Being a rock star doesn’t come with job security. Many legendary musicians have been fired.
As any HR department will tell you, the go-to reason for letting someone go is that they’re “not a good fit.” In rock bands, this is especially true. Sure, there have been instances where a musician’s talent was no longer up to par but more often than not, their departure has had little to do with actual musical ability.
Instead, personality clashes with bandmates led many famous musicians to get sacked, including Jimi Hendrix, Lindsey Buckingham and former Eagles guitarist Don Felder.
Creative differences have also famously fractured many groups. Dennis DeYoung (Styx), Brian Jones (Rolling Stones) and Dave Evans (AC/DC) are among the many who were given their walking papers because they didn’t see eye-to-eye with their bandmates regarding stylistic direction.
In other instances, a partnership simply ran its course. For example, depending on who you ask, Sammy Hagar was either fired or quit Van Halen. Yet, nobody disputes that he and Eddie Van Halen were simply no longer on the same page.
There’s one more frequent reason they’ve been fired: drug use. When bands can no longer tolerate heavy partying, something’s got to give. Such was the case for Ozzy Osbourne, who was dismissed from Black Sabbath; Steven Adler, who was axed from Gun N’ Roses; and Scott Weiland, whose drug abuse got him kicked out of two successful groups.
Below, we’ve assembled 30 Famous Rockers Who Were Fired From Their Bands.
Rockers Who Were Fired From Their Bands
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