The most controversial line-up changes in rock history

8 June 2024, 15:00 | Updated: 21 November 2024, 14:25

Things change... particularly in the high-flying world of the music biz. What happens when personnel changes mark a milestone in a band's career?

By Radio X

@RadioX

Can a famous act weather a line-up change? Here are some bands that did...

1. The Beatles

   Before: with Pete Best

   

   The most famous - and notorious - line-up change in history. The Beatles went through a number of drummers in their early days, but Pete Best was a fan favourite and stayed with the band through their formative years in Liverpool and Hamburg. However, shortly after they were signed to the Parlophone label, Best was unceremoniously sacked in favour of Ringo Starr and The Fab Four were complete. Were they jealous of Pete's good looks? Was he not that good a drummer? The debate has rumbled on for 60 years...

   After: with Ringo Starr

   

2. The Rolling Stones

   Before: with Brian Jones in 1965

   

   The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Charlie is my Darling: Ireland 1965)

   On 8th June 1969, Brian Jones was told that he was no longer a member of The Rolling Stones. The increasingly erratic Jones found himself being eased out of the group by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and was replaced by Mick Taylor of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, who was seen as a more reliable guitarist. He lasted until the end of 1974, when he was permanently replaced by former Faces man Ronnie Wood, who is still with them to this day. Jones died in 1969 after drowning in a swimming pool at his home in East Sussex.

   After: with Mick Taylor in 1972

   

   The Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar (Live) - OFFICIAL

3. Guns N'Roses

   Before: Rose, Slash, McKagan, Alder and Stradlin.

   

   The "classic" GNR line-up of Axl Rose, Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler only lasted for two albums: Appetite For Destruction and GN'R Lies. Adler's substance abuse led him to be fired in 1990, Stradlin quit a year later and Slash eventually walked out in '96, with McKagan following the year after that. Between 2000 and 2004, Slash was replaced by the infamous Buckethead, but in 2016, Slash, Rose and McKagan reunited for the Not In This Lifetime tour. Hooray!

   After: the Buckethead years, 2001

   

   Buckethead - Solo with the Guns N' Roses

4. Nirvana

   Before: with Dale Crover

   

   Nirvana - Blew - Seattle 1990 W/Dale Crover

   Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic worked with a number of different drummers until they finally settled on Dave Grohl in 1990. Chad Channing ppeared on their debut single Love Buzz, while Mudhoney's Dan Peters drummed on the follow-up, Sliver. Dale Crover was the last drummer before the Grohlmeister stepped up.

   After: with Dave Grohl

   

   Nirvana - Breed (Live At The Paramount/1991)

5. Stereophonics

   Before: with Stuart Cable

   

   The original trio was Kelly Jones, Richard Jones and Stuart Cable. However, drummer Cable was fired in 2003 due to "lack of commitment" and replaced by Javier Weyler. Cable went on to forge a successful career in the media, before his untimely death in 2010 at the age of 40. The current line-up features Adam Zindani on guitar and Jamie Morrison on drums.

6. The xx

   Before: with Baria Qureshi

   

   The XX - Stars, Live @ Metropolis Festival Rotterdam 2009

   The xx were originally a quartet: Romy Madely Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith and guitarist/keyboard player Baria Qureshi, who performed and co-wrote the music on the band's acclaimed debut album, xx. But Qureshi left the band in late 2009, with Croft telling the NME: "I guess 'personal differences' would be the standard way to say it. I guess it's just the intensity of being on tour, things are so much heightened."

   However, speaking to the French site Green Room in 2017, Qureshi had a different view on the matter, claiming there were "tensions around money. The decision did not come from me, I was released without warning, and without a clear explanation."

   After: Romy, Oliver and Jamie xx

   

   The xx - Islands (Official Video)

7. The Cure

   Before: Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey and Lol Tolhurst in 1979

   

   The Cure - 10.15 Saturday Night

   The Cure are something of a soap opera when it comes to band members. Robert Smith is the only remaining original member; bassist Simon Gallup has been with the band since their second album, but left for a couple of years in the mid 1980s. Original drummer Lol Tolhurst switched to keyboards in 1982, and was "let go" in 1989 before the release of the classic Disintegration. Current drummer Jason Cooper is a mere newbie, having only been with the band since 1996.

   After: Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Reeves Gabrels, Roger O'Donnell and Jason Cooper in 2019

   

   The Cure - A Forest (live at Pinkpop 2019)