Daryl Hall, one half of the famed rock duo Hall and Oates, shared insight into the bitter fallout with his former bandmate John Oates, five years on from their shock split.
The legendary pair, known for hits like “Rich Girl” and “Private Eyes”, had worked together since 1967 until what Daryl called “the ultimate betrayal.”
Speaking to The Sunday Times, the hitmaker opened up about his feud with John, revealing that they were unlikely to ever reunite.
“That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean. I’ve had a lot of surprises in my life, disappointments, betrayals, so I’m kind of used to it,” he said.
He continued: “I’ve been involved with some pretty shady characters over the years. That’s where the problems start.”
Daryl added that it was “very frustrating” to not get credit for the amount of hits he wrote during their time together.
© WireImage“The songs with [John’s] lead vocal are the songs he wrote, and all the other ones, which is about 90 per cent, are the ones I wrote,” he shared with the publication.
This comes after the 78-year-old filed a lawsuit against John in 2023 to prevent him from selling the publishing rights to their music; the judge ruled in Daryl’s favor, prompting a response from his bandmate.
“Daryl has always wanted to be his own man. [I wanted] to give him the opportunity to do that. If I sell my half, he can do what he wants,” John said on Good Morning America.
© Getty ImagesHe added that the bitter fallout from their relationship breakdown forced him to step aside. “It was kinda ruining my life, to be honest with you. I wasn’t happy. I just [stepped] aside. People do it all the time,” he said.
He added: “You look at all the artists who are selling all their catalogues. It’s pretty common. It’s not that big a deal. But Daryl didn’t like the idea that I would sell to a certain third party.”
John revealed that despite working together for several decades, the pair were not close and would only spend time together at work.
© FilmMagic“We’ve always looked at ourselves as individuals working together,” he said. “And I felt like I had the right to [sell the music]. But, you know, he didn’t.”
“We never really talked to each other very much,” he recalled. “Over the past 20 years, we’d show up at a show individually, walk on stage, play, and then we’d go our separate ways…it really wasn’t as tight as people might, you know, would like to imagine in their, kind of a fantasy imagination of our relationship.”
Despite their bitter feud following the lawsuit, John shared with GMA that there was a possibility that the beloved duo would reunite once the dust had settled.
© FilmMagic“I love you like a brother, if I’m talking to him directly, but you know what? Brothers have disagreements, families grow apart,” he said.
“I would say, I wish him the best. I hope that he has everything he wants in life. And that he can pursue his dream of being a respected solo artist, which I believe is something that he’s always wanted.”
