Random Pettiest Reasons Bands Broke Up (12 items)

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  (#6) Refused

  • Heavy metal, Melodic hardcore, Screamo, Post-hardcore, Art punk, Experimental rock, Umeå hardcore, Noise, Art rock, Progressive rock, Thrashcore, Post-punk, Hardcore punk, Alternative metal

  Swedish punk rockers Refused didn't spend much time together as a band, but they definitely left a lasting impression. Their 1998 album The Shape of Punk to Come has spawned numerous think pieces, with critics calling it everything from a classic to the most overrated punk album of the 1990s. It seems that everyone can agree on one thing, however: The Shape of Punk to Come is the album that broke up Refused.

  Shape is an anti-capitalist manifesto disguised as a blueprint for navigating the future of punk. When the album didn't dismantle capitalism or start a worldwide movement like they'd hoped, Refused terminated their career. They went on a tour of mostly basements and coffeehouses with poor attendance, and decided to cancel the remaining dates after police shut down their final show in Virginia. They broke up a few months after the album's release, citing the Virginia show as "a last feeble attempt to break the linear timeline that the modern ways of production has forced upon us."
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  (#9) Cream

  • Blues-rock, Classic rock, Rock music, Heavy metal, Acid rock, Acid Blues, Psychedelic rock, Blues, Hard rock

  Despite being hailed as the world's first "supergroup," Cream, made up of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker, only had a two-year run before calling it quits. According to drummer Ginger Baker, the big Marshall amps the band used to get that loud, distorted sound they were known for is to blame.

  "Playing loud had nothing to do with music," Baker said. In reality, it appeared as if the bigger their egos got, the louder they played - with Clapton and Bruce plugging their guitars into the Marshall amps that were stacked between them. The final year of the band damaged Baker's hearing, and Clapton even went deaf for a period of time.
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  (#4) The Kinks

  • Music hall, Pop music, Rock music, Garage rock, Folk rock, Protopunk, Country rock, Pop rock, Hard rock

  The Kinks ruled the '60s, were part of the British Invasion, and were eventually inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The band stayed together for 32 years (with brothers Ray and Dave Davies bickering throughout most of it) before Dave decided he just couldn't do it anymore.

  According to Dave, Ray lovingly decided to throw his brother a 50th birthday party, only to jump on the table and make a self-indulgent speech before stomping his foot into Dave's birthday cake. That was the last time they saw each other. Dave later said, "Ray's an a**hole."
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  (#7) Rage Against the Machine

  • Crossover thrash, Nu metal, Political hip hop, Rock music, Rapcore, Funk metal, Heavy metal, Rap metal, Alternative rock, Funk rock, Alternative metal, Hard rock

  Rage Against the Machine are notorious for being anarchist activists who, through their music, spoke out against corporate America, capitalism, imperialism, and US foreign policy. They were banned from Saturday Night Live in 1996 for suspending upside-down American flags from their amplifiers, and they even started a riot at the 2000 Democratic National Convention.

  Things began to spiral for Rage Against the Machine when they lost to Limp Bizkit for Best Rock Video at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, which prompted bassist Tim Commerford to climb to the top of a fake palm tree placed directly behind the podium in protest. As the members of Limp Bizkit collected their award, Commerford began furiously shaking the tree. This resulted in a scuffle between stagehands and security personnel, leading to Commerford spending the night behind bars.

  After expressing his humiliation over the ordeal, frontman Zach de la Rocha announced his decision to leave the band, claiming it was because the band hadn't achieved its musical or political goals. And though Commerford's antics were not the cause of their split, it appears to be the straw that broke the camel's back. 
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  (#3) The Smiths

  • Jangle pop, Indie pop, Alternative rock, Post-punk

  The Smiths ruled the '80s goth rock scene with their melancholy tunes about dreary days in England and heartbreak. Morrissey was the frontman, singer, and lyricist, and his word was law. So when he suggested they record a cover of "Work is a Four-Letter Word," a silly one-off single from singer Cilla Black (which Black only recorded to promote her film with the same name), the rest of the band obliged. This didn't sit well with guitarist Johnny Marr, however, who cited the song as the final straw before making a permanent departure from the band.

  Following their break-up in 1987, Morrissey stated that the Smiths simply suffered from business problems given their lack of a manager. Marr sings a different tune in his 2016 autobiography, stating that the Smiths "could have only ever lasted as long as we did because of the differences in my and Morrissey's personalities."
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  (#2) Simon and Garfunkel

  • Pop music, Worldbeat, Rock music, Folk music, Folk rock, World music, Pop folk, Soft rock

  Simon & Garfunkel were the famous folk-rock duo responsible for the soundtrack to The Graduate, spawning the classic, "Mrs. Robinson." Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel met in elementary school and went from practicing harmonies at recess to selling over 100 million records worldwide. The duo seemed to get along okay throughout most of their career, and according to documentarian Charlie Grodin, the rivalry between Simon and Garfunkel emerged when filmmaker Mike Nichols cast them both in a 1970 film adaptation of the novel Catch-22, then cut Simon's role.

  In the years that followed, Garfunkel distanced himself further and further from music in order to establish a career in film. Simon laments that it all came to a head when Garfunkel accepted the lead role in Mike Nichols's next film, 1971's Carnal Knowledge, and purposely failed to mention it to him. Apparently, Garfunkel was afraid Simon would quit the band if he told him. 

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