Listening to a group of musicians come together and make music inspires an image of camaraderie. After all, it sounds like they’re all working like a well-oiled machine with a singular purpose. However, that’s not always the case. The members of some of the biggest bands in rock history hated one another. Usually, those feelings turned into internal conflicts that led the bands to split, to the dismay of fans everywhere.
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Today, we’re looking at the famous feuds behind four bands whose members hated one another. All of these bands imploded under the weight of the infighting. Fortunately, though, some have reunited.
[RELATED: Hope It Was Worth It! Classic Rock Albums That Led to Band Breakups]
1. Oasis
When two guys who are close to one another constantly argue, people say they “fight like brothers.” Liam and Noel Gallagher, the brothers at the heart of the legendary British band Oasis, seemingly hated one another and embodied that phrase.
They burst onto the scene with their debut single “Supersonic” in April 1994. Months later, the world got its first look at the brothers’ turbulent relationship during a showcase show at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles. Liam lambasted the band with insults and threw a tambourine at Noel, who seemingly fell off the face of the earth for a few days after the gig. That was only the beginning, though. Two years later, they were set to record a set for MTV Unplugged. However, Noel was reportedly under the weather and couldn’t perform. Instead, he sat in the crowd and heckled the band throughout the show. These are only a few examples of the brothers’ public tiffs.
Things continued like this until 2009. That August, Noel released a statement announcing his departure from the band, saying he couldn’t stand to play with his brother anymore. Fifteen years later, in 2024, the band announced a reunion tour.
2. The Who
The Who are an iconic rock band with a wealth of hits and two members who hated one another. Roger Daltrey formed the band that would become The Who with John Entwistle in 1959. Two years later, guitarist Pete Townshend joined the band. Daltrey and Townshend have been open about their feelings for one another in the past. They agreed that they had a purely professional relationship. However, the divide between them went deeper than seeing one another as just co-workers.
The two often argued in the press and made pointed comments about one another. However, they came to blows publicly more than once throughout the band’s long run. Things changed after Entwistle’s death in 2002, though. His passing prompted Daltrey and Townshend to reevaluate many things, and they have since become close friends.
3. Creedence Clearwater Revival
It’s hard to believe that Creedence Clearwater Revival was only together for a few short years. They released their debut album in 1968 and split after the release of their sixth and final album, Mardi Gras, in 1972. The band created some of the most iconic classic rock songs, but few fans knew how much hate existed between its members.
Everything started well with the band. Then, as their fame grew, so did John Fogerty’s ego. He wrote and sang the songs and played lead guitar. So, as the band’s star rose, he wanted more and more control. His need for power and the rest of the band’s desire for an equal say in their creative output led the band to split in 1972. The fences have seemingly gone unmended in the years since. When CCR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, Fogerty refused to play with the other members of the band who were in attendance. Instead, he assembled a new band for the evening with Bruce Springsteen and other classic rock A-listers. Stu Cook and Doug Clifford, the two remaining original band members, walked out of the induction ceremony.
4. Fleetwood Mac
There couldn’t be a list of bands with members that hated one another without including Fleetwood Mac. However, that wasn’t always the case. Before the members of the highly influential band were at each other’s throats, there was plenty of love to go around. The romantic entanglements and breakups between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks and Christine and John McVie, coupled with rampant substance abuse, led to turmoil within the band.
While they attempted to push forward, the band’s history is a tangled web of infighting, lawsuits, dismissals, unreleased albums, and tours that almost didn’t come to fruition. Fleetwood Mac was hanging on by a thread when Christine McVie died in 2022. Since then, Nicks has said there was no point in moving forward with the band while Mick Fleetwood has said he’d be open to getting the group together again.
Featured Image by Giuseppe Aresu/Shutterstock
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