The Messiest Band Breakups in History

They say that breaking up is hard to do

and that's even true for your favorite rock stars. There's something particularly fascinating about a band

breakup that leaves its fans as heartbroken, angry, and nostalgic as the band members themselves

especially when those breakups are supremely messy. So today, we're going to take a look

at the messiest band breakups in history. Let's rock and roll. The Hotel California may have been such a lovely place

But after that 1976 album propelled the Eagles to fame, things got really, uh, not lovely

Instead, the group struggled to keep up with high demand pressures the industry placed on them

as they worked to create a follow-up album. Bandmates Don Felder and Glenn Frey

grew irritable with each other. And their anger reached a turning point live on stage

during a performance endorsing US Senator Alan Cranston in 1980. When Cranston greeted the group backstage

to thank them for showing up, Felder reportedly responded, You're welcome, Senator, I guess

Fry, for his part, felt Don Felder insulted Senator Cranston under his breath

So he confronted him with it. Later on stage, Fry claims Felder looked to him during Best of My Love

a very chill tune, and said, Only three more songs till I kick your ass, pal

Presumably, Fry responded by immediately playing the three longest Eagles songs. Fry genuinely believed they wanted to kill each other

And that's when he knew he had to get out. Unlike the checkout policy at the Hotel California, he was allowed to leave

The group finally put aside their differences and reunited for a 1993 tour

aptly named Hell Freezes Over. They remained a group until they fired Felder in 2001

which caused the guitarist to file a lawsuit that was eventually settled out of court

The messiness lives on. Whether initiated by substance problems, infidelity, the desire to create solo careers

or the random decision to join a Christian cult, Fleetwood Mac broke up a lot

Yet the band always managed to rekindle their bonds and create music that would win over multiple generations of fans

In 1977, they recorded the album they would become most famous for, Rumors

At the time, most of the group's members were in the midst of romantic breakups

Married band members Christine and John McPhee started recording the album on the brink of divorce

And Christine started openly having a relationship with the band's lighting director. Awkward

At the same time, longtime partners Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham had a volatile breakup and penned songs about each other on the album

That sounds pretty messed up. But given those songs are immortal classics like Dreams and Go Your Own Way we not going to complain Meanwhile Mick Fleetwood learned of an affair between his wife and his friend which eventually prompted him to have his own affair with Nix

Still with us? Maybe we should have drawn a flowchart. The rumors lineup of the band gradually

split up to pursue solo ventures and remedy substance abuse issues, the latter of which

was definitely a good thing. The contentious exes, Nix and Buckingham, even reached something of a truce in the 90s

and continued performing together. But true to form, it all went to crap, and Buckingham sued the band for breach of fiduciary

duty and oral contract after the other members fired him in 2018

It sounds like it must have been about something pretty serious, but according to Rolling Stone

the conflict stemmed from Buckingham smirking as Nix gave a long-winded speech on stage

prompting Nix to drop a him-or-me ultimatum. And it's really hard to say no to Stevie Nix, so you can just go your own way, Lindsay Buckingham

Fleetwood Mac never formally announced that they had dissolved the group. But longtime member Christine McVie told Rolling Stone in 2022 that they had parted ways after their 2018 tour

McVie suddenly passed later that year, causing the remaining former bandmates to deem a reunion tour unthinkable

While most other school kids were throwing balls around on the playground, the music-loving 11-year-olds Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, who met at their elementary school in Queens, New York

were already working on their act, and in Garfunkel's case, presumably already working on his perm

So if you're a struggling musician who didn't start growing your hair out when you were 11

uh, sorry. However, just because two people harmonize as singers doesn't mean they harmonize

as businessmen. And Simon and Garfunkel's partnership began to splinter almost as soon

as their first record hit number 49 on the music charts. When Big Records manager Sid Prozen asked

if they had any more songs to use as follow-up singles, Simon recorded and submitted solo tracks to the manager

without first talking it over with his partner. That move set the tone for their entire career

as a cohesive act. Garfunkel would later recall, Paul made a record without telling me

He was my best friend, and I thought friendship involves candor and telling a friend what's up

So the fact that he had a hidden surprise shocked and hurt me. Paul Simon, great at making art

less great at making friends with art. Though the duo parted ways

They eventually made amends and came together to record some of their most popular songs

including Cecilia, Bridge Over Troubled Water, I Am A Rock, America, and The Only Living Boy

in New York. While the two remained amicable in public, jealousy and resentment tore apart

their friendship offstage. With Garfunkel singing most of the vocals, Simon was jealous that his

friend was likely seen as the frontman and songwriter by their fans And because Simon and wrote most of the songs Garfunkel was envious of his creative stronghold on the band voice Though they never announced a formal split

Simon and Garfunkel played their last two concerts together at Forest Hills Stadium, Queens in 1970

According to Simon, Garfunkel's prioritization of an acting gig in the 1971 film Carnal Knowledge

was the straw that broke the carnal's back. Though the pair reunited for performances

in the decades following, old tensions resurfaced each time. In 2016, Simon appeared to quash any future hope of a reunion

saying, I mean, quite honestly, we don't get along, so it's not like it's fun

And in 2018, Simon announced his retirement from touring. Since then, it's just been the sounds of silence from these two

The classic lineup of Guns N' Roses were only a band for a relatively short period of time

Just long enough to ensure there's always someone playing the opening riff from Sweet Child O' Mine at all times in every guitar store across America, or at least referencing the stepbrothers scene

But as they made a name for themselves in the 1980s and early 90s, behind the scenes tensions between lead singer Axl Rose and lead guitarist Slash flared, making life pretty miserable for everyone involved

Welcome to the jungle, baby. Rose, who considered himself the leader of the band

because of course he did, petitioned to claim complete control over the group's name

and regularly spoke out against the actions of other members. Meanwhile, as the singer became notorious

for delaying live performances, Slash and the other bandmates grew concerned that their lack of punctuality would negatively affect

concert attendance and fan approval. The feud between Rose and Slash came to a head in 1991

when Slash went behind Rose's back to record Morphine and Give It To Me with Michael Jackson, an artist you may have heard of

In addition to being adamant that the bandmates not pursue projects with other artists

Rose believed the abuse allegations against Jackson at the time and didn't want to be associated with him

On top of all their other problems, this friction caused the band to split and fracture into all kinds of lineup changes

until Slash and Rose mended fences and rejoined together in 2016. In 2015, One Direction bandmate Zayn Malik shockingly announced he would be leaving the

boy band to live like a normal 20-year-old. Or at least as normal as a 20-year-old who has already

achieved worldwide fame and fortune can live. So, you know, we doubt he moved back home and got a

job at Panera. In response, the remaining four members, Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne

and Louis Tomlinson, alerted their fans that they would be taking a much-needed break

And they must have really needed that break, because the band has yet to come back together Instead they all become solo artists with varying degrees of success Despite his insistence he left to live a life away from the spotlight Malak was the first to sign a contract as a solo artist with RCA Records a few months after his departure While his initial album was

welcomed by fans and critics alike, his two following albums didn't do quite so well. Tom

Linson sadly lost his mother and sister shortly after One Direction went on hiatus. Though he has

recorded two albums, he remains relatively quiet on the music scene. Payne seems to have taken a

hiatus from music altogether. And backup singer Horan is experiencing his time in the limelight

with a solo career. And Styles, you know that guy who's just everywhere now, won a Grammy for

Album of the Year in 2022. Although during their time together the band members were known for

acting chummy, comments made after their breakup, particularly surrounding Malik's departure, seemed to indicate they were never quite the best of friends. So it was probably best that

they all went in separate directions. Van Halen broke up so many times they were almost as famous

for splits as they were for music, particularly the splits Diamond Dave used to do. We're exaggerating

but the official count of Van Halen breakups stands at three, and according to the late

great Eddie Van Halen himself, the members never really got along that great to begin with

The first breakup happened in 1984, when the band was at the pinnacle of their success

Members accused singer David Lee Roth of being more interested in his solo career and film

pursuits than what was good for Van Halen as a group. Eddie Van Halen told an interviewer that Dave left to be a movie star, claiming that Roth

even asked Eddie to write a score for his movie. Eddie then plainly stated, I'm looking for a new lead singer

The band eventually replaced Roth with Sammy Hagar, who was best known for being unable

to drive 55. But while everything seemed fine on the outside following Roth's replacement, they just continued

to fight behind the scenes. The second breakup occurred in 1996, after the filmmakers of Twister approached the band

to add a song to the film's soundtrack. A reluctant Hagar was persuaded to join the project

but the sessions to produce the songs caused more strife between him and the Van Halen brothers

Though some rumors suggested this feud led Hagar to leave the group, he insisted that the Van Halen brothers fired him

After briefly working with Roth again and making a single album with singer Gary Cherone

the band reunited with Hagar for a tour in 2004. The Van Halen brothers hoped they could put aside

their differences with Hagar for the sake of their fans. But Hagar and Eddie got into an eruption backstage

after a drunken Eddie took issue with Hagar's new Cabo Wabo Tequila Tattoo, which is Hagar's own brand

Maybe he was heard it wasn't a Van Halen tattoo. Long story short, they broke up again

But despite their differences, Hagar said he and Eddie managed to patch things up

before Eddie's passing in 2020