Bands Who Hated Each Other but Still Made Great Music
There are many bands that, despite their internal disputes, managed to create wonderful music. In many cases, this tension fueled their creativity. For example, the Gallagher brothers constantly clashed and, despite this, were successful with Oasis.
Meanwhile, in The Police, Sting and Stewart Copeland argued constantly during rehearsals and tours, although the resulting music is an unforgettable discography.
The members of musical groups often have opposing artistic visions, very high egos, and complex personalities. Despite this, when they perform on stage and record albums in the studio, these unhappy relationships eventually transform into art.
The bands we'll review below demonstrated that their unhappy relationships didn't prevent them from creating extraordinary music.
Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth experienced constant tensions over the band's musical and creative arrangements. The arguments became intense, and Roth eventually left the band in 1985, being replaced by Sammy Hagar, although the conflicts continued.
The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have maintained different personal and creative paths. Jagger wanted to maintain a more commercial approach, while Richards sought to retain the band's raw, rebellious rock spirit. The group has managed to put aside their differences and produce great albums like Exile on Main St. and Let It Bleed.
Ramones
Johnny and Joey Ramone had very different personalities and maintained a cold relationship. During tours, they barely spoke to each other and there was constant friction over musical decisions and the band's overall direction.
The Police
Sting and Stewart Copeland argued daily about the band's musical direction, songwriting, and creative decisions. Despite this, they released hits like Roxanne, Every Breath You Take, and Message in a Bottle.
The Kinks
Brothers Ray and Dave Davies were known for their repeated conflicts within the band, which sometimes escalated to physical fights. Despite these tensions, they managed to create hits like You Really Got Me.
The Beatles
The Beatles had disagreements over musical direction and decision-making. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison clashed frequently.
Stone Temple Pilots
The band achieved great success in the 1990s, but faced serious internal conflicts, primarily due to the behavior of its vocalist, Scott Weiland. His drug addiction and tendency to miss rehearsals, recordings, and tours created constant tension with the other members of the group.
The Smashing Pumpkins
Internal tensions stemming from Billy Corgan's personality and conflicts with James Iha, D'arcy Wretzky, and Jimmy Chamberlin over creative decisions and musical direction led to temporary breakups.
Rage Against the Machine
Zack de la Rocha, the band's leader, had a very clear vision of the group's politics and message, while the other members, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk, disagreed on how to express those ideas in the musical arrangements, and tensions arose.
Pink Floyd
The relationship between Roger Waters and David Gilmour was contentious. Waters had very strong ideas about the musical direction and themes of the albums, while Gilmour disagreed with these decisions and sought to contribute his own artistic vision. These differences intensified during the creation of albums like The Wall.
Oasis
The bond between Liam and Noel Gallagher was never good due to their egos and temperaments. Despite their rivalry, they created wonderful songs.
Nirvana
Kurt Cobain, the creative leader and vocalist, had a very defined artistic vision, while other band members sometimes clashed over musical direction and production decisions.
Mötley Crüe
The band members, Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee, frequently clashed, sometimes leading to physical fights, and these excesses occurred during recording and touring. However, they produced hard rock classics like Dr. Feelgood and Kickstart My Heart.
Metallica
One of metal's most successful bands went through serious internal conflicts due to creative and personal differences, especially between James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Despite all this, they released hit albums like St. Anger, Death Magnetic, and 72 Seasons.
Led Zeppelin
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham all had strong personalities and clashed over their creative differences and the pressure of success.
Guns N’ Roses
The band was embroiled in conflicts, primarily between Axl Rose and Slash, who argued during recordings and tours. Despite this, they produced iconic songs like Sweet Child O' Mine, Welcome to the Jungle, and November Rain.
Fleetwood Mac
The band endured constant tension and betrayals among its members. Despite this, they produced Rumors, one of the group's best albums.
Cream
The band formed by Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker is a prime example of strong personality conflicts, primarily due to the constant tensions between Bruce and Baker, who argued endlessly about the band's musical direction and engaged in physical confrontations.
Blur
The clash of personalities and musical visions between vocalist Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon generated constant discussions about the band's artistic direction.
Aerosmith
A band that should have broken up, but managed to survive despite the adversities. The group experienced fights between members, primarily between Steven Tyler and Joe Perry.