Break ups are hard no matter what the situation might be. Much like when a couple breaks up, when a band breaks up or loses members it’s hard on not just the ones involved but for those that surround them. Being in a band is very much like being in relationship. You start out seeking someone that is compatible with you. You want someone who shares in your likes and dislikes yet you want to have enough differences of opinion to keep it interesting. That person also needs to be someone you spend day in and day out with; someone you can accept and have them accept any and all quirks or shortcomings; someone you can trust and someone that can trust you. Sometimes, in a band, not all of these things nececssarily work out. Egos, drug abuse, creative differences and death over time become issues within a band. Way too often when this happens, then we have “the break up.”
Some bands have managed to find huge success in carrying on after a lead singer leaves but this is a pretty rare occurance. Sometimes the rifts in bands are caused by LSD (Lead Singer Disease). This occurs when the lead singer at some point believes that he is the “star” of the band and the sole reason for their popularity. This can cause some serious turmoil and usually leads to the singer parting ways to pursue the “solo career.”Many believe this to be the case with Van Halen. David Lee Roth was without a doubt the “star” of Van Halen besides Eddie Van Halen. Eddie was the guy that all the dudes wanted to be and Diamond Dave was the guy that all the girls wanted to be with. After much publicised drama within the band, Diamond Dave left the band to pursue a solo career that would last for well over 20 years. Van Halen would replace him with Sammy Hagar and go on to acheive much commercial success.
Lead Singer Disease isn’t always the case. Sometimes it’s the dreaded “artistic differences.” As corny as that “excuse” is, it’s very much a true living thing. When Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson decided to leave Iron Maiden, it was to pursue a career on his own as a songwriter and to have more creative control that what he could have in Iron Maiden. Then you have the dreaded substance abuse issue. Bands who are way too fucked up on drugs and in fits of paranoia and turmoil start playing the blame game. In the case of Black Sabbath, it was “who’s the more fucked up of us four?” Well, that answer would be Ozzy. The band felt that in order to carry on as the juggernaut that they had become, they had to eliminate the weak link that was holding them back. When you’re a band with a singer who possesses a huge pressence such as Ozzy Osbourne, you have to make sure you’re replace that vocalist with someone who can match the prior singer in talent, energy and determination. In the case of Sabbath, they found that person in Ronnie James Dio and managed to usher in a new era of Black Sabbath that would stand strong on it’s one feet as a powerful line up
When the death of a members is a factor, most bands never recover from this and call it a day. Let’s take for instance Led Zeppelin. When the late great John “Bonzo” Bonham died, the band felt that he was more than a mere drummer that could be replaced. He was a friend, a brother and a soulmate. His style was unique and there was nobody quite like him. The band felt that it wouldn’t work to just replace him so they called it a day. This situation is even more common when the member to pass away is the lead singer. Bands like Alice In Chains, Blind Melon and Mother Love Bone all experienced the loss of their iconic lead singers. Layne Stayley (Alice In Chains), Shannon Hoon (Blind Melon) and Andrew Wood (Mother Love Bone) were all vocalists that had identities and personalities all their own. They were singers that not only possessed an original style or image but they had voices that were disticnt and all their own. These bands knew that it would be impossible to find replacements for their singers and all decided to call it a day. Years later, the bond of the surviving members of Alice In Chains and Blind Melon would prove too strong to ignore and found themselves reforming with new vocalists and with new lives as they opted to release new material and tour keeping the memory of their departed friends alive for the fans. In rare cases such as with AC/DC’s Bon Scott, the band would vow to move forward with hopes of finding a singer that would keep the tradition and memory alive of the former and move forward to have a new life.
Now that we have touched on the issues of the break up, we now have to think about the reactions from the fans. It’s hard as a fan when your favorite bands part company with each other. In the old days before the internets and the Googles, all we had were magazines and word of mouth. I remember back in the early 90’s when it was announced in Metal Edge magazine that Vince Neil had left/been fired from Motley Crue. This was all the talk at the lunch table at school. My friends and I were literally taking sides. I can remember one of my friends saying, “Motley Crue is fucked now. They lost the best singer and they suck. They must be real assholes to work with if he had to quit.” The other side of the table had us saying “Vince Neil sucks. He doesn’t write lyrics and he just gets up there and tries to look pretty. Fuck him and bring on someone else!” As you can see, it was a very heated situation. I’m sure this is how this and similar issues were discussed all over the world. Now we have the internet. A huge ass public forum for people to express their feelings for all the world to see and trust me, shit storms have been a brewing about everything.
It’s important to remember when discussing things like band splits that there are always two sides to every story. Just because one side speaks the loudest doesn’t make that side the prevailing truth. In the end, we are all entitled to our own opinions but it’s important that we keep in mind that these are real, breathing human beings with emotions and feelings. It’s bad enough that being in a band means that all your laundry gets aired out in public. As fans, again, we have the right to our own opinions and especially with mediums like Facebook, MySpace and band messageboards we have the ability to express those feelings in a public forum. All I am saying is that sometimes we don’t think before we express ourselves. As fans of a band, do we really need to waste our time playing blame games? I think the energy and time would be better used to continue to not only support a band if you truly love them but to support those that have left as well if you feel that they are worthy of it. Give them words of encouragement and hope that your favorite band will continue to make music, hold it together for years to come and be happy.
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