Bands That Reunited Without Their Lead Singer
“Let’s get the band back together” is a rock ’n’ roll cliché, yet it has remained a difficult task for some of the world’s most legendary groups, as you'll see in the following list of bands that reunited without their lead singer.
In fact, a number of the highest-profile bands have reformed without the inclusion of the act’s most famous voice – and, usually, face – out front. To be clear, however, rock history is rife with examples of bands that traded one frontman for another – AC/DC, Van Halen, Journey, Queen and many more. But you won’t find those bands in this gallery, because none of them ever broke up.
Instead, we’re focusing on groups that disbanded, then – after months, years or decades – decided to reunite but were unable to round-up the lead singer who helped give the band an identity.
In so many cases, this was the result of the untimely death of the band’s singer. Ronnie Van Zant, Kurt Cobain and Phil Lynott couldn’t have reunited with their old mates, even if they wanted to. Other instances can be chalked up to bad blood (Creedence Clearwater Revival), musical differences (Talking Heads), illness (Yes) or plain-old bad timing. And some reunited bands eventually welcomed those famous frontmen back to the lineup, years down the road.
Here's a look at groups that tried to put the puzzle back together without all of the pieces present. Keep scrolling for our list of bands that reunited without their lead singer.