10 Famous Bands with Dark Hidden Pasts

WatchMojo

When the music stops, dark truths emerge... Join us as we examine bands whose legacies are forever tarnished by disturbing revelations about their members. From shocking crimes to abusive behavior, these musical acts have fallen from grace as their hidden dark sides came to light. Which musical downfall shocked you the most?

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at bands where the members had a hidden dark

00:08side, which has since ruined their reputation.

00:12Crystal Castles

00:19This electronic duo was formed in 2006 and released music fairly consistently until 2017.

00:26The two members were Alice Glass and Ethan Kaff.

00:37The former is enjoying a pretty successful solo career, while the public has shunned the latter.

00:42Glass left the duo in 2014, then later accused Kaff of some pretty unpleasant things.

00:49Four other women made similar accusations, and the band has since ceased to exist.

01:00Eventually, Glass went into detail in an interview with The Guardian, revealing a horrific side

01:06to Kaff.

01:11Now, it puts a huge stain on Crystal Castles and all of Kaff's musical projects.

01:21Blood on the dance floor

01:30When this band's music was entirely removed from streaming services in 2019, few complained.

01:36They first formed in 2006 and became one of the biggest names in Crunk Corps, which isn't

01:47saying much for those unaware.

01:50Crunk Corps was one of the most bizarre genres of the late 2000s, pioneered by the scene subculture.

01:56Now is the time, now is the hour, I am the magic, I am the power, oh!

02:03From 2009 onwards, allegations against member Davey Vanity started coming out.

02:09Over 21 women have made these allegations, and even the FBI began investigating.

02:14After initially disbanding in 2016, they reformed with the other members leaving due to Vanity's

02:20scandal.

02:21When you are dumb, I will lift you up from the ground.

02:25Vanity is currently the only member, and a new album was teased in 2025, but few care.

02:31We all calmed down

02:37Cream.

02:38This 60s psychedelic rock band was one of the biggest names of its decade, largely because

02:44of how talented each member was.

02:46I went down to the crossroads, fell out on my knees.

02:51This talent came with a price, which was that every member had a huge ego.

02:56This eventually caused them to disband in 1968, and they didn't calm down as the years passed.

03:06Drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce frequently fought, irritating guitarist Eric Clapton.

03:12Baker's behavior was so outrageous, there's even a documentary about his aggressive personality.

03:18Clapton has also had his fair share of controversies, once going on an extremely racist rant in 1976.

03:26You, you're all I want to know

03:30Cream's music may be as good as it ever was, but the musicians sour the band's image heavily.

03:37The Mamas and the Papas

03:47This group's most famous track is easily California Dreamin', which is adored by millions globally.

03:53They were a relatively short-lived band, forming in 1965 and then disbanding three years later.

03:59California Dreamin'

04:03Initially, they had four members, including John Phillips, who was easily their most diabolical.

04:09He died in 2001, but eight years after his death,

04:13his daughter claimed that the pair had an intimate relationship lasting a decade.

04:18Phillips' wives denied these allegations, but his other daughters did not.

04:22Monday, Monday, Monday, so good to me

04:29Since Phillips died, there's no way to know for certain.

04:33But the claims are disturbing enough to put fans off their music.

04:37They're gonna keep on me crying all the time

04:45The Ike and Tina Turner Review

04:47Tina Turner is often called the queen of rock and roll,

04:51and is frequently cited as one of the greatest vocalists in history.

05:00Her career began alongside her husband, Ike Turner, in the 1950s.

05:09The pair formed a duo that lasted until 1976. It was reported that while Tina may have attempted

05:15to defend herself at times, she was subjected to heavy abuse from Ike

05:19while they were together. Then, in the decades following their disbandment,

05:24Ike tragically fell off the deep end. He got arrested multiple times in the 80s,

05:28with police frequently finding him in possession of illicit substances and firearms.

05:33Thankfully, he managed to get clean during the 90s, but relapsed in 2004.

05:41He was then diagnosed with emphysema a year later, which took his life in 2007.

05:47Aerosmith

05:48These titans of hard rock have maintained a career for over 55 years since they first formed in 1970.

05:56They're frontman, Steven Tyler, also known as the Demon of Screamin', is a phenomenally talented

06:08vocalist. As a person, he deserves much less praise. It turns out that in the 70s,

06:13he began dating a teenage girl. Not only this, but he got her pregnant.

06:18You can see in my eyes that we are still on dry.

06:25Then, after she ended up in the hospital due to being locked in a burning building,

06:29Tyler coerced her into an abortion. Her name is Julia Holcomb Misley,

06:34and she filed a lawsuit against him for the trauma.

06:36I don't wanna close my eyes.

06:40Tyler is less than happy about this revelation, and seems to be treating her with even more malice

06:45in recent years.

06:51Sex Pistols

06:53They were pioneers of punk rock, an inherently scandalous genre in its early days.

06:58I am an anti-coaster! I am an anti-coaster!

07:05This was for its aggressive attitude and anti-establishment ideologies. Between 1978

07:11and 79, their bass player was Sid Vicious. To the surprise of no one,

07:16Mr. Vicious turned out to be a pretty unpleasant man.

07:18I want to be!

07:24He was arrested on suspicion of murdering his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, in 78,

07:29which he initially admitted to doing, then later denied.

07:32It's all of the what you want and it's all, it's all of the what you need!

07:38Vicious died in 1979 after getting released from prison and immediately seeking narcotics.

07:43This led to his death that same night. There are a ton of other disturbing stories floating

07:48around about Vicious, too, but this is arguably the most unsettling.

07:52The band Marilyn Manson was formed in 1989 and has since lost all of its founding members,

08:05barring Marilyn Manson.

08:06And I don't want you, and I don't need you

08:10Many believed it started as a stage character, but as the years went on, the line became increasingly

08:16blurred.

08:16The beautiful people, the beautiful people

08:19His music has since been cited as inspiring a whole heap of atrocities,

08:23from murders to mass shootings.

08:25Sweet dreams are made of thee!

08:30Outside of debatably inspiring these atrocities, he's also known to be pretty racist and misogynistic.

08:36The cast of House said he once came on set for the final series,

08:40where he proceeded to insult and assault actor Charlene Yee and many others.

08:44I'll call you you, and I'll call you you

08:50Lost Prophets

08:51This Welsh alt-rock band was founded in 1997, then achieved moderate success during the 2000s.

08:58And we all sit round here in our hometown

09:01Listen to the waves as they all crash down

09:05In 2012, their lead singer was charged with some abhorrent crimes, and they broke up a year later.

09:11His name is Ian Watkins, and he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his actions.

09:23Many of his victims were minors, and police found a plethora of repugnant media on his devices.

09:31Lost Prophets decided to disband entirely rather than play without him,

09:35as Watkins decimated their reputation.

09:43Two members went on to found No Devotion, who are still active and have no association with Watkins.

09:49If we're going nowhere, then we say…

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10:09Mayhem, as the name suggests. Black metal is one of the darkest genres of music

10:21out of every band in the scene. Mayhem is the most infamous. They formed in 1984. Then,

10:27their first tragedy came in 1991, when their vocalist took his own life. Member Euronymous took

10:34photos of his body, which he used to make mayhem appear more evil. This caused a rift between

10:40Euronymous and bandmate Necro Butcher. They then recruited Varg Vikernes, who decided to set fire

10:48to churches to spread fear and evil. Eventually, Vikernes also fell out with Euronymous and murdered him in

10:541993. Vikernes was sentenced, and a year later, Mayhem released their debut album,

11:01harrowingly composed by a murderer and his victim alongside their dead vocalist.

11:09Were there any particularly horrific bands we failed to include? Let us know in the comments below.

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