- 7 months ago
From substance abuse to bizarre relationships, some musicians have lost their spots in legendary bands for shocking reasons. Join us as we explore the most notorious dismissals in music history, featuring legendary acts like The Beatles, Metallica, Black Sabbath, and more! Which firing surprised you the most?
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00:00They coming to see me.
00:01They coming to see the Temptations.
00:03Ain't nobody coming to see you, Otis.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:07And today, we're looking at incidents that got musicians fired from their bands.
00:12I got lost.
00:15Pete Best, The Beatles.
00:18Getting fired from The Beatles just before they blew up on a global scale
00:21is one of the toughest hands a musician has ever been dealt.
00:24Did you have any hint that you were going to be leaving the group?
00:27No, that was the amazing thing, Dave.
00:28When the incident happened, you know, it just happened completely out of the blue.
00:34And it wasn't drugs, violence, or poor behavior that got Pete Best kicked out.
00:38No, his main crime was that he simply wasn't good enough on his instrument, the drums.
00:44I got you the one, yeah.
00:47Walla Walla Walla.
00:48The Beatles themselves made it clear that they needed someone a bit more dynamic behind the kits.
00:53Enter a 22-year-old Ringo Starr, who took to the band's sound and image like a fish to water.
00:58I want to hold your hand.
01:02I want to hold your hand.
01:05The band later expressed regret over the way they handled it,
01:09choosing to send their manager Brian Epstein to bring the axe down.
01:12But no matter what, Best clearly wasn't a good fit.
01:15I'm sorry it didn't work out better for you.
01:17Thank you, Dave.
01:17Pete Best, ladies and gentlemen.
01:19Thank you, sir.
01:19Dave Mustaine, Metallica.
01:23Before he brought metal to new heights as the founder and frontman of Megadeth,
01:27Dave Mustaine was a core member of Metallica prior to the release of their first studio album.
01:32I'm thinking a soul on you.
01:35The lines that crack your face.
01:37However, some very problematic issues with substances led to friction growing between
01:43the band members.
01:44This included Mustaine getting into a physical fight with singer James Hetfield,
01:48electrocuting bassist Ron McGovney after pouring beer on his bass guitar,
01:52and a myriad of other incidents.
01:54Eventually, Mustaine was kicked out of the group,
01:57which, according to him, was done out of nowhere, with zero second chances offered.
02:01I mean, when I would hear Metallica on the radio, I would be like,
02:05God, I have to turn this off because I just keep thinking, I f***ed up.
02:10By his own admission, he remained bitter about it for decades,
02:14despite the huge success of his later band.
02:22Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath.
02:251970s Black Sabbath were on a run of form that most bands would kill for.
02:31Groundbreaking heavy metal albums came flowing one after another,
02:39and to this day, most fans would agree that they barely put a foot wrong on those first
02:43six records.
02:45As he lost his mind, can he see or is he blind?
02:51But behind the scenes, singer Ozzy Osbourne's substance use issues were becoming a major problem.
02:57Not only was he so out of his mind that he could barely perform,
03:00but in the practice room, there were times when he would flat out refuse to even attempt
03:04new songs the band put forth.
03:06It was a very sad period.
03:08I remember leaving there, I locked myself in a hotel room for three months just getting
03:12smashed out of my brains every day, you know.
03:15According to guitarist Tony Iommi, they were all indulging in substances,
03:19but Ozzy was on a different level.
03:21And eventually, the decision to fire Osbourne and replace him with the legendary Ronnie James
03:26Dio was made.
03:27We're all nice, man.
03:30Oh, now.
03:32Brian Jones, The Rolling Stones.
03:35The era of The Rolling Stones with Brian Jones on guitar was a fruitful period.
03:39I can't get no.
03:42I can't get no.
03:45But as the band grew in popularity,
03:48and the songwriting duo of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began to blossom,
03:52Jones' own ideas about the group's direction began to take less precedence.
03:56Factor in his growing substance use disorder,
03:59and the news that Jones was eventually dismissed from the band should come as no surprise.
04:03I always felt very sorry for Brian.
04:07He was two things.
04:08He was not very nice,
04:10and he upset people very easily.
04:12But despite their 1969 meeting going smoothly,
04:16whatever hopes Jones had for the future were swiftly ended a month later
04:20when he drowned in his swimming pool at the age of 27.
04:23He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989,
04:28along with the rest of the band.
04:30And to Brian Jones,
04:31whose individuality and musicianship often took us off the bluesy course
04:37with some often marvelous results.
04:39David Ruffin, The Temptations.
04:42Ego and substance use are a bad mix.
04:46And when The Temptations singer David Ruffin finally got his moment to shine with 1965 hit
04:50My Girl,
04:51it marked a change in the vocal group's dynamic.
04:53My girl, my girl, my girl, my girl, oh my girl.
05:00Ruffin was so convinced of his superiority within the band
05:04that he was adamant that they changed their name to David Ruffin and The Temptations.
05:08Several instances of him being late for his own shows were a problem.
05:13But the last straw came when Ruffin missed a gig in Cleveland to go see his new girlfriend,
05:18Barbara Gail Martin, perform.
05:20He was dismissed a few days later.
05:21Me.
05:22Y'all ain't nothing without me.
05:23I made your asses.
05:26You can't fire me.
05:27Though he did try to rejoin, forcing his way on stage several times whenever they sang his signature song,
05:33a return never materialized.
05:36He passed away in 1991 at age 50.
05:39But there were some differences business-wise, and at that time, things just could not be smoothed out.
05:50David Ellefson, Megadeth.
05:53Two stints during especially productive periods for Megadeth were enough to earn David Ellefson
05:58his own personal slice of heavy metal history.
06:01Brother will kill brother, but he's lost the land.
06:06But after initially spending 19 years in the band until their 2002 breakup, in 2021,
06:12his second run as bassist came to a more permanent end.
06:16Allegations of misconduct with an underage fan over a video call by the then 56-year-old
06:21Ellefson were enough for the group to cut ties with him.
06:24We're informing our fans that David Ellefson is no longer playing with Megadeth, and that
06:29we are officially parting ways with him.
06:31We do not take this decision lightly.
06:33Ellefson himself denied any wrongdoing, and the fan herself claimed that she was not actually
06:38underage.
06:39But regardless of their defense, lead singer Dave Mustaine had already made moves to replace
06:45him with former bassist James Lomenzo, sealing Ellefson's fate.
06:54Steven Adler.
06:55Guns N' Roses.
06:56As their drummer during the peak commercial period for Guns N' Roses, Steven Adler's footprint
07:02on the band's signature sound cannot be understated.
07:05Now and then, when I see your face, it takes me away to that special place.
07:12But like so many in the industry, substance use disorder took control of his life until
07:18it had deprived him of the very thing he helped build.
07:21Not only was the group's heavily indulgent lifestyle causing some major tensions between
07:29members, but in the case of Adler, it was affecting his playing so badly that entire
07:34days of studio recording were being delayed.
07:36In 1990, it all eventually became too much, and Adler was shown the door.
07:42The band had the absolute right to withdraw from a partnership relationship with Steven
07:46Adler, and they simply exercised that right.
07:49He did eventually return to the stage with G&R in 2016 for a brief guest spot.
07:54But that aside, his run as their drummer ended decades ago.
07:59It's gonna bring you down!
08:02Cush!
08:03Don Felder.
08:05Eagles.
08:06To say that the Eagles have had more than a few interpersonal problems would be putting
08:11it lightly.
08:11Welcome to the Hotel, California.
08:17Once in 1980, lead guitarist Don Felder and frontman Glenn Frey very nearly came to blows
08:22on stage, and the band predictably broke up shortly after.
08:26But in 2001, disputes between members got to a totally different level when Felder was
08:31fired for his constant arguments with the other members.
08:35According to Felder, over the years, Frey and Don Henley had been attempting to cut him
08:39out of profits while taking home a larger slice of the pie for themselves.
08:44In his eyes, the rifts between the group are being used as an excuse to cut him out entirely.
08:49Do you say to yourself, might have, could have, should have done it a different way?
08:55You know, I don't have any regrets about the way I felt about it at the time.
09:01I think that's a mistake to look back and regret your own decisions, you know.
09:05However, the original lineup never performed together again.
09:08What a nice surprise, what a nice surprise, bring your alibis.
09:15Nick Oliveri's time in Queens of the Stone Age is fondly remembered by fans who loved his
09:23bass and vocal work on seminal albums, such as Songs for the Deaf and Rated R.
09:28But his time with the band would be cut short when he was fired by frontman Josh Homme in
09:392004.
09:40The reason for his dismissal?
09:42Take your pick.
09:43He finally felt like, God, I'm the frontman in this band.
09:46And once he felt like he could be the frontman, he didn't need Mark or me or, you know, around
09:53anymore, which is how I really honestly feel is what went down.
09:57Supposedly, Homme had grown annoyed with Oliveri's aggressive attitude towards the band's fans,
10:02and an argument between the two when the bassist was drunk caused major issues.
10:06Most notably, however, allegations of abuse from his girlfriend led Homme to want to put
10:11serious distance between himself and his longtime collaborator.
10:14He has played with them sporadically since, but his days as a core member are clearly over.
10:20But no one knows.
10:25Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:28Lindsey Buckingham.
10:29Fleetwood Mac.
10:30Fired for snarky behavior at Music Care's Person of the Year Gala.
10:34Do you have any knowledge of how the decision process went down with the band?
10:40None.
10:41Tony McCarroll.
10:42Oasis.
10:43Fired for an apparent personality clash with brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.
10:47You know, in all honesty, I've got to be proud and happy that I was part of something so big.
10:52Lemmy.
10:53Hawkwind.
10:54Fired following a 1970 drug arrest before eventually starting his own band, Motorhead.
10:59I wouldn't have traded it for any other band ever, you know.
11:02In fact, I would have probably been in that band right now if they hadn't fired me.
11:06Kim Shattuck.
11:07Pixies.
11:08Fired for onstage diving, as it wasn't the type of vibe the band wanted to give off.
11:13Here comes your man.
11:17Here comes your man.
11:20Dave Abruziz.
11:22Pearl Jam.
11:22Fired for having way too much energy offstage, which clashed with the more reserved members.
11:29I did feel underappreciated.
11:31I did feel, you know, like there was a dynamic that was wrong in the elements of the band in
11:38that, you know, like I was the only one that celebrated our success.
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11:59Dave Glover.
12:00Slade.
12:01If you're looking for the strangest reason a musician has ever been fired from their band,
12:05look no further.
12:11Dave Glover was by no means a founding member of the iconic British rock band Slade, but
12:16his three-year run as bassist came to a sudden end in 2003, when it emerged that he was engaged
12:22to imprisoned serial killer Rosemary West.
12:25Rosemary West, on trial at Winchester, accused of 10 murders, today became the first witness
12:30called in her own defense.
12:31The pair had seemingly become pen pals and exchanged numerous love letters.
12:35Once West publicly announced the marriage, Slade founder Dave Hill immediately fired Glover.
12:41If you're wondering, the marriage was eventually called off, and Glover went on to deny that things
12:46were ever romantic between them.
12:59Which band do you think regrets firing one of their members the most, or the least?
13:04Let us know in the comments below!
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