John Oates claims he’s “moved on” from working with Daryl Hall
John Oates, one half of Hall & Oates, has lifted the lid on his relationship with Daryl Hall amid an ongoing legal battle with his former collaborator.
In November, Hall filed a restraining order against his former bandmate and accused the musician of committing “ultimate partnership betrayal”. In a court filing, he also described Oates’ plan to sell his half of the Whole Oats Enterprises to Primary Wave stake as occurring “completely behind my back”, adding: “I am deeply troubled by the deterioration of my relationship with, and trust in, John Oates.”
In response, Oates refuted the claims made by Hall, labelling them as “inflammatory, outlandish, and inaccurate statements about me”.
Now, during an appearance on David Yontef’s Behind the Velvet Rope podcast, Oates reflected on their career, their current relationship and why they won’t be working together in the near future.
“You can’t ignore the fact that the Hall & Oates catalogue of hits and the 50-year career will always trump almost anything that Daryl does on his own or I do on my own, which is OK because I’m very proud of that music,” Oates told the podcast host.
“I’m really proud of what Daryl and I created together. I think we made music that will stand the test of time. I don’t like to live in the past,” he noted. “I make the analogy of what it’s like when you go to a great museum, and you’re really excited to go and see all the beautiful paintings or the exhibits or whatever it might be, and then near the end, your feet start to hurt, and you say, ‘You know what? I can’t wait to get out of here.’ That’s kind of how I feel about it.”
Looking back on their heyday in the 1980s, he stated: “It was very intense, there was no time for reflection. It was a lot of business demands, a lot of heavy demands … Daryl and I were at the top of the pop world.”
“We had No. 1 record after No. 1 record. We were travelling around the world constantly. Everyone thinks that that was probably the high point of my life, but to be honest with you, it actually wasn’t my favourite time. I liked the 70s more than the 80s because everything was new,” Oates added.
While discussing future plans, Oates said: “To be honest with you, I am not really touring with Daryl these days. I’m doing solo shows and I’m really glad I can play new music now because it feels like a breath of fresh air for me.” He concluded by stating: “I have moved on. It’s just a matter of living in my present.”
Listen to the podcast below.
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