Getting fired sucks, even if you’re a rock star.
Happily, these nine famous musicians were able to overcome the sting of rejection and not only bounce back, but climb higher than their former bandmates. Bet that felt pretty good, huh?
One of the most famous examples of this phenomenon began on April 27, 1979, when the other three members of Black Sabbath decided they had to fire singer Ozzy Osbourne.
“It was obvious that [drummer] Bill [Ward] had been sent by the others, because he wasn’t exactly the firing type,” Osbourne recalled in his book I Am Ozzy. “I can’t remember exactly what he said to me … but the gist was [that] …I was a pissed, coked-up loser and a waste of time for everyone concerned.”
Read More: 18 Famous Rock Stars Whose Solo Careers Flopped
Although the new-look Black Sabbath initially did quite well with their new lead singer Ronnie James Dio, Osbourne shocked the music world by recruiting a new guitar god named Randy Rhoads and releasing two albums that blew Sabbath out of the water, in sales terms.
Osbourne went on to become one of the most famous hard rock stars of all time, while Sabbath languished in relative obscurity until reuniting with Ozzy for a series of tours decades later.
You’ll find eight more stories of scorned rock stars turning the tables on their former bandmates below.
Rock Stars Who Were Fired and Then Outshined Their Former Bands
These musicians didn’t give up after getting sent packing.
Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
Some quick notes: We left David Crosby’s dismissal from the Byrds off this list because the Byrds’ commercial success and influence is at least an equal match to what Crosby accomplished after being fired.
We also skipped over artists and bands who did not release any songs or albums together, or where there is too much dispute about whether the departing artist quit or got fired.
