why Paul acted as he did.” Lennon failed to mention that he had left the band during the proceedings. When Pete Ham killed himself, that ended Badfinger. That would be my pick.
Bit like Zeppelin and Bonham - they didn’t loose their way. They were done. The last two Jim-less albums don’t count IMHO
True, but they tried to make them count, which is I suppose is what the thread is about. They didn't just call it a day like Zep.