Plenty of incredible rock tunes through the years have made it to the airwaves and live performances alike. However, some bands have opted to stop performing certain hits from their discography live. Let’s look at a few examples of rock songs from the 1980s that bands famously refused to play… and why they gave those songs the axe.
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1. “Exit” by U2
Remember “Exit” by U2? This entry on our list is on the vague side. This 1987 hit was a major fan favorite, but the band stopped playing it for years until around 2017 without much explanation. However, I have a pretty good idea of why the band pretended like the song didn’t exist for so long.
Robert John Bardo, a murderer who was convicted of the death of actress Rebecca Schaeffer in 1989, famously said that “Exit” by U2 influenced his horrid crime. He made the admission during a psychiatric interview, and “Exit” was namedropped during the trial. Yikes.
2. “Abacab” by Genesis
Back in 2007, prog-rock band Genesis embarked on a reunion tour. The band collaborated on the set list, and some fans were surprised that a few hard hitters from their career didn’t make it to their sets. In an interview with Rolling Stone, drummer Phil Collins admitted that there was a reason behind giving the 1981 tune “Abacab” the axe. He was a bit vague about it, but I can understand where he’s coming from. The better part of three decades had passed since he wrote the song.
“That happened with ‘Abacab’ which I’m sure everyone expects us to do,” said Collins. “Halfway through the first verse, I said, ‘I don’t really want to sing this. I don’t know what it’s about.’”
3. “Mr. Roboto” by Styx
Out of all the rock songs to make it big in the 1980s, “Mr. Roboto” is among the most unforgettable. A standout release from synth-rock outfit Styx, this song is an obvious Dennis DeYoung work that listeners in the US and Canada loved.
DeYoung ended up leaving the band a year after “Mr. Roboto” became a hit, and the remaining members of the band just didn’t feel comfortable performing his song live. Eventually, though, about 30 years later, the band decided to start giving the people what they wanted and added the song back into their live rotation.
Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns
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