Best Band Membership Changes

By the time Black Sabbath released Never Say Die!, the band members knew they were ending their rock royalty period.Black SabbathreleasedNever Say Die!In 1978, band members realized they were ending their rock royalty reign. After a weak fan reaction to their 1976 album, Technical Ecstasy, the band struggled to match the new sounds from bands like Van Halen.

As the group wrote songs for Never Say Die's follow-up album, lead singer Ozzy Osbourne stayed away, using drugs and alcohol to handle the band's lack of recent success. Tony Iommi and Bill Ward drank heavily as they dealt with Osbourne's absence. Terence “Geezer” Butler, sober since 1976, pushed the group to keep writing without Osbourne.

On April 27, 1979, the remaining members agreed that Ward would inform Osbourne.broke the news to Osbourne. Iommi recalled:

We just couldn’t continue with Ozzy… Everyone wanted us to, but we couldn’t do it. Nothing happened, and it meant the band ended. We did not want to fire him, but we had to if we wanted to continue.

Osbourne saw the situation differently.He thought his friends should have supported him during his hard time instead of forcing him out of the band:

I feel betrayed by what happened with Black Sabbath. We were four guys who grew up close. We were like family, like brothers. Firing me for being messed up was false. We were all messed up. If you’re stoned and I’m stoned and you say I'm fired because I'm stoned, how is that true? I'm just a little more stoned than you.

Dennis DeYoung recruited guitarists J.Y. Young and Tommy Shaw after starting with childhood friends Chuck and John Panozzo in the early 1960s; this formed the group that becameStyxby 1975.

As the founder, DeYoung worked with Shaw on most melodies and lyrics, including hits like “Renegade,” “Mr. Roboto,” and “Come Sail Away.” DeYoung felt he was key to Styx's success as a rock group, but his bandmates and old friends felt differently.

After a short break in the late 1980s, the band toured in 1996. As they prepared to promote their next album, Brave New World, DeYoung caught a strange virus in 1999 that made him very sick. After he got better, he developed extreme light sensitivity. Since he could not perform on stage for long, the other members suddenly replaced himwith keyboardist-singer Lawrence Gowan.

Unhappy with the sudden change, DeYoung sued his childhood friends and former bandmates in 2000, stating:

They took the band’s name and kept me out of decisions… I asked for a meeting since July of ’98, and the answer is they have no interest in talking.

Florence Ballard wanted to be a vocalist young. She convinced Diana Ross and Mary Wilson to form a singing group while they were in junior high school. The trio started as The Primettes. Berry Gordy Jr., head of Motown, saw them in 1960 and made them The Supremes.The Supremes.

Berry Gordy Jr. felt White audiences preferred Diana Ross's high, girly voice over Florence Ballard's deep, gospel tone. Ross became the group's permanent lead singer. The group changed its name to The Supremes.Diana Ross and The Supremes.Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson played backup roles.

Ballard got angry. She drank alcohol. She showed up late to shows, raising tension with Ross. Gordy sought a replacement. He got Cindy Birdsong dressed and took her to shows to learn the routines. Ballard knew she was replaced when she saw Birdsong's outfit backstage at a Las Vegas gig.

Ballard struggled as a solo artist. She became depressed. She died from a heart attack in 1976 at age 32, having no money from the band's success.

The original members of Destiny's Child.Destiny's Child.Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson, and LeToya Luckett performed together since grade school. The group's first two albums with the four members were Destiny's Child.Destiny's Child(1998) andThe Writing's on the Wall(1999), launched Destiny's Child's careers. Singles like “Bug A Boo” and “Jumpin,' Jumpin'” reached the top of Billboard charts.

Tensions grew between LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, the group's manager, and Beyoncé's father, Matthew Knowles, as the group became famous. Luckett and Roberson argued they earned less than Beyoncé. They thought the manager set up Beyoncé for a solo career. Knowles fired Luckett and Roberson without telling them about contract changes. The duo found out they were removed when the “Say My Name” video featured two new members.

Destiny's Child gained fame and money. The group left behind their childhood friends, Luckett and Roberson. Years later, Destiny's Child.Roberson thought.on the experience:

We were patient. We worked hard. Hearing our music on the radio? We moved up. We prayed for the group's success. Seeing Destiny’s Child songs on the radio and on tour showed how much people liked them. I never left Destiny’s Child. People say that. But who would leave Destiny’s Child? That is crazy! I was fired from the group…

Finding out about this was very hard. I hate talking about it; it has been 20 years, but that is the situation. We saw the “Say My Name” video on TV, and that showed me I was no longer in the group.

It felt like a bad divorce. You are no longer with friends, people you love deeply. That part was hard enough. Being alone at that time, with other things taking over, led to depression. It was not good.

WhenSteve Perry left Journey in 1987.Steve Perry left Journey on his own terms. He had recorded and toured with the band for over ten years; he was ready for a solo career.

Unfortunately for Perry, he did not reach the commercial success of his former band. He rejoined Journey in the mid-1990s to tour. When he developed orthopedic problems needing hip replacement surgery, his bandmates tried to force him into the medical choice. In a 2018 interview withRolling Stone, Perry revealed:

They wanted me to decide on the surgery. But I did not feel it was a group decision. Then, I got a call saying they needed to know when I would have the surgery because they had found new singers.

I told them, “Do what you need to do, but don’t call it Journey.”

The band found a vocalist to replace Perry and continue touring, but they kept the original band name.

As the bassist, vocalist, and songwriter for most songs, Roger Waters felt he deserved the most credit forPink FloydThe band’s success grew internationally. Waters became more sure he was the leader; other members acted as backup performers.

Waters kept showing off his big ideas, even crediting the 1983 album.The Final Cutalbum as “Roger Waters performed Pink Floyd.” – the other members lacked the energy to tour for the album. When Waters left years later, he was shocked. The remaining members started touring as Pink Floyd without him, using the same stage props from when they were a unit.As he toldRolling Stone:

If one of us is called Pink Floyd, it is me… That is my pig up there. That is my plane crashing. That is their dry ice.

Fans did not seem bothered by Waters's absence as the band played sold-out shows. Meanwhile, he tried a solo career without success, playing the Pink Floyd melodies he felt were his creative ones. Lawsuits from both sides and public fights through news outlets started, known to fans as “The War of the Floyds.”

Throughout the 1990s, Pearl Jamwent through several drummers. They first chose Dave Krusen, then briefly used Matt Chamberlain behind the kit, Dave AbbruzzesePearl Jam became the third drummer from 1991 to 1994. He performed on several tours and appeared on Saturday Night Live.Saturday Night LiveHe believed he earned his position as Pearl Jam’s drummer.

Unfortunately for the band,Tensions between him and frontman Eddie Vedder caused the group to drop Abbruzzese in 1994. Pearl Jam said the drummer left on his own. Abbruzzese claimed he was fired.

When Pearl Jam entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, they picked Krusen and Chamberlain but excluded Abbruzzese.He talked about the incident.He posted in a Facebook post:

The band and the Hall did not invite or contact me. They did not put me in the same light as Matt Chamberlain & Dave K. This was a slap in the face. I gave this band everything I had. I never played for a paycheck. I never let the band down. I never let the music down. I never let the fans down—not once. That is why I remain a point of contention.

We, the Pearl Jam band and original crew, deserved induction and respect. I am proud of my old friends for managing it well. I don't know if anyone said it, but you are welcome and thank you too.

I mean no disrespect to Pearl Jam, its management, or anyone who has ever been or is currently a member of the organization.

When theBeach Boysreleased their 1966 albumPet SoundsThe Beach Boys were already well known and loved in music. Brian Wilson wrote most songs on the album while suffering from LSD-induced mental illness, so the tracks were personal to him.

Mike Love, his cousin and band co-founder, did not like the lyrics, thinking they sounded like an acid trip. By the time the group recorded their next album, SmileThere was so muchanimosity between the bandmatesthat they dropped the project. (Wilson later revisited the work and released the album in 2004.)

Since then, Love and Wilson have fought publicly, releasing sarcastic comments to the press and arguing over music royalties in court. Maybe because of Wilson's dependency issues, Love got the band's name rights in 1991.

After an unsuccessful attempt to revive the band in 2012, the other living members—Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, and David Marks—toured together. Love toured alone using the famous name for his headlines.

The group reunited tothey performed as a single unit in 2018, but the good feelings ended quickly. In 2022, the members separated again when Love used the Beach Boys name for a show at the Safari Club International Convention—a groupWilson strongly opposed.

Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. first found David Ruffin, who then joinedThe TemptationsIn 1963, he performed as the tenor vocalist for two years before becoming the lead singer in 1965. Ruffin led the group to international fame, introducing songs like “My Girl” and “Ain't Too Proud to Beg.”

As the band gained popularity, Ruffin grew entitled with his demands. He made inappropriate requests, including suggesting the group be renamed “David Ruffin and The Temptations.” People suspect his substance dependency fueled these actions.The band fired Ruffin in June 1968.The Temptations appears in the list 'Best Band Membership Changes'.

He kept showing up for The Temptations' July shows. While the band played, he would sneak through the audience or behind the stage, grab a mic, sing a few songs, and disappear fast. His antics annoyed his former bandmates, but the crowd enjoyed the show and waited for his random appearances.

Before Ringo Starr joined The Beatles, The Temptations were involved.Pete Best.sat behind the kit as the drummer. The band recruited him for a season of concerts in Hamburg, Germany (then West Germany) in 1960. He quickly won over the fans. However, for reasons no one agrees on, his bandmates did not value his drumming skills. Two years later,Starr replaced Best.— just before the group became famous.

Starr did not see the falling out between Best and the others. He thought the drummer's looks hid his poor musical ability and his inability to cooperate with the band.

Pete was a popular Beatle. His ex-bandmates doubted his drumming and his personality. The group's female fans liked Pete’s brooding looks.

Rumors first suggested Best's looks caused tension because the other Beatles became jealous of the female attention he got. However,John Lennon denied the claims.:

We grew tired of Pete Best because he was a bad drummer. He never got better. A myth built up over years claimed he was great and Paul was jealous because he was good-looking. The only reason he joined was that getting to Hamburg required a drummer. We knew this guy. He lived in his mother’s house with a club, and he had a drum kit. We dragged him, auditioned him, and he kept a beat long enough for us to go to Germany…

We always planned to ditch him for a better drummer. By the time we returned from Germany, we trained him to keep a stick moving back and forth. He could not do much more.

George Harrison admitted vaguely, saying, “Historically, it might've looked like we did something nasty to Pete…” while suggesting Ringo joining the group fixed things.

Best completely missed out on the fame and wealth the band created.The Beatles' fame and wealth generated money for him. He earned real income from the group only after The Beatles released an anthology album thirty years after he was fired, featuring songs Best played. They then sent him royalty checks from the album's sales.

Simon Cowell and his crewX-FactorJudges saw the talent of the five singers auditioning as solo acts. They paired the women to formFifth HarmonyFifth Harmony found instant popularity and a large fanbase with their first two albums.

Rumors about the band's lack of unity grew when Camila Cabello launched a solo album around the time Fifth Harmony dropped a photo without her in the studio. Apublic fight on social media happened in December 2016. The four members of Fifth Harmony tweeted:December 2016 saw an event. The four members of Fifth Harmony tweeted:

After four and a half years together, her representatives told us Camila decided to leave Fifth Harmony. We wish her well. Still, we announce we move forward with the four of us—Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei, Dinah Jane, and Lauren Jauregui—for our fans. We are four strong, committed women continuing with Fifth Harmony and our solo projects.

Hoping to have the last word, Cabello shot back:

I was shocked by the statement Fifth Harmony posted without my knowledge. The girls knew about my feelings from the long talks about the future we had on tour. Saying they just heard from my reps that I was ‘leaving the group’ is not true. Just like the other girls said about their plans, I also planned to keep my solo work going in the new year but I did not plan to end things with Fifth Harmony this way. Seeing this chapter close like this is sad, but I will support them all as individuals and as a group.

Fifth Harmony responded:

Over the last few months, they consistently tried to sit down with Camila to talk about Fifth Harmony's future. They spent the past year and a half (since her first solo project) trying to tell her and her team all the reasons why Fifth Harmony deserved one more album of her time, given the success they all worked hard for this past year…

In mid-November, her manager told us Camila was leaving Fifth Harmony. December 18th marked her final Fifth Harmony performance. We felt hurt watching Camila leave this world we built, but we will move forward.

The four remaining Fifth Harmony members arrived for theThe 2017 MTV Video Music Awards occurred.The quartet insisted Cabello receive no awards for their three video nominations while she was still in the group. They showed this by throwing a fifth hooded member off the stage during their live performance.

UB40 is named after the British form filed for unemployment purposes.UB40.UB40 (Unemployment Benefit, Form 40) started in 1978. Alistair “Ali” Campbell, Jimmy Brown, and Earl Falconer formed it. Five other musicians joined the original trio to complete the band's reggae sound, including Ali's brother, Robin.

The group released hit singles like “(I Can't Help) Falling in Love With You,” “Red, Red Wine,” and “Kingston Town,” all covers of older songs. UB40 lasted over thirty years before experiencing a split in 2008.The group experienced a split in 2008.After Ali announced he would start a solo career, the remaining UB40 members picked Duncan Campbell, Ali and Robin's brother, as the new lead singer.

Five UB40 members, including Ali, caused the band's self-fulfilling prophecy by filing for bankruptcy in 2011. By 2013, member Terence Oswald Wilson (AKA “Astro”) also left UB40 permanently.

Robin and Duncan stayed with UB40, continuing tours under the name. Ali, Astro, and another former member, Mickey Virtue, formed their own version of the band. They toured as “UB40 features Ali, Astro, and Mickey.,” Ali made a separate platform to share his version of the band's music.

In 2020, news sources questioned UB40's former lead singer, Ali, about the Campbell brothers' distance and if they could reconcile, as UB40's lead singer Duncan recovered from a stroke.Ali states this.:

I have no contact with him. They betrayed me. I stand vindicated. I am happy to keep promoting reggae and the UB40 diversion. I watched my brother Duncan kill my songs for five years. We are saving the legacy.

The Sugababes always remained a trio.But the band's consistency ended there. Over the years, they replaced members many times. This led to a 2012 group revival with the original members.

Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena, and Keisha Buchanan started Sugababes in 1998. Donaghy left the other two after realizing she could not fit into Buena and Buchanan's close friendship. They brought in Heidi Range, but Buena and Buchanan struggled accepting Range's sudden fame for joining their established group. Mutya Buena left the trio due to postnatal depression; Amelle Berrabah took her place.

New members also found Buchanan difficult to work with. Rumors surfaced in 2009 that Berrabah was leaving the band. Fans later learned Range and Berrabah both threatened to quit, leaving Buchanan as a reluctant solo artist. Buchanan eventually left the Sugababes.

Jade Ewen replaced the last original member, but the new members did not gain the success the original group achieved. By 2012, Buena successfully asked for the Sugababes name, and the original three reunited for a second chance at cohesive fame.The original three reunited.They sought a second chance at cohesive fame.

Five months after One DirectionOne DirectionVocalist Zayn Malik announced he was leaving the group to live like a normal 22-year-old. The remaining four—Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson—told fans they were taking a needed break.

That happened in 2015. The band has not reunited for an album. They split into solo artists with different levels of success.Despite Malik's claim he lefthe signed a solo contract with RCA Records months after leaving. Fans and critics accepted his first album. However, his next two albums did not perform as well.

Tomlinson lost his mother to leukemia and his sister to a drug overdose after One Direction paused. He has recorded two albums but stays quiet in the music scene.

Payne appears to have stopped music. Backup singer Horan enjoys the spotlight with his solo career. Styles, the group's most successful member, won a Grammy for Album of the Year in 2022.

Band members acted friendly while they were together.Comments after their breakup - especially about Malik leaving - suggest they are not close friends.