The history of rock and roll has multiple instances of reunions of classic rock bands but, unfortunately for fans, most of them are short-lived. Take some recent cases, for instance. One of the all-time classic rockers, Led Zeppelin, broke up immediately on the demise of founder member, drummer Jon Bonham. Thereafter, the surviving three members re-formed for a concert in December 2007. With accolades received from both fans and critics alike, not considering the millions in monies offered for a comprehensive tour thereafter, there was sufficient reason for guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones to consider a reunion, but vocalist Robert Plant showed no interest in doing so.
Journey, the US band does not seem to ever tire in journeying around the world and their songs continue to blast radios everywhere, especially Don’t Stop Believin’, which became a hit first time around in 1981 and, even as of November 2011, is the top-selling catalogue track on iTunes! That’s not all; the song closes the Rock Of Ages movie, which further enhances the band’s reputation. Nevertheless, in returning to Journey, the band formed by ex-Santana guitarist Neal Schon, has been without popular vocalist Steve Perry since 1998 and, for many dedicated fans, Journey has never been the same without him!
Similarly, the line-up of vocalist Sammy Hagar with the other members of Van Halen provided the band their best-selling albums ever since founding member, vocalist David Lee Roth, decided to go solo. Once Hagar also left, in 1995, he was replaced by Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone, but the collaboration with Van Halen was short-lived. The band felt that they required their previous vocalist, Hagar, back and he did rejoin in 2004, but in under a year, Hagar was history...again. As of now, original vocalist Roth is back at the helm with guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang, playing bass since 2006 in lieu of Michael Anthony.
Genesis, the British band whose first claim to fame arrived through vocalist Peter Gabriel — an artiste who I saw performing live as a solo artiste in New Delhi in 1988 as part of the Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now! inter-continental tour — achieved new heights with drummer Phil Collins taking on the role of vocalist. That, of course, fell apart when he left in 1997. A chance meeting between Collins and his former mates during his First Final Farewell Tour in 2005 in Glasgow, resulted in a full-fledged re-formation in 2007. By the end of that year, though, Collins had dislocated vertebrae in his neck causing nerve damage to his hands and making it impossible for him to drum any more. Genesis, as of now, is history.
The legendary Cream — featuring guitarist Eric Clapton — had a two-year career that ended in 1968 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. In 2005, the trio re-formed for successful concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall and, subsequently, at the Garden again. While rumours abound about Cream performing together again, for all practical purposes, it appears unlikely. “My heart has gone out of it,” admitted Clapton.
Closer home, one-time Rock Machine-turned-Indus Creed finally disbanded in 1997, with members forming splinter bands with names ranging from Alms For Shanti to Whirling Kalapas, but they all paled in comparison to the re-formed Indus Creed with original members, vocalist Uday Benegal, guitarist Mahesh Tinaikar, and keyboardist Zubin Balaporia, re-forming the band with bass player Rushad Mistry and drummer Jai Row Kavi. The newly-formed Indus Creed relaunched themselves on October 7, 2010 at Mumbai’s Hard Rock Cafe.
On June 28, 2012 at Mumbai’s Blue Frog, Indus Creed officially released their first album in over 15 years on the Universal Music label, Evolve, which is certainly one of the best albums ever recorded by an Indian band and, if one listens to its contemporary sound, this re-formed band appears here to stay. While I would like to describe the album as “progressive alternative rock”, I just hope that I don’t need to wait for another 17 years or so to listen to a follow-up. Meanwhile, the only other band that seems to have become permanent are the Eagles, who broke up in July 1980, but reunited in 1994 and have toured intermittently since. I was fortunate to see the band perform live in Dubai in April earlier this year with their mainstays, drummer Don Henley and guitarist Glenn Frey, still sounding much like they did since the band formed in 1971.
The writer has been part of the media and entertainment business for over 23 years, still continues to pursue his hobby, and earns an income out of it