8 bands divided by lawsuits: It's not just Jane's Addiction
Members of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction filed dueling lawsuits Wednesday over singer Perry Farrell's onstage scuffle with guitarist Dave Navarro at a Boston concert last year, a fracas that prompted the cancellation of the rest of their reunion tour and a planned album.
They join a long and storied tradition of bandmates suing one another, taking interpersonal and legal troubles from the recording studio to the courtroom. Here's a look at a few very famous cases.
Jane's Addiction
WHAT HAPPENED: Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery sued Farrell in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking at least $10 million, alleging that Farrell's behavior on their recent tour had ranged from erratic to out of control, culminating in an assault where Farrell punched Navarro both onstage and backstage.
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: It hasn't been; it's just getting started. Farrell and his wife, Etty Lau Farrell, sued the three bandmates in the same court Wednesday, blaming them for the conflict and the violence.
The Beach Boys
WHAT HAPPENED: How much time do you have? The late, great Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' leader, feuded with his cousin and bandmate Mike Love over songwriting credits dating back decades. Love had sued Wilson several times, beginning in the 1990s.
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: Wilson often wasn't the victor — except in 2007, when U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins threw out one of Love's lawsuits against Wilson. In it, Love alleged that a free, 2004 promotional CD of re-recorded Beach Boys songs cost him millions of dollars and violated Love and Wilson's partnership.
Oasis
WHAT HAPPENED: The sibling rivalry between Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher is well established. Their brawls not only led to the band's dissolution in 2009, before their 2025 reunion, but also a legal upset. In 2011, Liam sued Noel for saying Liam's hangover caused the cancellation of a 2009 festival performance. He said in a statement that the lawsuit was not about money, but that he wanted an apology and for Oasis fans 'to know the truth' — that laryngitis prevented him from performing.
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: The lawsuit was dropped.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
WHAT HAPPENED: The post-breakup decades of Creedence Clearwater Revival were marked by so much legal and personal infighting that you might think CCR stands for Conflict, Clash, Repeat. In 1996, singer-songwriter-guitarist John Fogerty sued ex-bandmates Doug Clifford and Stu Cook for performing under the name Creedence Clearwater Revisited. That case settled in 2001, but the bandmates sued Fogerty in 2014, alleging he was violating the settlement by continuing to publicly slag off the Revisited name. And they said Fogerty himself was now illegally using Creedence Clearwater Revival in concert advertising. Fogerty sued back in 2015, saying Cook and Clifford weren't paying him proper songwriting royalties for their performances.
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: A federal court merged the two cases, and the resulting hybrid was settled under confidential terms in 2017.
Fleetwood Mac
WHAT HAPPENED: Fleetwood Mac and feuds are practically synonymous. Breakups and divorces between members are essential to some of their best songs. The conflict resumed in the 2010s when the band kicked lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham off their 2018 tour, and he sued. Buckingham claimed he was told five days after the group appeared at Radio City Music Hall that January that the band would tour without him. He says he would have been paid at least $12 million for his share of the proceeds.
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: Later that year, Buckingham said they had settled the lawsuit.
Journey
WHAT HAPPENED: At some point, two key members of Journey stopped believin' in each other. And all over an Amex. Longtime guitarist Neal Schon sued longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain in 2022, saying Cain was refusing to let him use the band's American Express card. A counterclaim came from Cain, who said that Schon was running up enormous personal charges on the band's account.
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: A judge in 2024 appointed a custodian over the band's financial decisions, specifically empowered to settle disagreements between Schon and Cain.
Hall & Oates
Monday Mornings
The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week.
WHAT HAPPENED: In 2023, Daryl Hall sued his longtime music partner John Oates, arguing that Oates' plan to sell off his share of a joint venture would violate the terms of a business agreement the Hall & Oates duo had forged long before. The move quickly prompted a judge to temporarily block the sale.
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: The lawsuit and arbitration are ongoing.
The Beatles
WHAT HAPPENED: Their artistic partnership had been over for months, but the Beatles had to break out the barristers to break up their business. Paul McCartney went to London's High Court of Justice in 1970 to dissolve the Fab Four's 1967 contractual partnership, which included the Apple record label. McCartney above all wanted to get rid of manager Allen Klein, whom John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr wanted to keep as overseer of their business. 'The only way for me to save The Beatles and Apple,' McCartney told British GQ in 2020, 'was to sue the band.'
HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: The court ruled in McCartney's favor and appointed a receiver to oversee their ventures in 1971. But negotiations and wrangling continued until a long-term solution that would become known as 'The Beatles Agreement' was signed by all four members in 1974.
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Winnipeg Free Press
17-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
8 bands divided by lawsuits: It's not just Jane's Addiction
Bands behaving badly? It's only rock 'n' roll. Members of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction filed dueling lawsuits Wednesday over singer Perry Farrell's onstage scuffle with guitarist Dave Navarro at a Boston concert last year, a fracas that prompted the cancellation of the rest of their reunion tour and a planned album. They join a long and storied tradition of bandmates suing one another, taking interpersonal and legal troubles from the recording studio to the courtroom. Here's a look at a few very famous cases. Jane's Addiction WHAT HAPPENED: Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery sued Farrell in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking at least $10 million, alleging that Farrell's behavior on their recent tour had ranged from erratic to out of control, culminating in an assault where Farrell punched Navarro both onstage and backstage. HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: It hasn't been; it's just getting started. Farrell and his wife, Etty Lau Farrell, sued the three bandmates in the same court Wednesday, blaming them for the conflict and the violence. The Beach Boys WHAT HAPPENED: How much time do you have? The late, great Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys' leader, feuded with his cousin and bandmate Mike Love over songwriting credits dating back decades. Love had sued Wilson several times, beginning in the 1990s. HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: Wilson often wasn't the victor — except in 2007, when U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins threw out one of Love's lawsuits against Wilson. In it, Love alleged that a free, 2004 promotional CD of re-recorded Beach Boys songs cost him millions of dollars and violated Love and Wilson's partnership. Oasis WHAT HAPPENED: The sibling rivalry between Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher is well established. Their brawls not only led to the band's dissolution in 2009, before their 2025 reunion, but also a legal upset. In 2011, Liam sued Noel for saying Liam's hangover caused the cancellation of a 2009 festival performance. He said in a statement that the lawsuit was not about money, but that he wanted an apology and for Oasis fans 'to know the truth' — that laryngitis prevented him from performing. HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: The lawsuit was dropped. Creedence Clearwater Revival WHAT HAPPENED: The post-breakup decades of Creedence Clearwater Revival were marked by so much legal and personal infighting that you might think CCR stands for Conflict, Clash, Repeat. In 1996, singer-songwriter-guitarist John Fogerty sued ex-bandmates Doug Clifford and Stu Cook for performing under the name Creedence Clearwater Revisited. That case settled in 2001, but the bandmates sued Fogerty in 2014, alleging he was violating the settlement by continuing to publicly slag off the Revisited name. And they said Fogerty himself was now illegally using Creedence Clearwater Revival in concert advertising. Fogerty sued back in 2015, saying Cook and Clifford weren't paying him proper songwriting royalties for their performances. HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: A federal court merged the two cases, and the resulting hybrid was settled under confidential terms in 2017. Fleetwood Mac WHAT HAPPENED: Fleetwood Mac and feuds are practically synonymous. Breakups and divorces between members are essential to some of their best songs. The conflict resumed in the 2010s when the band kicked lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham off their 2018 tour, and he sued. Buckingham claimed he was told five days after the group appeared at Radio City Music Hall that January that the band would tour without him. He says he would have been paid at least $12 million for his share of the proceeds. HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: Later that year, Buckingham said they had settled the lawsuit. Journey WHAT HAPPENED: At some point, two key members of Journey stopped believin' in each other. And all over an Amex. Longtime guitarist Neal Schon sued longtime keyboardist Jonathan Cain in 2022, saying Cain was refusing to let him use the band's American Express card. A counterclaim came from Cain, who said that Schon was running up enormous personal charges on the band's account. HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: A judge in 2024 appointed a custodian over the band's financial decisions, specifically empowered to settle disagreements between Schon and Cain. Hall & Oates Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. WHAT HAPPENED: In 2023, Daryl Hall sued his longtime music partner John Oates, arguing that Oates' plan to sell off his share of a joint venture would violate the terms of a business agreement the Hall & Oates duo had forged long before. The move quickly prompted a judge to temporarily block the sale. HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: The lawsuit and arbitration are ongoing. The Beatles WHAT HAPPENED: Their artistic partnership had been over for months, but the Beatles had to break out the barristers to break up their business. Paul McCartney went to London's High Court of Justice in 1970 to dissolve the Fab Four's 1967 contractual partnership, which included the Apple record label. McCartney above all wanted to get rid of manager Allen Klein, whom John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr wanted to keep as overseer of their business. 'The only way for me to save The Beatles and Apple,' McCartney told British GQ in 2020, 'was to sue the band.' HOW IT WAS RESOLVED: The court ruled in McCartney's favor and appointed a receiver to oversee their ventures in 1971. But negotiations and wrangling continued until a long-term solution that would become known as 'The Beatles Agreement' was signed by all four members in 1974.
CTV News
17-07-2025
- CTV News
‘How lucky am I?': Canadian singer Jann Arden shares news about girlfriend
Canadian singer Jann Arden, left, and author Thordis Elva are seen in this composite image. (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press, Simone Padovani/ Awakening / Getty Images) Canadian music legend Jann Arden, known for her hit '90s single 'Insensitive,' has gone public about her girlfriend. The Calgary-based singer-songwriter, 63, shared a photo Monday on Instagram of her girlfriend Thordis Elva hugging and kissing her on the cheek in what was described as a podcast outtake with 'Women In Media' host Sarah Burke. While Arden didn't provide details, the screenshot appeared to be taken from a recording of the 'Jann Arden Podcast.' The public showered Arden with positive comments. 'So heartwarming... Just look at those beaming smiles!' wrote a user with the handle @russrichards9. 'Look at Jann's smile!!!! She is so happy with you!!! Jann means the absolute world to me,' wrote a user with the handle @kathy_skipper. Burke, who is based in Toronto, wrote: 'lol just being witness to this is awesome.' 'Pure joy!' wrote Canadian designer Thomas Smythe. 'That shining smile says it all!' wrote memorygirl63. 'I have a completely unnatural amount of happiness for someone I have not yet met. Your Happiness is loud @jannarden and I am here for it!' wrote @shot_of_nik. Elva also shared the same podcast screenshot. 'POV: When you get asked 'so what's your favorite thing about Canada' and you decide to demonstrate,' she wrote. Under Elva's post, Arden added hearts with the comment: 'how lucky am I?' Elva, an Islandic author and gender equality activist, co-wrote the 2017 book 'South of Forgiveness: A True Story of Rape and Responsibility,' with Tom Stranger, who had sexually assaulted her when she was 16. She chronicled her journey of forgiveness years later by meeting Stranger in Cape Town, South Africa. She also spoke about the ordeal and reconciliation in a 2016 TED talk. Elva had previously posted about her relationship, sharing in a recent Instagram post a screenshot of what appeared to be an Icelandic article with the headline announcing that her girlfriend Arden is a 'world-famous Canadian pop star.' Tagging Arden, Elva wrote on July 8 that she was 'the lucky one.' Arden liked her post. Appearing to refer to the article in the screenshot, Elva wrote: 'Disclaimer: Google translate isn't great with Icelandic, and overzealously translated being in a relationship as 'getting engaged', but currently, our engagement is just in the great time we're having.' In another Instagram post on July 7 liked by Arden, Elva shared another screenshot showing her with a headline that she is 'over the moon in love.' 'According to several trusted news sources, the cat is out of the bag,' she wrote. 'I wonder who the 'unnamed' woman is?' Arden responded. Arden has won numerous awards, including eight Juno Awards, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2021. She also has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame and is a member of the Order of Canada. Arden released her 16th studio album of 1990s pop covers called 'Mixtape' earlier this year, and has branched out from music with work as a novelist, podcast host, and star of the CTV sitcom 'Jann.' In an interview published by The Canadian Press in 2019, Arden opened up about her sexuality, and the pressure of identifying under a label such as gay, straight or bisexual. 'I'm a fluid person, I always have been,' she was quoted as saying. She told The Canadian Press that her romantic interests are 'person specific,' and preferred to keep her relationships private.
CTV News
17-07-2025
- CTV News
Jane's Addiction bandmates sue each other over onstage fight that ended tour
Dave Navarro, left, and Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction perform during KAABOO 2017 at the Del Mar Racetrack and Fairgrounds on Sept. 16, 2017, in San Diego, Calif. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP) LOS ANGELES — The members of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction filed dueling lawsuits Wednesday over singer Perry Farrell's onstage scuffle with guitarist Dave Navarro at a Boston concert last year, prompting the cancellation of the rest of their reunion tour and a planned album. Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery sued Farrell in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking at least US$10 million, alleging that Farrell's behavior on the tour had ranged from erratic to out-of-control, culminating in the assault, where Farrell punched Navarro both on stage and backstage. 'With a series of swift blows, he single-handedly destroyed the name, reputation, trademark, and viability of the Band and those who built it,' their lawsuit says. Farrell and his wife, Etty Lau Farrell, sued the three bandmates in the same court Wednesday, blaming them for the conflict and the violence. 'Navarro, Avery and Perkins apparently decided,' the lawsuit says, 'that Jane's Addiction's decades of success should be jettisoned in pursuit of a yearslong bullying campaign against Farrell involving harassing him onstage during performances, including, among other tactics, trying to undermine him by playing their instruments at a high volume so that he could not hear himself sing.' The Farrells said that Navarro and Avery actually assaulted them. Perry Farrell said he was 'blindsided' when the other members canceled the remaining 15 shows of the tour and broke up the band without consulting him, costing all of them a great deal of money. And he said his bandmates defamed him by publicly saying after the fight that he had mental health problems. Jane's Addiction was an essential part of the Los Angeles music scene in the late 1980s with their combination of elements of punk, goth and psychedelic sounds and culture. They became a national phenomenon with hits including 'Jane Says' and 'Been Caught Stealing,' and through their founding of the Lollapalooza tour, whose first incarnations they headlined in 1991. The group broke up soon after but returned several times in various incarnations. The 2024 tour was the first time the original members had played together since 2010. Farrell missed all seven of the group's rehearsals in the run-up to the tour, his bandmate's lawsuit alleges, and his behavior during the early shows ranged from erratic to out-of-control. 'He struggled night to night amid public concern for his well-being and apparent intoxication,' their lawsuit says. 'Perry forgot lyrics, lost his place in songs he had sung since the 1980s, and mumbled rants as he drank from a wine bottle onstage.' The lawsuit says Farrell was given many solutions to the volume problem, none of which he followed. Then on Sept. 13 at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston in front of about 4,000 fans, videos partially captured Farrell lunging at Navarro and bumping Navarro with his shoulder before taking a swing at the guitarist with his right arm. Navarro is seen holding his right arm out to keep Farrell away before Farrell is dragged away. But Farrell's lawsuit says the 'video evidence is clear that the first altercation onstage during the Boston show was hardly one-sided.' It says Navarro was deliberately playing loud to drown out the singer, and 'what followed was an inappropriate violent escalation by Navarro and Avery that was disproportionate to Farrell's minor body check of Navarro.' Farrell alleges that when he was being restrained by a crew member, Avery punched him in the kidneys, and that both Avery and Navarro assaulted him and his wife backstage. Shortly after the fight, Farrell in a statement apologized to his bandmates, especially Navarro, for 'inexcusable behavior.' Both lawsuits allege assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract, among other claims. 'Now,' Navarro, Perkins and Avery's lawsuit says, 'the Band will never have their revival Tour, to celebrate a new album and 40+ years of deep, complex, chart-topping recordings. Instead, history will remember the Band as suffering a swift and painful death at the hands of Farrell's unprovoked anger and complete lack of self-control.' Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
