As long as men have wielded guitars and microphones, we’ve had to deal with rock feuds. Sometimes the feuds spark between members of different bands, and sometimes… well… the call is coming from inside the house.
The 1990s was one of the worst decades for this. It seems like the majority of the bands that emerged in the post-metal/rise-of-grunge era have at least one contentious member who couldn’t get along with the rest of the band. Or, in other cases, two specific members who simply did not get along.
Oasis
One of the more notorious 90s rock feuds comes from Oasis’ Gallagher brothers, Noel and Liam. The two men’s infighting is honestly not even infamous at this point; it’s just famous.
Maybe the most glaring example of this was in 1995-96. Oasis were set to do an MTV Unplugged performance in the United Kingdom. Liam, however, dropped out, claiming he had a sore throat and couldn’t sing. Come the night of the performance, he was watched from the balcony, drinking and smoking. The frontman spent the night publicly heckling his guitarist brother, Noel, for his singing.
Just a few days later, the band was set to cross the Atlantic for the U.S., but Liam refused to go. Oasis opted to continue their tour with Noel on vocals. Eventually, Liam joined the band in New York City to perform “Champagne Supernova” at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. During the Radio City Music Hall performance, Liam taunted his brother before spitting beer all over the stage and storming away.
After some breakup speculation, they ultimately kept it together for another decade before finally calling it quits in 2009. The band reunited for a world tour in 2025 and, so far, seems to be in a good place.
The Black Crowes
From Brit brothers with bad blood to a pair from right here in the good ol’ U.S. of A.
Atlanta-born brothers Chris and Rich Robinson are the masterminds behind the iconic blues-rock band The Black Crowes. The band burst onto the rock scene in the early ’90s with some soulful tunes that set the radio airwaves on fire.
The only issue is that the heat those songs generated apparently came from the brothers’ fiery hatred. From on-stage/backstage antics to harsh public comments, even the Gallagher brothers were said to have been shocked at how much the Robinsons loathed each other.
The band went on hiatus in the early 2000s and later fully split when problems between Chris and Rich escalated into an insurmountable financial dispute.
Ultimately, they reunited in 2019 and have remained in good spirits. In a 2024 interview with Esquire, Chris explained that their relationship was solid, and songwriting kept them from spiraling. “Rich and I are famous for being at each other’s throats – and that’s very true,” Chris said. “But we’re never at each other’s throats when we’re writing.”
Guns N’ Roses
One thing you could say about Axl Rose in the 90s is he was gonna do whatever the f*** he wanted, whenever the f*** he wanted. Believe it or not, this sometimes harmed his relationship with his Guns N’ Roses bandmates.
There’s just so much to go over and so many different things that happened. We can’t hit them all, but here are some specific allegations:
- Rose reportedly forced his bandmates to fire Guns N’ Roses’ ex-manager, Alan Niven, by refusing to satisfy their album contract requirements until after Niven was dismissed.
- Rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin cited Rose’s behavior as part of why he quit the band.
- Slash alleged that Rose fired guitarist Gilby Clarke without consulting any of the other band members, calling Clarke a “hired hand.”
- Rose reportedly purchased the full rights to the Guns N’ Roses name in 1997, as Slash once claimed by refusing to perform unless his bandmates signed over the name to him.
Ultimately, the band’s turmoil drove them away, leaving only Rose as the remaining founding member for many years. Roughly two decades after quitting, Slash and bassist Duff McKagan returned to Guns N’ Roses in 2016. The band is going strong with a rekindled passion for playing to their countless fans.
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