The 10 biggest conflicts within rock bands
The common consensus among rock bands should always be all for one and one for all. Although the guitarist and the singer might get more screen time in front of the crowd than those in the background, it’s always crucial to realise how important everyone is in creating the group’s signature sound. When egos came into the picture, acts like The Beatles and Aerosmith found themselves at odds.
Throughout rock history, countless bands have had to undergo major changes or break up entirely because everyone couldn’t get on the same page. From losing their creative direction to making some of the most questionable decisions in rock history, some of the greatest rock bands of all time have come to terms with the fact that their internal chemistry had started to wane.
Then again, any conflict within a rock band doesn’t always have to be blamed on one singular person. Over decades of rock and roll debauchery, musicians tend to change a lot as people, and some of their disagreements tend to come from the band members not being at the same stage in life as their bandmates.
Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, these acts either found ways to become better musicians despite their differences or chose to leave their old mates with middle fingers raised high. Rock and roll bands tend to be the music equivalent of a street gang, but it didn’t long for some acts to turn on each other.
10 biggest conflicts within rock bands:
10. Tom Petty vs Stan Lynch – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
No one’s questioning who calls the shots in a band called Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Since the man’s name is on the marquee, Petty has led his band through thick and thin, often writing most of the music alongside guitarist Mike Campbell. That doesn’t leave a lot of room to grow, and Stan Lynch had had enough of trying to fit in once the 1990s rolled around.
After being hurt by Petty making a solo record with Jeff Lynne with Full Moon Fever, Lynch was none too happy to have Lynne as the main producer of the next Heartbreakers record, recalling that he could only play the bare minimum before being asked to leave the studio. When the time came for Petty to make another solo record with Wildflowers, Lynch never bothered to show up for the sessions.
Using session drummer Steve Ferrone for most of the tracks, Petty had heard rumblings that Lynch had started trying out for other projects, only getting together with his old friend to make ‘Mary Jane’s Last Dance’ before they went their separate ways. Even though Lynch’s firing was a long time coming for Petty, it must have stung for the drummer when Petty considered Wildflowers one of the best albums the band had ever made.
9. David Lee Roth vs Van Halen – Van Halen
It’s not exactly hard to see why people might have a few issues with David Lee Roth. Even though he has been the life of any party that would have him, Roth’s larger-than-life schtick with Van Halen was bound to have a time limit once the band entered the ‘80s. Although Roth was content to keep the Van Halen train rolling, Eddie had other plans.
When working on releases like Fair Warning, Eddie was beginning to bring keyboards more prominently into the mix, which began to upset Roth. In his vision, Van Halen was working just fine with their set formula, and bringing in glossy synths would have turned fans off. While Eddie was willing to fall back on old habits, 1984 was when all of the compromises ended, with Eddie insisting keyboards have a prominent role on the album.
Eddie may have been proven correct when ‘Jump’ became one of the group’s biggest hits, but Roth was not willing to play in a pop mould for very long, quitting the band and moving on to a solo career, naming his debut album Eat Em and Smile as a dig at his old bandmate. Considering where Van Halen would go with Sammy Hagar, Eddie knew that the music more than made up for any showmanship Roth had.
8. James Hetfield vs Lars Ulrich – Metallica
Throughout Metallica’s history, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich have always been the main draws to the group. No matter how much Kirk Hammett, Dave Mustaine, or even Cliff Burton added to the mix, Hetfield and Ulrich have been paramount in perfectly arranging each song, creating masterpieces that few metal acts can reach. While everything was running smoothly throughout most of the ‘80s, the late ‘90s were a different story.
During the making of The Black Album, tensions were already running high between Hetfield and Ulrich, often not being allowed to comment on each other’s parts. Although Hetfield would eventually roll over when making their alternative crossover albums like Load, the start of the album St Anger got off to a rocky start when a group therapist was brought in.
After one too many recording sessions where nothing was getting done, Hetfield got into a heated argument with Ulrich and walked out on the band, returning after a year due to him checking himself into rehab. The arguments didn’t stop there, with Ulrich still feeling the need to take charge as one of the de facto leaders of the group through the documentary Some Kind of Monster. Hetfield and Ulrich might be musical brothers at the end of the day, but even brothers tend to have their dust-ups now and then.
7. John Frusciante vs everyone – Red Hot Chili Peppers
When John Frusciante was asked to be a part of Red Hot Chili Peppers, it was as if all his dreams were finally being realised. As a huge fan of the band long before he got asked to join the fold, Frusciante was ready to fill the shoes of late guitarist Hillel Slovak with a unique musical vocabulary that meshed perfectly with Flea. Although the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik worked like a charm, Frusciante wasn’t exactly prepared for what would happen next.
After being thrust into superstardom in the early ‘90s, Frusciante found himself completely uncomfortable with fame, always envisioning the Peppers as an underground band. Instead of talking to his bandmates, Frusciante started self-medicating, getting hooked on heroin throughout the tour and even performing a handful of gigs while strung out.
The biggest sign that things were going wrong came when the band played Saturday Night Live, where Frusciante began playing the opening chords of ‘Under the Bridge’ and produced various atonal noises as Anthony Kiedis struggled to stay in tune with him. Frusciante would quit the band shortly afterwards, announcing his departure right before going onstage in Japan. Though the conflict would be water under the bridge once Californication kicked back up, Frusciante came very close to becoming a rock and roll casualty.
6. Slash vs Axl Rose – Guns N’ Roses
When the hair metal movement was starting to get far too oversaturated, the world needed a band like Guns N’ Roses. Although they may have been playing the same gigs as some hair metal icons, the difference between Guns and acts like Mötley Crüe were night and day, bringing with them a rock and roll swagger reminiscent of The Rolling Stones. While Guns N’ Roses may have the distinction of having one of the greatest debuts of all time in Appetite for Destruction, they also hold the record for quickest implosion.
Looking to bury what the band had made on their first album, Axl Rose went way too far down the studio rabbit hole for the Use Your Illusion double album, trading in their street-ready hard rock for piano ballads that went on for far longer than most people had the patience. While Slash’s guitar playing brought things back into the rock conversation, his relationship with Rose was also on the rocks.
Ever since calling the guitarist out for being a junkie while opening for The Stones, Slash had always kept Rose at arm’s length, which became a lot easier when Rose got his personal entourage during the ensuing tour. By the time they had crisscrossed the globe twice, Slash had had enough of his singer’s antics, leaving along with the rest of the band in the mid-1990s to follow his muse. Rose may have kept the rights to the name Guns N’ Roses, but the fact that most members of Guns created Velvet Revolver with a new singer spoke volumes about how they felt about Rose.
5. Steven Tyler vs Joe Perry – Aerosmith
Aerosmith is probably the closest thing America has to an equivalent of The Rolling Stones. Although ‘The Bad Boys from Boston’ did everything they could to separate themselves from their idols, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry always created the perfect mix of rock and blues to put them alongside some of the greatest acts the ‘70s ever spat out. When they weren’t making music together, Tyler and Perry had one of music’s most volatile brotherly relationships.
During their glory years, the tension began with Tyler not liking Perry’s wife, Elyssa, memorialising his hatred in the song ‘Sweet Emotion’. After Elyssa got into a fight backstage during the tour for Draw the Line, a massive fight led to Perry quitting the band to form his own project.
Once the band let bygones be bygones, Perry still wasn’t ready to return to Tyler’s control-freak demeanour. When talking about his relationship with the singer, Perry has always felt that Tyler’s heart is not in rock and roll anymore, thinking that he only wants to write pop songs these days. As much as Tyler might be every bit the star whenever he steps onto that stage, it’s clear that he and Perry don’t see eye to eye on everything that the band has made.
4. Glenn Frey vs Don Felder – Eagles
For most ‘70s rock fans, the music of the Eagles has provided one of the most carefree backdrops to their youth. Being a fixture of classic rock radio, songs like ‘Hotel California’ and ‘Take It Easy’ have served as the quintessential soundtrack of California sunshine, standing one notch below The Beach Boys in providing the musical backdrop of Los Angeles. While it might seem like the band is among the most mellow groups based on their music, Don Felder had to go through hell making their classics.
Although Felder is credited as one of the main songwriters on classic tracks like ‘Hotel California’, his need for greater control of the group didn’t sit well with Glenn Frey. After initially singing the track for ‘Victim of Love’, Felder was stabbed in the back when the rest of the group recorded it again with Don Henley on vocals while he was at dinner.
Having to grin through his teeth throughout the next album, The Long Run, Felder’s anger reached a boiling point during a benefit gig in Long Beach, where he made a snide comment towards Senator Alan Cranston. When showtime arrived, Frey and Felder were at each other’s throats, insulting each other midperformance before Felder drove off in a huff after the show. By the time the rest of the band got back together, it was clear that any chance of them going on was never going to work.
3. Everyone – Fleetwood Mac
By the time Fleetwood Mac became a fixture of ‘70s pop radio, they had already been through some of the most stressful pitfalls a band could ask for. After losing several frontmen like Peter Green and Bob Welsh, the band were dealt another blow when their management got frustrated with them and hired a completely different act to tour as Fleetwood Mac without the original members. As things finally smoothed over with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks coming into the group, it was about time for shit to hit the fan again.
After bassist and keyboardist John and Christine McVie went through a messy divorce, Buckingham and Nicks decided to call off their relationship as well going into the recording of Rumours. Channelling all their energy into their songs, the album turned into a musical soap opera, with every member writing songs about their breakups and forcing their exes to sing along with them.
While the album’s success was the silver lining, it became a minor relief for the rest of the band. As the years went on, Buckingham and Nicks would grow more resentful of each other, including a band meeting in the ‘90s where Buckingham got into a physical fight with Nicks. Even though the drama always informed Fleetwood Mac’s songs, it didn’t stop the band members from being their own worst enemies.
2. John Lennon vs Paul McCartney – The Beatles
It’s safe to say that John Lennon and Paul McCartney single-handedly laid the blueprint for what rock and roll would be. Although acts like Little Richard and Buddy Holly may have come before them, their natural chemistry in The Beatles gave way to some of the wildest experimentation in rock history. Time can change people, though, and the Fab Four’s business affairs led to everything crashing down.
While most people like to point the finger at Yoko Ono for breaking up The Beatles, there’s a better case to be made for Allen Klein, who drove a business wedge between McCartney and the rest of the band. As the band started to hash things out in various business offices, their solo work led to them lashing out at each other in other ways.
Following McCartney’s dig about Lennon “preaching practices” on the song ‘Too Many People’, Lennon did his writing partner one better on ‘How Do You Sleep’, insinuating that Macca made nothing but fluff when working on The Beatles’ classics. Although the pair would eventually make up in the years up until Lennon’s murder in 1980, the waning years of The Beatles led to the world’s favourite band pitted against each other.
1. The Gallagher Brothers – Oasis
Some of the greatest groups of all time tend to feel like one musical family. Even though Mick Jagger and Keith Richards aren’t technically related, it’s hard not to see them as musical brothers-in-arms, making one classic after another. Then again, having one’s actual sibling in the band isn’t always a walk in the park, either.
After joining Oasis at the insistence of his brother Liam, Noel Gallagher took charge as the group leader, writing every song and taking the group to stardom on songs like ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Live Forever’. As much as Noel may have earned his reputation as a legendary musician, Liam’s aggressive behaviour always clashed with his brother, including one instance where he brought his mates from the pub back to the studio and started a massive row with Noel.
For all of the slagging they made at each other, the press ate it up, even managing to get a single of them having a violent argument to chart on ‘Wibbling Rivalry’. As much as the Gallaghers could have kept on touring without speaking a word to each other, Noel had had enough in 2009, quitting the band shortly before they were to go on in Paris. While fans might eagerly anticipate a day when Oasis gets back together, it’s always a challenge when there’s a relationship this volatile.
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