We’ve seen bands like The Stones and The Roses reunite in recent times, some with more success than others.
Whether it was money, cravings for fame or sheer passion that spurred them to recoil as groups, we love hearing our favourite songs played live once again. You can’t mistake that feeling when you hear Satisfaction or I Am The Resurrection. As if there was a sound that beats vinyl but from the band themselves. The reignition of what it was that got you into those bands in the first place, you feel young again, invincible, your ears pulsing with nostalgia. Surely there’s nothing better than your idols stepping back upon the stage once again. Or is there?
Let’s take a look back to Glastonbury Festival 2013. It was the Rolling Stones who headlined for the first time in their 50 year career, weeks previous there was so much excitement yet uncertainty. Could they perform like they did in the 60s at the age of 60 something? The answer was no. They were not alone on the stage, they had helping hands to play the instruments, their display didn’t seem to have that fire that they had in their 20s, with members missing and age clearly showing. But aren’t these just facts of life? Who are we to judge, we all get old on the outside, rarely on the inside. Any chance to feel 18 again we grab it. Should that chance however, be taken when what was honest has gone. Bands split because they no longer function, people don’t get on, creativity comes to a halt, people naturally veer off into their separate ways with solo careers and the like. One thing was evident however, despite all this, they still had it. They could still put on a mind blowing performance for thousands of people. Jagger was still as lively as ever and they were all too cool for the rest of us.
Reforming bands do not only concern the fans from the beginning. They introduce new fans to their music. Here’s where the hostility comes in. Anyone born the latter side of the bands split are deemed exempt from ever possibly liking their music. With the availability of music these days its not impossible to be Ian Brown’s biggest fan at the age of 16. The newbies keep the flame alive, passed from generation to generation. Good music doesn’t die out. Its always there in its raw form and in the form of new music inspired by those gone by.
‘I don’t know a single person who wants a Smiths reunion’ said Morrissey earlier this year. The Charming Man singer put any hopes of a reunion firmly in the past. The Smiths are a previous chapter in his life and he wants to move on and push his solo career forward. Johnny Marr is doing just as well with his solo career, if something isn’t broken then why fix it.
Oasis Reunion? The Smiths reunion? Who would say no? Even after you’ve spent your hard earned 200 pounds on a ticket for a band to be older and decide to write new material that doesn’t quite live up. All of that is irrelevant, we are still blown away. We will always have an emotional connection to them and when they’re not as one, we push and keep pushing for a reunion. As annoying as that may be for the band members, we as fans know what we want. However, as the Stones once said, You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
Watch The Rolling Stones – You Can’t Always Get What You Want from Glastonbury 2013 below:
