Five of the biggest band breakups in history that we're still not over
Hands down, one of the most highly anticipated shows of the year has to be Daisy Jones and The Six, premiering Friday, March 3.
The upcoming series is based on the best-selling novel by Taylor Jenkins Reed, which takes place in Los Angeles during the 1970s amid the rock and roll craze.
It follows two charismatic lead singers– Daisy and Billy –drawn together by their chemistry – creating a spark that propels their band to a meteoric rise and dramatic fall from fame.
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The series centres on the relationships at the heart of the band, charting the path to their sudden split.
To celebrate the release of Daisy Jones and The Six, we’ve curated five of the biggest band break-ups ever.
So get ready as we take a trip down memory lane.
The Beatles
There are many theories about how this iconic band decided to call it quits, from the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, to Yoko Ono’s influence on John Lennon.
However, the story that has gained the most traction is that John Lennon wanted to start his solo career.
The Beatles separated in 1970, and if you ask Paul McCartney, Lennon was the first band member to look for a way out.
In a BBC Radio 4 interview series This Cultural Life, McCartney revealed: “John had always wanted to sort of break loose from society because, you know, he was brought up by his Aunt Mimi, who was quite repressive, so he was always looking to break loose.”
Lennon also confirmed in a 1998 anthology released after his death that shortly after filming How I Won the War, he wanted out.
After the band stopped touring, Lennon contemplated: “Well, this is the end, really. There’s no more touring. That means there’s going to be a blank space in the future…’ That’s when I really started considering life without the Beatles – what would it be?”
Oasis
After being together for almost two decades, Oasis finally decided to go their separate ways in 2009.
It’s no secret that the band’s two frontmen, brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, never got along, with it all coming to the boiling point before a Rock En Seine festival show in Paris.
After the two’s colossal argument backstage, the show was cancelled along with the rest of the tour.
And just to rub salt in the wound, following the fight, Liam announced he was starting a new band with Oasis members Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock.
Ouch!
Spice Girls
While this girl group officially never broke up, they announced in 2000 that they would be going on an indefinite hiatus and have not returned since.
The break-up came after Geri Halliwell suddenly left in 1998 - just days before the Spice Girls were set to embark on their sold-out US tour.
Rumour has it that gruelling schedules and constant fights finally pushed Halliwell over the edge.
However, the team behind the popular Chicago Bulls docuseries, The Last Dance, is now working on a new show focusing on the girl band.
Hopefully, they’ll delve into the infamous break-up to give fans more context.
One Direction
This band split is even one Millennials and Gen Z will remember.
Cracks began to show when Zayn Malik decided to leave to seek privacy before ultimately launching his solo career.
He wrote to the fan’s official Facebook page: “I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”
While the band continued to tour without Malik, they eventually broke up a year later in 2016.
Fleetwood Mac
Author Taylor Jenkins Reid admitted that Daisy Jones and the Six is partially based on this British-American rock band.
The group’s tumultuous relationship is well documented through the 1977 album Rumours, when many of the band mates began to clash, including Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham who were in an on/off again relationship.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a decade later, Buckingham initially decided to exit from the band when he quite literally decided to ‘go his own way’ in 1987 pivoting a solo career.
Buckingham returned in 1997, only to leave almost 10 years later in 2008.
As per Rolling Stone Nicks said of his departure: “Following an exceedingly difficult time with Lindsey at MusiCares in New York, in 2018, I decided for myself that I was no longer willing to work with him.”
In 2021, during an interview on WTF With Marc Maron Podcast, Buckingham said his firing from the band tarnished their legacy.
He said: “What was most disappointing about it to me was not, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna get to do this tour’. What it was [is] again, we spent 43 years building this legacy which was about rising above things – it stood for more than the music.
“And by allowing this to happen through some levels of weakness – my own weakness included – I think we did some harm to that legacy. And that’s a shame.”
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Charisa Bossinakis