can one person make or break a group/band?

[blackdragon6]

we all know the stories of individuals who wants to break away from the group and eventually does.and when said person leaves the group certain fans say that the group is over.do any of you guys belive one monkey actually can stop a show???

[Night]

Depends on whether the monkey is the show... often though it's not apperent which monkey/monkies really make the show. (Hint: sometimes they're not even on stage)

[Sanagi]

One person can definitely break a band if that person is a bad drummer. Any amount of talent in a group can be negated by a drummer who can't keep time.

[Adam Crocker]

do any of you guys belive one monkey actually can stop a show???

Certainly. Just look at the Clash. The moment that Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon kicked out lead guitarist and main composer Mick Jones the band was pretty much toast. (I will say nothing of the foul, foul EVVVIIILLLL that came after that!)

[Patient Boy]

Certainly. Just look at the Clash. The moment that Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon kicked out lead guitarist and main composer Mick Jones the band was pretty much toast. (I will say nothing of the foul, foul EVVVIIILLLL that came after that!)

MKII 4EVA, BIOTCH!

[Adam Crocker]

A few more examples:

-- Look at Blue Cheer after they kicked out guitarist Leigh Stephens. Instead gloriously incompetent proto-metal, proto-punk noise we got this kind of average pyschedelia.

-- Or the Flying Burrito Brothers after Gram Parsons left. I mean Chris Hillman and Chris Ethridge shared a lot of the writing cred with Parsons on their first two albums, but after he left--poof!--the ceased to be a very viable creative unit.

-- Three words: Post-Danzig Misfits. I rest my case.

[DrewTheXenocide]

Axl Rose, anyone?

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

i think its different for a rap group,a rap group can lose a member and still be functional,so can R&B groups.unless that artists stood out somehow(i.e being the sole talent,or just being attractive and easily marketable).

NWA still managed without cube,however they lost their political consciousness at the same time.long gone are the tales of street knowledge,the only thing left was dark nightmare tales of compton california.

new edition did well without bobby brown.sure he had his own success but that was HIS validation as a solo artists.in other words there was more pressure on him to be huge.

the temptations survived without david ruffin

but theres always exceptions to the rule.

as far as axel rose goes i wouldn't mind if the band replaced him with a actual singer.i was more into the actual band anyway.

[Adam Crocker]

Axl Rose, anyone?

Well Axl didn't desert Guns'n'Roses so much as he kicked the rest of the band out.

[howyadoin]

*coughDavidLeeRothcough*

[Spike-X]

as far as axel rose goes i wouldn't mind if the band replaced him with a actual singer.

They did.

You've heard of Velvet Revolver?

[Valmore]

If the lead singer of a band is distinctive enough, it's kind of hard to replace him or her and still be the same band. Try to imagine U2 without Bono - it's just not U2 anymore.

Musicians, if one can find a replacement faithful enough to the sound, are slightly easier to replace, unless they found a way to be iconic. Of course, it also depends on how much input a musician has into the gand's sound that also counts. A drummer who just drums like he's told is going to be easier to replace than a drummer who has input with loops, timing and other aspects of the band's sound.

[Adam Crocker]

Musicians, if one can find a replacement faithful enough to the sound, are slightly easier to replace, unless they found a way to be iconic. Of course, it also depends on how much input a musician has into the gand's sound that also counts. A drummer who just drums like he's told is going to be easier to replace than a drummer who has input with loops, timing and other aspects of the band's sound.

Oh come on Val. Just come out and say that REM sucked after Bill Berry left. It's not like anyone is going to argue with you.

[DonC]

do any of you guys belive one monkey actually can stop a show???


No one is completely irreplaceable, but some bands will suffer mightily if certain members quit. If we're talking about a drop in popularity, it's mostly the singers who leave and the band suffers. Judas Priest, for example, ended up playing 1500-seat theaters without Rob Halford. Once they reunited, it was back to 15,000-seat arenas.

If we're talking about drops in quality, then it's the driving force behind the music who has to leave. Queensrÿche is a good example of this. After Chris DeGarmo left, the band's music went down. It didn't change radically, it just slipped.

[DDM]

It depends if the person is bit player or a major player within the band structure. For instance, Siouxsie could never leave Siouxsie & the Banshees & remain the same band. The same goes for Severin or Budgie within the Siouxsie & the Banshees "democracy." However, they could still exist as a group--Sioux, Severin, Budgie--while they get rid of their guitarist or keyboard player.

The Cure can exist as long as Robert Smith is part of the dynamic. Remove Smith from the Cure, then the Cure does not exist anymore.

Banarama was less successful when they went from a trio to a duo, yet Banarama exists to this day. The other half of Banarama formed Shakespeare's Sister with Marcella Detroit, but even after Detroit left Shakespeare's Sister still exists.

[Valmore]

Oh come on Val. Just come out and say that REM sucked after Bill Berry left. It's not like anyone is going to argue with you.

I've already said it enough. And it's true - Berry helped tone down some of the more radical (i.e. - crappy) things Stipe is now getting away with. He also played a major role in producing how the band sounded.

[Buried Alien]

The Beach Boys were never the same as Brian Wilson became increasingly detached from the band.

Without Brian Wilson, in fact, the Beach Boys are basically just a group of good harmony singers.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[SlightlyMad]

http://www.beatlesagain.com/images/yoko1.jpg

[Buried Alien]

http://www.beatlesagain.com/images/yoko1.jpg

Well, to be fair, the Beatles were already headed for trouble before Yoko Ono became part of the scene. Her presence probably accelerated things, however.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)