12 Classic Rock Fans Known For Disliking Each Other
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Being in a successful rock band should be a dream come true, but for many musicians, it turns into a long-term feud. Tensions run high when egos, creative differences, and endless touring schedules clash, sometimes pushing bandmates past the point of reconciliation. The result? Classic songs fueled by real-life grudges.
While some bands barely made it through an album cycle before things got ugly, others held together for years despite personal rivalries simmering behind the scenes. Some managed to bury the hatchet, while others still refuse to share a stage decades later. The drama wasn’t just behind closed doors—it played out in interviews, lawsuits, and even in the lyrics of their songs.
From the notorious Gallagher brothers of Oasis to the long-running feuds within Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Kinks, these bands didn’t just make music; they made headlines with their animosity. Whether their conflicts led to explosive breakups or just cold indifference, their stories remain as compelling as the songs they created.
Kiss – A Band Divided by Work Ethic
Kiss was always larger than life, but behind the scenes, the band was plagued by deep divisions. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, the group’s most dedicated members, believed that guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss weren’t fully committed to the band’s success. While all four musicians contributed to their iconic sound, tensions flared over work ethic and professionalism.
A major source of conflict stemmed from lifestyle differences. Simmons and Stanley were all business, while Frehley and Criss embraced the excesses of rock stardom. Their partying habits led to a cycle of departures and reunions, with Simmons openly criticizing their lack of discipline. In a 2019 interview, he bluntly stated that Frehley and Criss had been given “three chances” but failed to meet expectations.
Despite their conflicts, Kiss remained an unstoppable force in rock. The band continued with different lineups, but the rift between the original members never fully healed. Even during reunions, old wounds resurfaced, proving that some grudges never fade.
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The Ramones – Punk Rock Dysfunction
The Ramones may have looked like a tight-knit gang in their signature leather jackets, but behind the scenes, they could barely stand each other. Joey Ramone, the band’s idealistic frontman, clashed constantly with Johnny Ramone, their rigid and business-minded guitarist. For most of the band’s existence, the two hardly spoke, despite standing side by side on stage.
The tension went beyond creative differences. Johnny was known for his strict discipline, sometimes resorting to physical violence when he felt a bandmate wasn’t performing up to standard. Their manager, Danny Fields, recalled moments when Johnny would hit bassist Dee Dee Ramone over minor mistakes. The band’s internal conflicts only worsened over time.
One of the most personal betrayals involved Joey’s girlfriend, Linda, who left him for Johnny. The two eventually married, and Joey never forgave Johnny for what he saw as an unforgivable betrayal. Even though the band stayed together, their relationships remained fractured, proving that being in a legendary band doesn’t always mean being friends.
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Guns N’ Roses – Clashing Egos and Betrayals
Few bands embodied rock excess like Guns N’ Roses, and with that excess came intense infighting. Between substance use and clashing personalities, tension was always brewing. Guitarist Izzy Stradlin struggled to stay in key due to his drinking, and roadies allegedly had to turn his volume down during shows. However, the most infamous fallout was between frontman Axl Rose and lead guitarist Slash.
The breaking point wasn’t musical—it was personal. Axl had suffered childhood trauma and strongly believed the accusations against Michael Jackson. When Slash chose to perform with Jackson in 1991, Axl saw it as a betrayal. According to their former manager, Doug Goldstein, Axl was devastated to learn that Slash’s payment for the performance was nothing more than a big-screen TV.
While Guns N’ Roses went on to become one of the biggest bands of their era, the animosity between Axl and Slash led to their eventual split. For decades, their feud seemed irreparable, but years later, they managed to reunite—proving that even the deepest grudges can sometimes be set aside.
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The Police – Constant Battles Behind the Hits
The Police created some of the most enduring hits of the late ’70s and early ’80s, but their time together was anything but harmonious. Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland, and guitarist Andy Summers were constantly at odds, with arguments escalating into physical altercations. At one point, Copeland and Sting’s fight was so intense that Sting ended up with a broken rib.
Sting, the band’s de facto leader, often butted heads with Copeland over creative control. Copeland, a skilled drummer with jazz and punk influences, had a different vision for the band’s direction. Meanwhile, Summers frequently found himself caught in the middle of their fights, dealing with verbal abuse from Sting.
Despite their success, The Police couldn’t hold it together. Sting later admitted that he was never happy in the band and left to pursue a solo career. While they reunited for brief stints, their personal differences kept them from ever making new music together.
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Van Halen – Clashing Visions of Rock Stardom
Van Halen’s internal struggles started long before their famous lineup changes. Frontman David Lee Roth’s flamboyant showmanship clashed with the rest of the band’s vision. While Roth saw the group as a high-energy spectacle, the other members were less thrilled about his over-the-top antics.
Their disagreements boiled over in 1980 when Roth arranged a controversial photo shoot with photographer Helmut Newton. The resulting images—featuring Roth in bondage-inspired attire—infuriated the band. Though they continued to play together, this marked the beginning of the end. A few years later, Roth left to pursue a solo career.
Despite lineup changes, Van Halen remained one of rock’s most successful bands. Roth returned in 2007, but he acknowledged that conflict was always a part of their dynamic. Even in their later years, the tension between bandmates never fully disappeared.
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The Kinks – Family Feuds on Stage
Sibling rivalries can be intense, but few were as explosive as the one between Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks. The two brothers had been fighting since childhood, and their conflicts didn’t stop once they became bandmates. From fistfights to bitter arguments, their relationship was defined by constant tension.
Their most infamous altercation happened in 1965 when drummer Mick Avory hit Dave over the head with a cymbal, knocking him unconscious. Avory, thinking he had seriously injured his bandmate, fled the venue. Though Dave recovered, the incident was just one of many violent clashes within the group.
The infighting eventually led to a four-year ban from performing in the U.S., robbing The Kinks of a prime opportunity during the British Invasion. Despite their legendary catalog, their inability to get along kept them from reaching the same level of success as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.
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Simon & Garfunkel – A Harmonious Sound, A Fractured Friendship
Despite crafting some of the most beloved songs of the 1960s, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were never truly in sync behind the scenes. Their partnership was strained from the start, with Simon handling the songwriting while Garfunkel provided the soaring vocals that helped define their sound. The imbalance in creative contributions created tension that only grew as their fame skyrocketed.
A major source of resentment came from Simon’s desire for independence. Garfunkel struggled to understand why Simon would want to leave a successful duo, comparing his experience to that of George Harrison feeling overshadowed by Paul McCartney in The Beatles. Garfunkel believed Simon sidelined him, while Simon saw the partnership as too one-sided.
The final nail in the coffin was Garfunkel’s decision to pursue acting, leaving Simon alone to write new material. When Garfunkel suggested a split schedule where he worked on films while Simon kept writing songs, Simon refused. The duo parted ways, only reuniting sporadically over the years. Their relationship remains tense, proving that even perfect harmonies can’t always keep a band together.
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The Beach Boys – Family, Lawsuits, and Betrayal
The Beach Boys’ sun-soaked harmonies masked deep divisions, particularly between Brian Wilson and Mike Love. While Wilson was the creative genius behind the band’s most ambitious works, Love focused on keeping the group commercially viable. Their differing visions led to conflicts that played out in courtrooms as often as in the studio.
Love’s frustrations weren’t just with Brian Wilson—he also held grudges against drummer Dennis Wilson, who had an affair with Love’s then-wife and later impregnated his 17-year-old daughter. But perhaps Love’s biggest complaint was being left out of the publishing credits for some of the band’s biggest hits. Feeling cheated, he took legal action, claiming he had co-written classics like “California Girls” and “I Get Around.”
Though lawsuits and personal betrayals fractured their relationships, The Beach Boys continued in various forms. Mike Love retained the right to tour under the band’s name, while Wilson focused on solo work. Their shared history couldn’t keep them united, and decades later, their feuds still overshadow their music.
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The Eagles – Harmony on Stage, Chaos Behind the Scenes
For a band built on pristine vocal harmonies and laid-back California vibes, The Eagles were anything but peaceful. From the beginning, tensions ran high as Glenn Frey and Don Henley dominated the songwriting, leaving other members frustrated. This dynamic led to frequent clashes, especially with guitarist Don Felder.
The most infamous Eagles meltdown happened in 1980 during a show in Long Beach, California. As the band performed, Felder and Frey exchanged threats, with Felder telling Frey, “Only three more songs till I kick your *ss, pal.” After the show, the band imploded, leading to their breakup. When they reunited for Hell Freezes Over, old tensions resurfaced. Henley and Frey formed a separate corporation to manage royalties, leaving Felder feeling excluded.
While The Eagles continued touring after Frey’s passing, their long history of internal battles remains a defining part of their legacy. Their music may sound effortless, but their relationships were anything but.
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Creedence Clearwater Revival – A Dictatorship in Disguise
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s meteoric rise in the late ’60s was fueled by John Fogerty’s creative vision, but that same vision also led to the band’s downfall. Fogerty controlled every aspect of the band, from songwriting to production, leaving his bandmates feeling like hired hands rather than equals.
By the early ’70s, tensions had reached a boiling point. Fogerty’s brother, Tom, left the group, and the remaining members attempted to assert more creative control. Fogerty refused, insisting on maintaining his iron grip. The result was 1972’s Mardi Gras, an album widely panned by critics and fans alike.
The band collapsed shortly after, but the lawsuits and bad blood continued for decades. When CCR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, Fogerty refused to perform with his former bandmates. Even after all these years, the animosity between the surviving members remains unresolved.
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Fleetwood Mac – Turning Turmoil Into Timeless Music
Few bands have turned their internal drama into musical gold quite like Fleetwood Mac. Before their most famous lineup formed, the band had already cycled through multiple members, but the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham brought new tensions that would define their legacy.
Fleetwood Mac’s personal relationships became as famous as their music. Nicks and Buckingham’s romance fell apart, Christine and John McVie divorced, and Mick Fleetwood had his own affair with Nicks. Despite their dysfunction, they channeled their pain into Rumours, one of the most successful albums of all time.
Years later, Buckingham’s strained relationship with Nicks led to his departure from the band once again. Christine McVie later revealed that keeping the band together meant choosing between Nicks and Buckingham. Their story is proof that while rock and roll feuds can fuel great music, they often come at a personal cost.
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The Beatles – The Band That Changed the World (And Fell Apart)
Even at the height of Beatlemania, cracks were forming within The Beatles. By the late ’60s, their creative and personal differences were impossible to ignore. The band members grew resentful of each other, with Paul McCartney pushing for productivity while the others grew weary of the band’s demands.
George Harrison felt overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney, leading to heated arguments. Ringo Starr even quit temporarily after feeling unappreciated. The presence of Yoko Ono in the studio further strained relationships, but she wasn’t the sole cause of their downfall. The band’s time in India only heightened their differences, and by the Let It Be sessions, their disintegration was on full display.
Though they released two final albums, Abbey Road and Let It Be, their fate was sealed. Harrison quit, McCartney sued to dissolve the band, and Lennon walked away for good. The Beatles had revolutionized music, but in the end, they couldn’t survive their own success.
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