- today
From legendary partnerships to bitter fallouts, the music world has seen its fair share of betrayals. Join us as we count down our picks for bands that had the world at their feet... until one member pulled the rug out from under them! Our countdown includes shocking departures, secret solo deals, and mid-tour walkouts that left bandmates and fans reeling.
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MusicTranscript
00:00There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I don't know how.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:09And today, we're taking a look at bands that had the world at their feet
00:13until one member pulled the rug out from under them.
00:18There will be an answer, let it be.
00:24Tom DeLonge, Blink-182.
00:27All the small things, true care, truth brings.
00:34These Californian giants of pop-punk hit it big in the late 90s,
00:39racking up hits and cultivating a devoted fan base with their cheeky songwriting and airtight musicianship.
00:46But by the early 2000s, tensions were boiling just beneath the surface,
00:51particularly between guitarist Tom DeLonge and his bandmates Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker.
00:57Fed up with the band's relentless touring schedule and feeling creatively stifled,
01:02DeLonge quietly began plotting his exit.
01:05In the car, I just can't wait to pick you up on our very first date.
01:10Is it cool if I hold your hand?
01:12When Blink-182 went on indefinite hiatus in 2005, it quickly became clear that it wasn't a break.
01:20It was a break up.
01:22DeLonge stepped out, blindsiding fans and bandmates alike, and immediately launched his new project,
01:29Angels and Airwaves.
01:31He would eventually return to the band, twice, even making new music and touring together starting in 2022.
01:46Joe Perry
01:47Aerosmith
01:49At the height of their fame, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were dubbed the Toxic Twins,
02:02a nickname that hinted at the substance-fueled chaos brewing behind the scenes.
02:07By the late 70s, personal tensions and substance abuse had pushed the band to the brink.
02:13Talk about the things that nobody cares.
02:16It's gonna work.
02:18Wearing out the things that nobody wears.
02:20The bubbling chaos spilled over in 1979, when a heated backstage blowout between Tyler and Perry
02:28led the guitarist to storm off mid-tour.
02:31But the real sting came in the studio.
02:34Aerosmith had been in the middle of recording their sixth album, Night in the Ruts, when Perry
02:39pulled his songs and repurposed them for his own solo record.
02:43For the rest of the band, it wasn't just a departure.
02:47It felt like desertion.
02:48There's the music through the talking.
02:52There's the music through the talking.
02:56Jimmy Chamberlain
02:57The Smashing Pumpkins
02:59I am one as you are three
03:03Satisfied Messiah of Trinity
03:08Smashing Pumpkins drummer Jimmy Chamberlain
03:11didn't exactly hit it off with frontman Billy Corgan at first.
03:15In fact, by his own admission, the band sounded atrocious before he joined.
03:20But Chamberlain's powerful playing helped launch them to alt-rock superstardom.
03:25Unfortunately, his substance use disorder quickly became a ticking time bomb.
03:31The band had tried to manage it quietly, but everything came crashing down in 1996, when
03:44Chamberlain and touring guitarist Jonathan Melvoin overdosed on heroin.
03:49Melvoin died and the Pumpkins swiftly fired Chamberlain.
03:52In their public statement, the betrayal was clear.
03:56We have battled with Jimmy's struggles, with the insidious disease of drug and alcohol addiction.
04:02It has nearly destroyed everything we are and stand for.
04:06We're firing tonight
04:11Zack De La Rocha
04:16Rage Against the Machine
04:19Some of those that work forces
04:21Are the same that burn crosses
04:24These relentless rap-rock provocateurs have broken up and reunited more times than fans can count.
04:30But their first implosion can be traced directly to the acrimonious exit of frontman Zack De La Rocha.
04:37Increasingly dissatisfied with the band's musical and political direction,
04:42De La Rocha clashed constantly with his bandmates.
04:45Guitarist Tom Morello later recalled,
04:55We would even have fistfights over whether our t-shirts should be mauve or camouflaged.
05:00In October 2000, with no warning to fans and reportedly little to his bandmates,
05:06De La Rocha walked, declaring,
05:09Our decision-making process has completely failed.
05:12The move blindsided the group and effectively ended Rage Against the Machine.
05:18At least for a while.
05:19And it's right outside the door, now that's the fight!
05:24Johnny Marr, The Smiths
05:26And if a double-decker boss
05:31Crushes into arms
05:34The animosity between these indie rock legends is the stuff of music history.
05:40And both Morrissey and Johnny Marr have made it crystal clear that a Smiths reunion is never,
05:46ever happening.
05:48The band's unraveling was almost complete by June 1987, when Marr took a break that his bandmates
05:54saw as a sign of wavering commitment and disloyalty. But things went nuclear the next month,
06:01when a blistering NME article, titled Smiths to Split, hit newsstands.
06:06A younger pantry boy, who never knew his place, he said,
06:12Return the ring!
06:14Believing Morrissey had leaked the story to push him out, Marr abruptly quit. Whether or not the rumor
06:21was true, the damage was done, and for Marr, the betrayal was personal enough to permanently
06:27solidify the split.
06:29To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die.
06:35David Lee Roth
06:37Van Halen
06:38For a band named after its guitarist, lead singer David Lee Roth sure acted like Van Halen was his
06:51kingdom. After all, to hear Roth tell it, he was the one who suggested renaming the band from Mammoth.
06:58After skyrocketing to fame with their 1978 debut, tensions quickly simmered between Roth and Eddie
07:06Van Halen, driven by clashing creative visions. Roth wanted mainstream pop appeal. Eddie leaned into
07:13technical complexity and musical experimentation.
07:24By 1985, Roth had had enough, and without warning, he jumped ship to launch a solo career. The band was
07:32left reeling, blindsided by his exit. It wasn't the end of Van Halen, but it was the end of that Van Halen.
07:47Lindsey Buckingham, Fleetwood Mac.
07:50If you know anything about Fleetwood Mac, you know their music was powered by personal drama. Nowhere was
08:04that more volatile than the relationship between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
08:08When the rain washes, you clean your nose.
08:14While their romantic fallout famously fueled the band's biggest hits,
08:18behind the scenes, Buckingham's growing sense of creative ownership alienated his bandmates,
08:24who increasingly saw him as domineering and difficult. In 1987, things exploded during a
08:31physical confrontation with Nicks, after which Buckingham abruptly quit the band on the eve of a
08:38major tour. It left the rest of Fleetwood Mac's scrambling to fill the void he left behind.
08:44I can still hear you saying you would never break the train.
08:51Noel Gallagher, Oasis.
08:54I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now.
09:01The Gallagher brothers had been at each other's throats for years, but Oasis finally imploded
09:07in 2009. And that's not with a bang, but with a backstage brawl.
09:12Tensions boiled over when the band canceled their headlining slot at the V Festival,
09:17prompting a public war of words. Noel claimed that Liam had been too hungover to perform.
09:23Liam shot back that he had laryngitis and even sued his brother for defamation.
09:28Noel left the band for good, leaving fans and his own bandmates blindsided.
09:34But don't look back in anger, I heard you say.
09:40For many, it wasn't just another fight. It was the ultimate betrayal. The Gallagher brothers
09:46would publicly and rather memorably trade insults before announcing a reunion tour in 2024,
09:53set for the following year. Or should we call that a cash grab?
09:57We're all part of a mastermind.
10:04Don Felder, Eagles.
10:06Welcome to the hotel, California.
10:10Such a lovely place.
10:14These 70s stalwarts were masters of soft rock, but the simmering internal friction behind the scenes
10:21belied their easygoing sound. At the center of the unrest was guitarist Don Felder,
10:27whose mounting resentment towards bandleaders Don Henley and Glenn Frey slowly poisoned the well.
10:34Their final performance before breaking up sealed Felder's status as a saboteur in the eyes of his bandmates.
10:40And take it to the limit one more time.
10:47The occasion? A 1980 benefit concert for California Senator Alan Cranston, one Felder clearly wanted
10:55no part of. On stage, Frey and Felder spent the entire set trading glares and muttering threats
11:01between songs. By night's end, the Eagles were done, not with a farewell, but a fistfight waiting to happen.
11:09Coming up behind you, strong, I'm gonna find you, one of these days.
11:16One of these days.
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11:32For a group that preached peace and unity, the Beatles sure didn't end things on a high note,
11:50while tensions had been simmering for some time. It was Paul McCartney who drove the final wedge,
11:56not with a press conference, but with a secret. Behind his bandmates' backs, McCartney quietly recorded
12:03his debut solo album, playing nearly every instrument himself.
12:08Maybe I'm amazed the way you love me all the time. Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you.
12:18Then, in a move that stunned the others, he demanded to release it just as Let It Be, the
12:24Beatles' final album, was hitting shelves. When the rest of the Fab Four pushed back,
12:30he forced it through anyway. To make matters worse, the accompanying press materials made it sound
12:36like he had quit the band, stealing the spotlight from John Lennon.
12:46Which band betrayal hit you the hardest? Are there any we missed? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
12:54We'll see you next time.
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