Bands have broken up in many ways. Whether it’s a quiet, organized legal matter or an explosion of egos and aggravation, the result is essentially the same. However, one method of breaking up that does hit a little differently than the rest is breaking up in front of your fans. The three bands below had massive blow-ups on stage, causing them to break up.
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Don Felder / Glenn Frey
One of the most famous incidents of a band member all but announcing their breakup on stage was an Eagles concert in 1980. The band was playing a fundraiser show for Senator Alan Cranston. Prior to taking the stage, a comment was made by Don Felder that his bandmate, Glenn Frey, took as an egregious insult. They hashed it out on stage.
“I felt Don Felder insulted Senator Cranston under his breath, and I confronted him with it,” Frey once said. “So now we’re onstage, and Felder looks back at me and says, ‘Only three more songs till I kick your a**, pal.’ And I’m saying, ‘Great. I can’t wait.’ We’re out there singing ‘Best of My Love,’ but inside both of us are thinking, ‘As soon as this is over, I’m gonna kill him.’ That was when I knew I had to get out.”
Though the band didn’t call it quits during that show, they might as well have. That show marked the end of the Eagles’ first tenure. Their relationships had soured too much to move forward.
Oasis
Oasis never made it to the stage at Rock en Seine in Paris in 2009. The last-minute forced cancellation of this gig prompted the band’s breakup.
This was far from the only fight the Gallagher brothers got into backstage, but it was the final straw. For whatever reason, they were at odds with one another before the show started. Liam reportedly waved Noel’s guitar like an axe, threatening him with his own instrument.
“He was quite violent,” Noel once said. “At that point, there was no physical violence, but there was a lot of World Wrestling Federation stuff. It was an unnecessarily violent act, and he nearly took my face off.”
The violent turn was enough for the brothers to part ways, finally. Luckily for Oasis fans, they found a way to bury the hatchet and reunite in 2024.
The Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols are one of the only bands to announce their breakup on stage. Frontman Johnny Rotten couldn’t wait until the tour wrapped up; he made his exit in the most dramatic way possible.
Many factors led to the Sex Pistols’ breakup, including a U.S. tour rife with issues and setbacks. This disastrous run forced Rotten’s hand. He took to the stage on one date of this tour, phoned it in, and said what can effectively be translated as “I Quit”: “Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?”
The band made their breakup official not long after. In a way, there is no more fitting end for a punk band. Irreverently breaking up on stage? What’s more punk than that?
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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