10 Messiest Band Splits In Rock Music History
Saying Goodbye With Middle Fingers.
Being in a rock band isn't that dissimilar from being in a marriage. Since you have to spend almost every waking hour on the road together, you're going to have to at least get along in some capacity if you even hope to stay together very long. Like all long term relationships though, sometimes friction can severely change things.
Whereas most bands like to bow out gracefully towards the end of their run, these acts were combustible from the moment they started. As opposed to the normal way that people talk out their problems, these are the kind of breakups that people still have the wounds from. After years of taking BS from one of the divas of the group or not splitting royalties evenly, most of these ended either in extremely hostility or (in the worst case) actually in the courts to fight over the use of the name.
Though some of them have been able to patch up their differences over the years, that doesn't change what the fans had to witness. Outside of the hectic touring, we were the ones that were robbed of the great music because business and hurt feelings got in the way of making the music. It might only be rock and roll, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to get along all the time.
10. The Pixies
There's no real right way to break up a band. If you're all having a good time and trying your best to create the best music you can, it's not always a walk in the park deciding to break everything apart. As for the Pixies though, they did have one of the more unique tactics by bringing a fax machine into the program.
Yeah, unlike most of the other massive blowups, Frank Black actually quit the band by sending the rest of the band a fax that he could no longer continue. You could say that it was passive aggression, but maybe he just wasn't sure that this version of the band was going to go the distance anymore. After making some of the best indie rock on Earth, it's only a matter of time before you decide to just call it a day.
The people that were really hurt in this scenario though were the fans. Since this was before the Internet was really a thing, the Pixies could have been broken up for months and none of their devotees would have been the wiser about it. No big press release...no gimmicks...just one little fax and the world's most interesting indie band was gone in an instant.