29 December 2023, 15:00
Which groups still haven't done the decent thing and got back together?
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Led Zeppelin
Since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, the remaining member of the Zep have only appeared together on a handful of occasions, even though Jimmy Page and Robert Plant issued a pair of successful albums together in the 1990s. A full-blown Zeppelin tour COULD happen, with Bonham Jr (Jason) on tub thumping duties, but do they need to do it? We say: REMEMBER LIVE AID.
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The Smiths
The sad death of bassist Andy Rourke in May 2023 closed the door on a genuine Smiths reunion. While there's still a very vague possibility that Morrissey and Johnny Marr could perform together at some point, it's unlikely that drummer Mike Joyce would ever be part of that - his legal action against his former bandmates has caused too much bad blood. In any case, Marr has a flourishing solo career and Morrissey is celebrating 20 years of his album You Are The Quarry in 2024.
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Oasis
Will they? Won’t they? Liam and Noel Gallagher both have flourishing solo careers at the moment, but the rumours that Oasis may rise again will never go away.
But while it seems that the ice between the brothers may be beginning to break, Noel told Radio X's Dan O'Connell in January 2023: "I will say, and I’ve said it a thousand times, if Oasis hadn’t had reached their potential, and there was something left to do, it would be different, but I just don’t see what the point would be. It would be make a load of money, I’ve got a load of money. To do some monumental [venue] I’ve already done them."
He went on: "It’s just not something that appeals to me," he added, before teasing: "Now that’s not saying in 10 years' time it won’t appeal to me..."
Get the latest on the story here.
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Pink Floyd
The saga of the Floyd is one of ups and downs.
No! Bassist Roger Waters was incandescent with rage when guitarist Dave Gilmour took control of the name in 1987.
Yes! Waters appeared with the other members onstage at Live 8 in 2005.
Yes again! Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason appeared with Waters at one of his Wall shows in 2011, following the death of keyboard player Rick Wright.
No! Gilmour says it's not something he wants to keep doing.
Maybe! Nick Mason is touring early Floyd material with his own band, Saucerful Of Secrets.
Definitely not! Waters has re-recorded the Floyd classic Dark Side Of The Moon as a solo album. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "I wrote The Dark Side Of The Moon. Let’s get rid of all this ‘we’ cr*p! Of course, we were a band, there were four of us, we all contributed – but it’s my project and I wrote it. So... blah!”
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R.E.M.
They split in late 2011 after three decades in business. Michael Stipe told Radio X that there would be no reunion, that was it. It seems perfectly amicable, however, so never say never, but there's still the unresolved matter of Stipe's solo album and bassist Mike Mills says that there's a huge vault of unreleased songs, so why would they?
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The Jam
After Paul Weller called time on the Mod uberlords in 1982, he went onto forge a hugely successful solo career, while bassist Bruce Foxton and drummer Rick Buckler tinkered with various different bands. After not speaking for 20 years, Weller and Foxton buried the hatchet and the bassist appeared on The Modfather's Wake Up The Nation album in 2010. However, it seems that a full reunion of the original trio seems unlikely as Paul 'n' Rick are still reportedly not talking.
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Talking Heads
The NYC art rock pioneers released their last album, Naked, in 1988. While David Byrne went solo, the other members released an album without him, although Byrne took legal action to stop them using the name.
Apart from a reunion for their Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2002, further collaborations seem unlikely - in 2020, drummer Chris Frantz wrote his autobiography which dealt with Bryne in less than glowing terms, and told The Guardian that the frontman “doesn’t know where he ends and other people begin. He can’t imagine that anyone else would be important.”
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The Kinks
The ongoing saga of Ray Davies vs Dave Davies continues unabated after over 40 years. At one point, the two brothers had fallen out so acrimoniously, the likelihood of a reunion for the original line-up of the 60s pop legends seemed remote, especially since the death of bassist Pete Quaife in 2010.
In November 2019, Dave Davies said that he was working with Ray on a reunion project that would see the pair revisit some unreleased, older material, but added "There's a lot to do."
However, Ray told The Sun in March 2023: "Thanks to email, we have a good but distant relationship now."
