10 Bands Whose Members Had Major Beef With Each Other

While it may seem like the members of world’s biggest bands collaborate to release some of the greatest songs of all time, it turns out that they’ve often had their fair share of ups and downs. With so much time spent together in the studio and on the road, personalities can clash and a small disagreement can become a lifelong grudge.

Unfortunately, it can ultimately lead to the demise of a band -- unless they’re able to work it out on the remix.

Find out what happened between these band members.

1. Jane’s Addiction

Things recently got heated between the members of Jane’s Addiction. It all came to a head in the middle of a September 2024 concert when singer Perry Farrell attempted to physically attack guitarist Dave Navarro and had to be restrained. According to Perry’s wife Etty, tensions had been mounting throughout the tour because Perry believed the band was playing too loud and were drowning out his vocals -- leaving him with tinnitus and a sore throat every night.

During the concert, Etty says fans began complaining to Perry that they couldn’t hear him. After having some technical difficulties during a song, Perry tried to punch Dave. After being separated, bassist Eric Avery got involved and punched Perry in the stomach.

Perry later released a statement, saying, “This weekend has been incredibly difficult, and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show. Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”

The following day, the band announced that they were taking “some time away as a group” and canceling the remainder of their tour.

2. Oasis

Oasis is about to reunite for the first time in over a decade after Noel Gallagher walked away from his brother Liam and the rest of the band. But even before they parted ways, Noel and Liam had been beefing for ages, going all the way back to 1994 when the pair said they hated each other in an early interview with NME. Through the years, the brothers continued to hurl insults at each other, fighting and skipping out on shows. In 2009, Liam destroyed a dressing room with his brother’s guitar and Noel finally decided to quit the band.

“It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight,” he wrote on the band’s website. “I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”

Despite parting ways, Noel and Liam continued to publicly insult each other in interviews and on social media. At one point, Liam even filed a libel lawsuit against Noel, which he dropped once Noel apologized. Over the past few years, the pair have continued to argue -- so it surprised fans when they announced they’d be reuniting for a tour in 2025. Only time will tell how things play out for the brothers.

3. Blink-182

The members of Blink-182 have had their ups and downs throughout the years. In 2005, personal issues drove them to a hiatus and at the time, they had no hopes of reuniting. It wasn’t until drummer Travis Barker’s tragic plane accident in 2008 that the trio were brought back together.

“Up until that point, I had zero hope for Blink. It was something that I had really put behind me. My accident definitely made everyone think about things a little more clearly, especially me,” Travis told Daily Beast. “It’s horrible that it took something like that for everyone to wake up, but we realized, ‘Man, life’s short!’ We were fighting about some bulls--t and not talking, and it wasn’t anything to be fighting over.”

While the group briefly reunited, they parted ways once again in 2015 when Tom DeLonge left the band. While there are discrepancies as to why Tom left the band, Travis and Mark Hoppus shared in a statement that Tom wanted to “work on his other non-musical endeavors.” Meanwhile Tom claimed he never actually quit -- which Travis and Mark later denied, adding that Tom never even took part in their album recording process.

Over the next few years, Tom worked on building his company, To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science, while Blink-182 toured with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. They ended up being brought back together in 2021 when Mark was diagnosed with cancer. In 2022, they officially reunited and started recording music together.

4. Pink Floyd

Tensions among the members of Pink Floyd started very early on in their career. While Roger Waters served as the group’s principal lyricist and lead vocalist, driving their creative direction, he butted heads with the other members of the band. In 1985, he parted ways with the group and went on to file a lawsuit to legally dissolve Pink Floyd over their continued use of the name and material.

“I would be distressed if Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr made records and went on the road calling themselves The Beatles. If John Lennon’s not in it, it’s sacrilegious ... To continue with Gilmour and Mason, getting in a whole bunch of other people to write the material, seems to me an insult to the work that came before,” Roger said years later.

After a bitter legal battle, the group eventually reached an agreement in the lawsuit and decades later, Roger admitted to BBC that he regretted taking things to court.

5. Hall & Oates

Hall & Oates musicians Daryl Hall and John Oates seemed to be good friends for years, performing together as recently as 2022, but behind the scenes, it was a different story. In 2023, Daryl filed a lawsuit and temporary restraining order against John.

It turns out the men hadn’t been on good terms for years but things came to a head when John tried to sell his half of the duo’s joint venture, Whole Oates Enterprises, to Primary Wave Music without Daryl’s consent. The drama created what Daryl sees to be an irreparable rift.

“John and I did not have a creative relationship for decades; the last song I wrote with John was in 2000 and that was with somebody else,” Daryl told Billboard. “We toured and we toured and we toured, and it was very restrictive to me, and to John. The real truth of it all is John just said one day he didn’t want to do it anymore. I said ‘OK,’ but the problem is [John] didn’t make the parting and breakup easy, and that’s where the difficulties lay and still lay, and that’s all it is.”

Meanwhile, John says he didn’t think selling his stake in the company was a “big deal” and said he was surprised by Daryl’s reaction -- even though he admits the pair hadn’t been friends for years.

6. Journey

Through the years, the members of Journey have found themselves in quarrels with one another. Steve Perry joined the group in 1977 and says that during his time in the band, he felt he lost his passion for music. His relationships began to suffer and in 1987, he walked away from the group. He returned to Journey 1996 but didn’t remain with the band for long. After suffering a hip injury he was forced to undergo hip surgery -- but postponed the procedure for so long that the rest of the members of the band kicked him out because he was unable to tour.

Journey went on to hit the road with a new singer but their internal issues have persisted. In 2022, lead guitarist Neal Schon sent a cease-and-desist letter after keyboardist Jonathan Cain performed “Don’t Stop Believin’” at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Then, amid their 50th Anniversary tour in 2024, Jonathan and Neal fought over their company, Freedom 2020, which manages tour-related finances. The pair reportedly “fundamentally disagree” on the operation and management of the company. Their rift has led to the cancellation of tour dates.

7. Van Halen

From early on in Van Halen’s time as a band, founder Eddie Van Halen and guitarist David Lee Roth butted heads. The duo disagreed on photoshoots, music videos and opportunities outside of the band. In 1984, David launched a solo career and gave an interview, alluding to trouble within the band.

“Since my very first days in with the band 11 years ago, I have always had the feeling that one day I would wake up in a cold hotel, all the rooms would be empty and I would be stuck by a phone with a busy signal. From the first day. Nothing has changed,” he reportedly told Billboard.

Around that time, Eddie allegedly shared that he wanted to cut back on touring while David wanted to focus on his solo projects, including a movie. In 1985, Eddie confirmed David’s departure from the group, explaining that he was tired of “putting up with his bulls--t.”

Through the years, the pair continued to insult one another but eventually reconciled in 1996 to record two new songs. But shortly after, Eddie hired someone else to sing in the band. In 2006, they reunited once again and remained bandmates until Eddie could no longer tour due to illness. Since Eddie’s passing, David has seemed to take issue with his son Wolfgang.

8. Guns N’ Roses

Guns N’ Roses original members Slash and Axl Rose have beef that dates back to the early 1990s. Through the years, tension mounted between the two men over creative control but things reportedly came to a head when Slash agreed to perform with Michael Jackson. The band’s former manager Doug Goldstein explained that Axl didn’t approve of Michael, who had recently been accused of being a pedophile.

“Axl was molested by his father when he was two and he believed the charges against Michael Jackson…When Axl found out Slash was going to play with Michael Jackson and that the payment was a big screen TV, he was devastated. He thought Slash would support him and be against all abuse. From Axl’s point of view, that was the only problem. He could ignore the drugs and the alcohol, but never the child abuse,” Doug told Rolling Stone Brazil.

By 1996, the band were in the midst of contractual negotiations and Slash didn’t agree with the direction the group was taking. Slash told Axl he was done and walked away. The men didn’t speak for almost two decades, occasionally publicly hurling insults at one another. It wasn’t until 2015 that they finally reconnected and patched up their relationship. They have since toured together again.

“A lot of the tension...has dissipated. Over time we all just got sick and tired of the black cloud. The biggest thing that happens when you have a break-up that is less than harmonious is you build up a bad energy because of the distance,” Slash said on CBS This Morning.

9. Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath was getting ready to reunite when they found themselves in a feud with drummer Bill Ward. At the time, Bill said he had been offered an “unreasonable contract” that he didn’t deem to be “signable.” He decided to opt out of the reunion and album, getting into a public back and forth with Ozzy Osbourne. Several years later, when the group was about to embark on their final tour, Bill confirmed he wouldn’t be taking part.

“With a sad heart, I have to say I will not participate in any musical undertakings until a righting of the wrongs spoken against me has been achieved. I have little to no expectations of this happening, but in the order of first things first, I’m looking for an honest accountability of all of Ozzy’s statements that I felt were untrue,” Bill said in a statement. “I would want Ozzy to amend his opinions and exaggerations. I would want him to be forthcoming about his unrealistic viewpoints. And because I was chastised publicly, I would want him to amend publicly in his words, and not through an Ozzy representative, the nature of the wrongs.”

In 2017, the band had their final shows in their home town of Birmingham and Bill did not join them. Ozzy said it was “bittersweet” since Bill was not there.

10. Metallica

Through the years, various members of Metallica have had problems with one another. Back in the early days of the group, they kicked out their guitarist Dave Mustaine, who went on to front the band Megadeth. While Dave was reportedly fired for substance abuse problems, he took issue with the band for many years for not giving him a second chance.

In the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster, Dave lamented to drummer Lars Ulrich about the band’s decision to let him go and the fact that he’s not credited for his contributions. Lars later publicly called out Dave, saying that he “never played on a Metallica record” and was still hung up on something that happened 25 years ago.

The group’s former bassist Jason Newsted also took issue with his bandmates, particularly James Hetfield. In 2000, Jason proposed that the band take a hiatus, during which he would work on a solo project. James declined the idea, saying that Jason’s side project would take away from Metallica. Jason then decided to quit the band.