We have decided to review history and select ten of the most important comebacks in the history of music. Below are the 10 Incredible Classic Rock Comeback Stories:
#10 – AC/DC
It is possibly one of the most legendary comebacks in music history. The Australian group was enjoying the jars of honey of the success obtained by the album ‘Highway to Hell’, the sublime album released in 1979 that had consecrated them as true eminences of Rock and Roll.
However, in February of the following year, Bon Scott, lead singer of the band, died of suffocation from his own vomit, after experiencing alcohol poisoning. It was a very hard blow, so big that the members of the group made the decision to continue because Bon’s own parents encouraged them to do so.
Naturally, many would have ended the band. However, months after the fateful event, Brian Johnson joined them and together they released in July 1980 the album ‘Back In Black, a work that was a clear tribute to Scott.
#9 – Deep Purple
The British group was conceived in 1968 as a band in which different musicians entered and left periodically. This has meant that, throughout its history, there have been up to eight different formations.
However, one of them has stood out considerably. The Mark II formation, which released great works such as ‘Deep Purple In Rock’ (1970), ‘Fireball’ (1971), and ‘Machine Head’ (1972). In the latter, we find legendary songs like ‘Smoke on the Water’ and ‘Highway Star’.
In 1973 they would release the last album of this formation, ‘Who Do We Think We Are, and from that moment there would be two more different formations until 1976, the year in which the purple project put the handbrake on.
However, Deep Purple returned to the stage in 1984, under the formation of Mark II released the album ‘Perfect Strangers’, which eased the wait for fans of the band and rock and roll. It was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable comebacks in music history.
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#8 – Queen (Live Aid 1985)
The double world concert, held simultaneously in Philadelphia (USA) and London, had an audience of 1.9 billion people in a total of 150 countries, according to CNN, and is considered one of the largest days in the history of music.
The music elite participated in that event. From Status Quo, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, and Elton John; to Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Steve Wonder, through Neil Young, Black Sabbath, Run-DMC, Dire Straits, and BB King, among many others.
Queen’s performance, which many have known from the movie ‘Bohemian Rhapsody, was one of the best in living memory. It was also one of the first concerts the band gave after the release of Freddie Mercury’s first solo album. It was a smash hit.
#7 – The Who (Live Aid 1985)
On the other hand, one of the bands that got together expressly to participate in Live Aid was The Who. The British group had decided to disband in 1983, after having spent almost 20 years on stage, but returned to participate in the historic event.
#6 – Bad Religion
The legendary American punk icon band had somewhat complex beginnings. While their first album, ‘How could Hell be any worse?’ (1982), received rave reviews, their second work, ‘Into the Unknown’ (1983), was an absolute fiasco.
The reception was so bad that the following year they released the EP ‘Back to the Known’, a work that tried to reconnect with their fans. But the consequences of the failure were profound and caused the dissolution of the band.
However, the members met again in 1988, the year in which they released their third album, ‘Suffer’, which marked the redemption of the band. In addition, this album is considered one of the best eighties punk albums.
#5 – Lynyrd Skynyrd
There are times when luxury and lavishness don’t prevent misfortune from hitting a successful rock band. In 1977, just 3 days after releasing the album ‘Street Survivors’, the band dreams suffered a plane crash in which three of the seven members of the band (Ronnie Van Zant and the Gaines brothers), the manager of the band, died. herself, the pilot, and the copilot.
After the terrible tragedy, the surviving members of the group disbanded the band and agreed that they would never work together again. However, ten years later, the band got together to perform a tribute concert for those who died from the plane crash. The group was joined, among other musicians, by Ronnie Van Zant’s little brother, Johnny, as a vocalist.
After that exciting concert, they decided to continue and in 1991 they released the first album since ‘Street Survivors’, called ‘Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991’. Currently, the band is still active.
#4 – John Frusciante
The relationship between drugs and music has always been very close. It has become an inspiration for many artists, but also a downfall for many others.
One of the musicians who lived very hard times due to drugs was John Frusciante. The famous Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist had to leave the Californian band in 1992 due to deep personal wear and tear, greatly aggravated by his addiction to heroin.
The success achieved by the band after the release, in 1991, of the magnificent ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’ was not well managed by Frusciante, who left the band the following year, after numerous fights with the rest of the members, especially with Anthony Kiedis.
It took six years for Frusciante to enter a rehab center. During that period, in which he published two albums, he suffered a brutal deterioration process. However, after recovering, he returned to the band, and together they recorded ‘Californication’, an album released in 1999.
#3 – Iron Maiden
‘Iron Maiden’ has had several vocalists throughout its life, but the most relevant of all has been Bruce Dickinson. The British singer left the band in 1993, three years after Adrian Smith, one of the group’s guitarists, left the British line-up.
It wasn’t until 1999 that the two artists rejoined Iron Maiden. The following year, they released ‘Brave New World’, and since then they have released four studio albums, seven live and five compilations.
#2 – Led Zeppelin
On December 10, 2007, one of the best bands in history decided to come together to honor Ahmet Ertegün, the founder of the Atlantic Records label, who had passed away at the end of the previous year. The London band was linked to this label from the launch of their first album in 1969 until 1975 when they began working with their own label.
However, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones considered it a very special occasion, so they decided to return to the stage once more, after almost 30 since their last concert. Of course, to replace the irreplaceable John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham they had the services of his son: Jason. It was a historic event.
#1 – Black Sabbath
In 2013, the fathers of heavy metal re-released a studio album with the great Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, 35 years after the singer’s departure.
Between 2016 and 2017, the band went on a farewell tour called ‘The End’, which put the finishing touch to almost 50 years since the riffs of Tommy Iomi and the voice of Ozzy sounded for the first time on the self-titled album, recorded in his native Birmingham.