Which band has gone through the most members?
Creativity invites controversy. The best bands, such as Guns N’ Roses, Deep Purple and The Beatles, don’t simply get together, write great music and then call it a day; they lay their souls bare in their music in the hope that it will resonate with people worldwide. Subsequently, when a musician puts forward a song to their bandmates, and it gets pushed back, it can be taken personally, leading to friction.
The above alone would be enough to drive a wedge between some of the most solid lineups of bands, but throwing into the mix the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll that are persistently raved about throughout music only leads to harder times within a band. It means that many of the greatest rock bands in the world have gone through multiple different line-ups.
Of course, there is a difference between bands that have many members and those that have gone through many different members. For instance, the band AKB48 had a total of 292 members. The band initially started with the intention of having 48 members, but that expanded over time with different variations. Equally, bands such as The Waterboys, Blood Sweat and Tears, and Savoy Brown all have over 50 members each.
There are a number of reasons why different bands have split up and shuffled around line-ups time and time again. Some are much more notorious than others, as their breakups are more notorious than others. Then, many other bands are so true to their original lineup that they are incapable of getting back together once they initially fall apart.
What bands have changed line-ups the most?
Many rock bands have changed line-ups frequently because of the hot-headed nature of rock music. One of the bands that has changed line-ups most frequently is Guns N’ Roses, whose original line-up disbanded before they had even started recording their debut album. While many of the original band members are back playing together, there have been various changes to the band.
Equally, Black Sabbath has had a range of lead singers during its period as a band. While Ozzy Osbourne might be one of the most charismatic and impactful vocalists of all time, his struggles with drugs and alcohol became so bad that it was borderline impossible to work with him during periods. Other singers, such as Ronnie James Dio, took to the mic during this absence.
…and what bands never changed their line-up?
Many bands feel so true to their original line-up that when things got rough or they were forced to break up, they never played together again. A great example of one of these bands is Led Zeppelin. Once John Bonham passed away, the band decided that rather than replace him, they could never mess with perfection. There has since been a reunion with his son as a one-off, but they have never formed again with new members.
Robert Plant was aware of how special what they had was the moment they started performing together. “I remember the little room; all I can remember is it was hot, and it sounded good – very exciting and very challenging,” he said.
“Because I could feel that something was happening to myself and to everyone else in the room. It felt like we’d found something that we had to be very careful with because we might lose it.”
