10 Rock Music Bands That Quit On Top

10. The White Stripes

The Detroit duo emerged onto the scene in 1999 with their self-titled masterpiece, broke big in 2001, released their last album in 2007, and while they didn’t announce their split for another four years, effectively ended it there. During that journey, they inspired plentiful copyists, presented themselves with a confidence and coherence few bands muster, and garnered worldwide fame and acclaim.

No one’s exactly sure why the Stripes hung up their colour-coded boots, but the fact that drummer Meg White has essentially disappeared since is presumably part of the reason. The seven-album run isn’t perfect (Get Behind Me Satan is a bit weak), but their finale, Icky Thump, is as good a swansong as any band could ask for; a record that simultaneously showcases the evolution of the band and their simple blues-rock roots.

As a live act, they were almost peerless and could have kept going forever, but instead they chose to, per their press release, “preserve what is beautiful and special about the band". What they leave behind is weird and wonderful music packed with character and self belief - a gloriously unlikely success story.