30 Heart-Warming Musical Happy Endings That Will Melt Your Heart

1
 

Is there a happier ending in all music than the blessed reunion of Pete and Carl? The Albion twins have put aside thoughts of burglary, betrayal and Babyshambles to reform The Libertines to rapturous acclaim – “We suddenly remembered what it was about,” revealed Carl. But they’re not the only musicians to kiss and make up. Here are 29 more lovely make-ups.

2
Dave Grohl and Courtney Love

Dave Grohl and Courtney Love

Dave Grohl and Courtney Love
Things have been fraught between the former Nirvana drummer and the former Nirvana Yoko ever since Kurt Cobain’s death, with squabbles over cash and the use of Cobain’s image in Guitar Hero 5 and all that. Now though? Now they’ve had a hug, getting close at Nirvana’s induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame back in April.

3
Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac
Where did it all go wrong? Was it the sacks of cocaine? Was it Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks splitting up in song? Was it Mick Fleetwood carrying on with Nicks? Was it Christine McVie running off with the lighting designer? Yeah, all that. It’s a wonder they can all be so pally now, but bosom buddies they are once more — on the road and in the studio.

Advertisement

4
John Lennon and Paul McCartney

John Lennon and Paul McCartney
You may recall The Beatles not ending particularly well, with tense sessions and solicitors’ letters harshing the vibe. Later came Lennon’s ‘How Do You Sleep?’ swipe at Macca, but suddenly — in March ’74 — the pair were jamming together again with the help of a few narcotic enhancements. Nothing came of the mucking about but at least the bitchiness subsided.

5
Drake and Chris Brown

Drake and Chris Brown
The R&B superstars got into a spot of handbags over — you guessed it — Rihanna, but are now great mates. Earlier this month the pair were even seen in an LA studio together so there may be a duet to mark the joyous reconciliation. If we’re, um, lucky.

6
Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn

Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn
Remember when Noel Gallagher announced he wished Damon Albarn would “get AIDS and die”? That was nice, wasn’t it? A decade on, in 2006, he retracted the comment, then another seven years later at last year’s Teenage Cancer Trust gig, the Britpop overlords even performed together. It was all just bants.

7
Van Halen with David Lee Roth

Van Halen with David Lee Roth

Van Halen with David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth left poodle-haired US rock behemoths Van Halen on 1 April 1985, but he wasn’t joking around; he was sick to the back teeth of de facto band leader Eddie Van Halen. Roth actually spent the next two decades feuding with his replacement Sammy Hagar, but slipped back into the band in 2007 for a massive-grossing tour.

Advertisement

8
Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour

Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour

Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour
“Roger’s a prick,” said Gilmour in the early 00s when asked why he didn’t speak to his erstwhile colleague anymore. They’d had a bit of a falling out when Waters left Pink Floyd in 1984 and Gilmour won the rights to the name, and had stayed snippy since. It took Sir Bob Geldof to heal the rift for an emotional Live8 reunion in 2005.

9
Nicky Wire and Glastonbury Festival

Nicky Wire and Glastonbury Festival
“I say build some more fucking bypasses over this shithole,” was the Manic Street Preachers’ bassist’s blunt observation about Glastonbury in 1994. Twenty years on, he and the boys were back on the Other Stage at this year’s festival, all sweetness and light.

10
Take That and Robbie Williams

Take That and Robbie Williams
Not long after leaving the boy-band in 1995, Williams embarked on a fruitful career of slagging off former bro Gary Barlow and revelling in his own greater success. When things started to go pear-shaped there, he was back in the Take That fold on 2010’s ‘Progress’, all that nastiness forgotten. Obviously he’s gone again now.

11
The original Sugababes

The original Sugababes
Of course, Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan didn’t just fall out with each other. Things went sour with a succession of bandmates as first Siobhan bailed out of a toilet window, then Mutya took all the shade she could tolerate and finally Keisha found herself sacked by fax or something. The original trio are all loved-up now though. They may even release an album one day.

Advertisement

12
The Police

The Police

The Police
The bleach-blond new-wave cod-reggae threesome hated each other even while they were shifting millions across the globe in the late 70s/early 80s. A highpoint was drummer Stewart Copeland’s message to Sting emblazoned on his drum kit: “Fuck off”. Twenty years after their split, the band were back in 2007, their animosity resolved by millions of pounds.

13
Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst

Robert Smith and Lol Tolhurst
“You’re just a waste of time/You’re just a babbling face/You’re just three sick holes” — these are just some of the compliments Robert Smith paid his old friend Lol Tolhurst on 1987 track ‘Shiver And Shake’ shortly before Tolhurst left The Cure. Amazingly he was back in 2011 for a few shows, no longer wasting everyone’s time.

14
Blink-182

Blink-182
It took Travis Barker’s plane crash in 2008 to get Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus talking again after a couple of years of childish bickering. A near-tragic ending to a happy ending – “You realise how petty some of the shit was we were all fighting over,” admitted Barker. They’ll be playing Reading and Leeds festival later this summer.

15
The Eagles

The Eagles
In 1980, after a particularly vicious break-up, Don Henley notoriously said The Eagles would play together again “when Hell freezes over”. Hades wasn’t even vaguely parky when the band reunited to fleece the fans for unimaginable amounts of cash in 1994 and they’ve remained pretty much together since.

16
McAlmont And Butler

McAlmont And Butler

McAlmont And Butler
Big on botched partnerships, Bernard Butler wasn’t entirely to blame for the split with David McAlmont. It was apparently McAlmont who was fixated on a solo career — “David will pull out any trick to become famous,” Butler sneered in 1998, but the pair still managed to get back together for dates this year.

17
Jay Z and Solange

Jay Z and Solange

Jay Z and Solange
When Solange was exercising a little sister-in-law-ly love in an elevator in May by karate-kicking Jay Z into a corner, it begged one question: what’s Beyoncé daydreaming about? We also wondered what the beef was. Within a couple of weeks everything was rosy again, with the whole family gathering in New Orleans, attended by just a few extra security guards.

18
Madonna and Deadmau5

Madonna and Deadmau5

Madonna and Deadmau5
When prissy EDM rodent Deadmau5 got all uptight about Madonna making drug references at a gig in 2012, Madonna took the dignified route (you know, rather than telling the puffed-up button-presser to take a hike) and tweeted a conciliatory picture of her wearing a mouse helmet. This got her “+1 respect”, so that’s OK.

19
Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire

Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire
What? How? Why would these two excellent bands, each known for their stagecraft and vast galactic tunes, have needle with each other? They’re “pricks,” said the ‘Lips’ Wayne Coyne after a joint show. The ‘Fire’s Win Butler was a little nonplussed, and a few months later Coyne said he’d been talking about the, um, crew. Yes, the crew, that’s right.

20
No Doubt

No Doubt
Stretching the boundaries of the old happy ending here. The other members of No Doubt were left high and dry in 2003 when singer – and, let’s face facts, only recognisable member – Gwen Stefani went solo, but it was just a hiatus. Their meal ticket returned in 2012 and they sold near-enough no records at all. One or two of them must’ve been happy at least.

21
Blur

Blur
You know how it rolled – things went a bit sour between Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon, and Graham Coxon and his demons, and the guitarist hotfooted it out of Blur in 2002. A bit of breathing space later, and they were all playing live again in 2009. And now they do it when they feel like it and make the odd record too. Job’s a good ‘un.

22
Rage Against The Machine

Rage Against The Machine

Rage Against The Machine
“Our decision-making process has completely failed,” announced Zack de la Rocha as his reason for leaving the band in 2000. It could’ve been a little more lurid, to be honest, but that’s rock’n’roll in the 21st century. The old crew’s back together now, hellbent on enjoying themselves and not bothering with another record.

23
oe Strummer and Mick Jones

oe Strummer and Mick Jones

Joe Strummer and Mick Jones
The Clash took a shot to the heart when Mick Jones quit in 1983, leaving Joe Strummer to manfully keep it all together in the absence of the old magic. Then, in 2002, Jones turned up at a Strummer gig for an impromptu couple of songs and a reunion was on the cards. Strummer’s death just weeks later nixed that, but it’s good to know there was a resolution.

24
Jane’s Addiction

Jane’s Addiction
Towering achievements in the field of hard drugs brought alt-metal heroes Jane’s Addiction to their knees in 1991, but they’ve returned in various states of disrepair several times since. With original members Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins still on board, the latest JA line-up’s looking as secure as a team of dedicated self-abusers has any right to be.

25
The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses
Actually, this happy ending’s a little dicey, what with rumours circulating that the Manc ledges are about to call it a day again just as they enter the final four-year sprint in the making of their third album. Still, they’ve done well to get this far, considering only five years ago John Squire was pledging not to “desecrate the grave” of the “seminal pop group”.

26
Lady Gaga and Kelly Osbourne

Lady Gaga and Kelly Osbourne

Lady Gaga and Kelly Osbourne
They said some mean things about each other in the press. Then they made up for the cameras at Elton John’s party. “Peace at last,” tweeted Osbourne, to general apathy.

27
Soundgarden

Soundgarden

Soundgarden
Business differences. That old chestnut. That’s what put paid to Soundgarden Mk I in 1997 as they found that the balance sheet and the AGM were stifling their creativity, man. One underwhelming Chris Cornell solo career later and they were back in 2010 to reap the benefits of that balance sheet.

28
The Jesus And Mary Chain

The Jesus And Mary Chain
A decent prototype for the Gallagher brothers, Jim and William Reid always enjoyed an edgy creative partnership – basically they wanted to kill each other 90 per cent of the time, and occasionally tried. In the end it led to a split in 1999, revoked in 2007 when Coachella came calling. There’s been no new record in 15 years – maybe that’s keeping the pressure off.

29
The Tears

The Tears

The Tears
Bernard Butler walked out on Suede in 1994, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of singer Brett Anderson, but 10 years is a long time in slightly fey indie and the duo patched up their differences to form The Tears. Before splitting up again. This time they still liked one another.

30
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
The fairytale of Mick and Keef is a perennial happy ending, whether the guitarist’s mocking the singer’s allegedly microscopic manhood or the singer’s gadding about on solo jaunts that dilute the magic of the Stones. They always end up back in each other’s wizened arms.

Advertisement
Advertisement