It can't be fun being kicked out of a band just before they hit the big time, but it's
even worse to be booted after they finally find fame and fortune.
It's the ultimate nightmare for artists — but, unfortunately, it does happen.
Just ask these guys.
Dave Abbruzzese was Pearl Jam's drummer through the release of Ten, which has since gone platinum
13 times, and Vs., which set a brief record for the most sales of an album in its debut
week.
After the band's third album Vitalogy was recorded, however, Abbruzzese left the group.
The band suggested the split was mutual and had come about because Abbruzzese wished to
play and study music elsewhere.
But it soon became clear that Abbruzzese had been fired by the band.
Shortly after his departure, he said:
"For reasons that I don't completely understand, the other members decided it was necessary
to fire me in order to pursue a philosophy which they perceive as incompatible with mine."
The band's manager soon admitted this was closer to the truth — in that it actually
was the truth.
Pearl Jam released their third album soon after, while Abbruzzese suggested he might
go on to
"gather up the nest egg, climb in a mobile home and get lost in America."
Arctic Monkeys stormed onto the British music scene in 2006 with the release of their debut
album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.
That album was the fastest-selling debut album in U.K. history, managing to shift over 350,000
copies in the first week alone.
It was a critical success, too, and the band took off for a tour of the States the same
year.
By the end of that year, however, bassist Andy Nicholson had been asked to leave the
band.
After their European dates, he had complained that he was too fatigued to tour again and
subsequently missed their U.S. tour.
After the band returned to the U.K., they officially sacked him.
Despite that, Nicholson remained on good terms with the band and even reunited with them
at their Leeds Festival set in August 2006.
Topper Headon joined The Clash after meeting their guitarist, Mick Jones, at the bar in
London's Rainbow Theatre.
After a brief audition, he was invited to join the band and was soon thrown into the
group's punky, raucous world.
During Headon's tenure with The Clash, the band found fame in the U.K. and finally broke
through to American audiences with the release of London Calling, by far their most famous
album.
London Calling received widespread critical acclaim and sold 2 million copies.
Headon, however, took fame badly, and developed a significant drug problem that seriously
affected his playing.
He was given one last opportunity by Joe Strummer to make good at their next stop on the tour.
Unfortunately, that next stop was Amsterdam.
Headon succumbed to his desires and, after wantonly cutting cocaine in front of his bandmates,
was suspended from the group; he was cut for good soon after.
"With hindsight I could see why 5 years of someone being a bit nuts all the time would
grind you down."
Headon struggled with drug addiction, disease, and homelessness for years before finally
overcoming his demons and finding work rehabilitating other addicts.
In 1965, the band known as Pink Floyd entered the studio and began recording music for the
first time.
Their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, was released in 1967, and became
a critical and commercial success in the U.K.
Despite all that, however, Pink Floyd's founder and frontman Syd Barrett began to behave more
and more erratically.
Barrett allegedly suffered from severe mental health issues and frequently used LSD, and
would detune his guitar during shows, refuse to play or even lose track of reality altogether.
"If you were in the position of being an incipient schizophrenic like he was any hallucinogenics
were a very bad thing."
In 1967, Dave Gilmour was brought in to reinforce Barrett during his episodes and, a few months
later, Barrett was removed from the band altogether.
At first, the band neglected to even tell him he was fired, preferring to simply not
pick him up and bring him to gigs.
It wasn't until mid-1968 that the band officially announced Barrett's departure.
Although they formed in the mid-'90s, it wasn't until the beginning of the 21st century that
Queens of the Stone Age really found their footing.
Their debut, Rated R, gained them a little attention, but it was Songs for the Deaf that
put them on the map.
Songs for the Deaf was critically lauded and commercially successful, and by 2003 it was
certified gold.
Less than a year later, however, Josh Homme had taken the decision to fire the band's
bassist, Nick Oliveri.
Since his firing, Oliveri has shown some understanding toward Homme's decision, explaining that he
had been let go for drinking a bottle of vodka before a show and "freaking out" when Homme
refused to play with him.
Rumors have persisted to this day, however, that Homme actually kicked the musician out
of the band after it became clear that Oliveri had been acting in an abusive manner toward
his own girlfriend.
In 1963, David Ruffin, a young singer from Mississippi, was brought in to join The Temptations
when their previous tenor vocalist was kicked out of the group.
It was with Ruffin that The Temptations rose to fame, scoring hit after hit through the
latter half of the '60s.
Fame came for Ruffin, too, but so did its downsides.
The musician began using cocaine and became more and more egotistical toward the other
members of the group, at one point even demanding they change their name to David Ruffin and
the Temptations.
Ruffin's excesses at last grew too many, and he was fired from the group in 1968.
His solo career was a disappointment compared to his time in The Temptations, and a few
brief stints in prison led him down an even darker path.
Ruffin died in 1991 after visiting a crack house in Philadelphia.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Grunge videos about your favorite stuff are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.