![With the recent news that Bloc Party are still recording a new album despite having only two members left, it is territory that the pair should tread carefully in. As fans know all too well, the urge to carry on is admirable, but it can also backfire. Check out the bands that we think were right or wrong to soldier on.]()
With the recent news that Bloc Party are still recording a new album despite having only two members left, it is territory that the pair should tread carefully in. As fans know all too well, the urge to carry on is admirable, but it can also backfire. Check out the bands that we think were right or wrong to soldier on.
![Rage Against The Machine: Okay, so they didn't keep the original name, but we're all agreed that Audioslave is simply Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk wanting to carry on the fight - without Zac de la Rocha. It was him that opted to leave, after all. With Chris Cornell from Soundgarden parachuted in to take command of the microphone, the band recorded three albums of original materia, before realising that, yep, fans still wanted to hear the classics from their respective parent bands. Why does that always happen, eh? After adding more and more old songs to their set list, it made sense for Rage to return - and return they did, eventually.]()
Rage Against The Machine: Okay, so they didn't keep the original name, but we're all agreed that Audioslave is simply Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk wanting to carry on the fight - without Zac de la Rocha. It was him that opted to leave, after all. With Chris Cornell from Soundgarden parachuted in to take command of the microphone, the band recorded three albums of original materia, before realising that, yep, fans still wanted to hear the classics from their respective parent bands. Why does that always happen, eh? After adding more and more old songs to their set list, it made sense for Rage to return - and return they did, eventually.
![New Order: Formed from the ashes of Joy Division, New Order have split twice and returned mostly intact, albeit without bassist Peter Hook. After leaving in 2008, him and Bernard Sumner traded insults in a row that felt like it might rumble on forever - even when it feels like the embers are dying, somebody moves to stoke them (most recently Hook branded his old band]()
New Order: Formed from the ashes of Joy Division, New Order have split twice and returned mostly intact, albeit without bassist Peter Hook. After leaving in 2008, him and Bernard Sumner traded insults in a row that felt like it might rumble on forever - even when it feels like the embers are dying, somebody moves to stoke them (most recently Hook branded his old band "New Odour", which isn't bizarrely childish at all). New Order returned this year with news of their first album without the bassist, Music Complete, so the jury is still out when it comes to whether they were right to soldier on.
![Fleetwood Mac: Having notoriously employed something of a revolving door policy when it came to band members, Fleetwood Mac are arguably most recognisable during the acclaimed Rumours years, consisting of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. While it's difficult to pin down the exact number of live rebirths they have experimented with (we'd be here all day), Fleetwood Mac were banished to obscurity during the '90s due to the departure of Nicks and Buckingham. Having erratically reformed over the past fifteen years, the lineup finally appears settled again now that Christine McVie has rejoined yet again - we reckon those lucrative tours probably helped.]()
Fleetwood Mac: Having notoriously employed something of a revolving door policy when it came to band members, Fleetwood Mac are arguably most recognisable during the acclaimed Rumours years, consisting of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. While it's difficult to pin down the exact number of live rebirths they have experimented with (we'd be here all day), Fleetwood Mac were banished to obscurity during the '90s due to the departure of Nicks and Buckingham. Having erratically reformed over the past fifteen years, the lineup finally appears settled again now that Christine McVie has rejoined yet again - we reckon those lucrative tours probably helped.
![The Libertines: They may have kissed and made up these days, an eye-watering wad of cash has made sure of that, but there was a time when The Libertines starred in their own soap opera, mostly revolving around the exploits of Pete Doherty and Carl Barat. Some bother about a missed birthday party followed and Pete opted not to turn up for a European tour. A guitar technician filled in, but songs were culled and the shows critically panned, proving the bands shouldn't always limp on, no matter how beloved.]()
The Libertines: They may have kissed and made up these days, an eye-watering wad of cash has made sure of that, but there was a time when The Libertines starred in their own soap opera, mostly revolving around the exploits of Pete Doherty and Carl Barat. Some bother about a missed birthday party followed and Pete opted not to turn up for a European tour. A guitar technician filled in, but songs were culled and the shows critically panned, proving the bands shouldn't always limp on, no matter how beloved.
![Red Hot Chili Peppers: While we're aware that Red Hot Chili Peppers have been through plenty of members over the years, few were considered to be as influential as John Frusciante. Having brought the curtain down on his second stint in the band, Josh Klinghoffer was drafted in and seen as an electrifying acquisition for an ageing rock band, after playing with Warpaint and Dot Hacker. Even he, however, couldn't prevent RHCP's tenth album I'm With You sliding into horrible mediocrity. Frusciante, meanwhile, recently revealed that he had retired from the music industry. Shame.]()
Red Hot Chili Peppers: While we're aware that Red Hot Chili Peppers have been through plenty of members over the years, few were considered to be as influential as John Frusciante. Having brought the curtain down on his second stint in the band, Josh Klinghoffer was drafted in and seen as an electrifying acquisition for an ageing rock band, after playing with Warpaint and Dot Hacker. Even he, however, couldn't prevent RHCP's tenth album I'm With You sliding into horrible mediocrity. Frusciante, meanwhile, recently revealed that he had retired from the music industry. Shame.
![Queen: More than a few eyebrows were raised when Brian May and Roger Taylor announced plans to tour Queen with Adam Lambert, a runner up on American Idol, shouldering the daunting task of lead vocals. With Paul Rodgers having already taken a stab at it, the consensus on Lambert has been overwhelmingly positive, with May and Taylor maintaining that new singers would never replace Freddie Mercury. We're not sure who planned this one, but it's a prime example of a band soldiering on with positive results.]()
Queen: More than a few eyebrows were raised when Brian May and Roger Taylor announced plans to tour Queen with Adam Lambert, a runner up on American Idol, shouldering the daunting task of lead vocals. With Paul Rodgers having already taken a stab at it, the consensus on Lambert has been overwhelmingly positive, with May and Taylor maintaining that new singers would never replace Freddie Mercury. We're not sure who planned this one, but it's a prime example of a band soldiering on with positive results.
![Arctic Monkeys: His role as a key member is debatable, but early bassist Andy Nicholson did contribute to the fastest selling debut album in British music history. He cited exhaustion and a failure to deal with the band's increasing fame as reasons for his departure and is now part of production duo Sticky Blood. We think, meanwhile, Arctic Monkeys got on okay without him.]()
Arctic Monkeys: His role as a key member is debatable, but early bassist Andy Nicholson did contribute to the fastest selling debut album in British music history. He cited exhaustion and a failure to deal with the band's increasing fame as reasons for his departure and is now part of production duo Sticky Blood. We think, meanwhile, Arctic Monkeys got on okay without him.
![The Velvet Underground: Much has been made of the creative struggle between Lou Reed and John Cale before it came to the recording of The Velvet Underground's third album, but whatever the real reasons, Cale was dispatched due to his ideas being too]()
The Velvet Underground: Much has been made of the creative struggle between Lou Reed and John Cale before it came to the recording of The Velvet Underground's third album, but whatever the real reasons, Cale was dispatched due to his ideas being too "wacky" and Reed wanting to the make the band more commercial. A replacement in the form of Doug Yule was drafted in and the band went on to record their exceptional self-titled effort.
