You hear about it all the time in celebrity news: bands that are fighting or arguing. These reports are usually accompanied by rumours of whether or not they’ll break up. For the most part the band members work things out and continue with their careers. But sometimes years of infighting forces a band to implode and a break up seems like a natural conclusion. But is it? When coworkers are having issues, sometimes mediation is a wonderful alternative that can help them resolve issues. Mediation allows the fighting band members to sit down with a mediator and work out their issues, rather than continuing to fight and yell at each other. If the following bands had embraced mediation, would they still be together?
Oasis
Pretty much from the beginning the Gallagher brothers became just as famous for their fighting and brawling as for their music. It seemed these two were always fighting about something or picking at one another. They would bad mouth each other in the press, exchange punches backstage and torment each other during video shoots. While they officially broke up in 2009, after a backstage fight that saw them cancelling a gig, it’s safe to say that no one was overly surprised and most fans had known that it was only a matter of time.
The Kinks
This is another case of sibling fights breaking up a band. Lead singer Ray Davies and his brother, drummer Dave Davies bickered and their squabbles were the main reason that the band broke up in 1996. Unlike other bands that for the most part kept their fights private, the Davies brothers often fought on stage during concerts. While Ray has gone on record as wanting a reunion, Dave has said he would never get back together with the band.
The Police
Sting and Stewart Copeland, two of the three member of The Police, started off as friends. But by the time 1983 rolled around the two were fighting constantly over creativity and the direction of the band. Since they broke up they have gotten together a few times, going out on a comeback tour in 2007, but Sting and Copeland still don’t get along. They would often fight during rehearsal for their comeback tour then make up moments before hitting the stage. And their fights aren’t just a thing of the past: the two are currently feuding over the rights to The Police’s song catalogue.
The Beatles
While most people like to blame Yoko Ono for the breakup of one of the best bands ever, the group was splintering before she came on the scene. Paul and John were having creative differences. George was struggling with the fact that he felt like a supporting player rather than an equal. All four were going in different creative directions. It got to the point that they couldn’t even be in the recording studio together. On December 31st, 1970, Paul sued the other three for dissolution of their partnership. And that was the end of The Beatles.
If someone involved with these bands had been trained in mediation could the members have worked out their difference and continued to create and play together? It’s hard to say. But at the very least issues would have been aired in a constructive manner and everyone would have been heard. Just think about the music that could have been created if these bands had gone to mediation and worked their issues out.
