The low-end lifers who got booted, bruised, or just plain blankedโฆ
Being a bassist is a thankless job sometimes. You’re holding it down in the background while the singer throws tantrums and the guitarist tries to mate with their pedalboard. But what happens when your own bandmates canโt stand you? Whether it was creative clashes, wild behaviour, or just bad luck, these 10 bassists found themselves on the outs with the very bands they helped build. Letโs crank it up and dive inโฆ ๐ค
1. Jason Newsted โ Metallicaโs โNewkidโ Who Never Graduated
After Cliff Burtonโs tragic death, Jason Newsted stepped into the lionโs denโand promptly got his head bitten off. Metallica hazed the poor lad for years, burying his bass in the …And Justice for All mix and treating him like a roadie who wandered into the studio. Despite sticking around for over a decade and co-founding Newsted, his departure in 2001 screamed: โIโve had enough, lads.โ The metal gods never gave him a proper welcomeโjust a long, cold shoulder.
โI was never really in Metallica.โ โ Jason Newsted ๐ข
2. Michael Anthony โ The Nice-Guy Outsider in the Van Halen Clan
Michael Anthony had the best backing vocals in rock and a bass tone fatter than Eddieโs guitar stackโbut he was still treated like the spare wheel on the Van Halen tour bus. Eddie later claimed Mike “didnโt even play on some records” and was “just a hired hand.” Cold. Despite decades of loyal service, he was booted in favour of Wolfgang Van HalenโEddieโs sonโproving that in Van Halen, blood runs thicker than basslines. ๐ฉธ
3. Kim Deal โ The Pixiesโ Spark Who Out-Shone the Boss
Frank Black mayโve been the brains, but Kim Deal was the beating heart of The Pixies. Her vocals and bass work lit up Gigantic and gave the band a mystique Frank couldnโt match. So of course, tension brewed. Power struggles and ego clashing led to her being pushed to the sidelines, then eventually out the door. She went on to shine with The Breeders, leaving Frank to sulk in his Black Francis cave. ๐
4. Dโarcy Wretzky โ Pumpkin Turned Scapegoat
The Smashing Pumpkins were basically a Billy Corgan solo project disguised as a band. Dโarcy was a founding member, but by the late โ90s, she was outโsidelined by inner turmoil and substance issues (and letโs be real, Billyโs control freakery). Corgan claimed she โquit,โ Dโarcy said she was ousted, and fans just mourned the original lineupโs magic. ๐
5. Glen Matlock โ The Sex Pistolsโ Songsmith Too Tuneful for Anarchy
Matlock helped write God Save The Queen and Anarchy in the UKโpunkโs very DNA. But according to the Pistols, he liked The Beatles too much and washed his feet too often. Seriously. Legend has it he was fired for being โtoo clean.โ John Lydon later admitted: โHe left because he was tired of all the bullshit.โ Fair, tbh. Sid Vicious mayโve looked cooler, but Glen could actually play. ๐
6. Dee Dee Ramone โ Heart, Soul, and Headache of the Bruddahs
Dee Dee was the Ramones. He wrote most of the songs, screamed the slogans, and lived the chaos. But his drug problems, unpredictable behaviour, and desire to be a rapper (remember Dee Dee King?!) strained even the most dysfunctional punk family. He left in โ89, though his legacy still looms large over CBGBโs ghost. Gabba Gabba goodbye. ๐ง ๐
7. Kim Gordon โ When the Band Is a Marriage
Kim Gordon was Sonic Youth, both figuratively and literallyโmarried to Thurston Moore and holding down the groove with style and fury. But when their marriage crumbled, so did the band. Kim was done not just with Thurston, but with Sonic Youth altogether. It wasnโt hatred from the band, but a deep heartbreak that ended one of indie rockโs most iconic partnerships. ๐๐ธ
8. David Ellefson โ Megadethโs Co-Founder Caught in Mustaineโs Revolving Door
Being in Megadeth is like surviving Squid Game. Ellefson co-founded the band, got fired, came back, and then got very publicly kicked again in 2021 after a scandal. Dave Mustaine is infamous for his control issues, and Ellefsonโs dismissal had the stink of a PR axe swinging fast. Mustaineโs quotes ranged from โItโs not personalโ to โI had no choice,โ but it sure didnโt sound like brotherhood. โ ๏ธ๐ฏ
9. Ron McGovney โ Metallicaโs Placeholder Who Funded the Dream
The original Metallica bassist, McGovney was more wallet than wall-of-sound. He fronted the money, drove the van, and put up with a lot of Larsโ nonsense. Problem? He couldnโt keep up musically and didnโt mesh with the bandโs wild ambition. Enter Cliff Burton. Ron was out before the first album dropped, and his legacy is more โguy who owned the gearโ than โmetal icon.โ Still, someone had to pay the bills early on. ๐ธ
10. Paul Simonon โ The Clashโs Icon Who Smashed the Moment, Not the Band
That bass smash on the cover of London Calling? Thatโs Paul. He was the visual and punk heartbeat of The Clash, but behind the scenes, he wasnโt always in sync with the band’s political drive and creative shifts. Mick and Joe were pulling one way, Paul another. By the end, things were fractious as hell. He wasnโt hatedโbut things werenโt exactly rock the casbah behind the curtain either. ๐ชฉ๐ฅ
๐ค Honourable Mentions:
- Bill Wyman (The Rolling Stones) โ Felt like a ghost in the worldโs loudest band.
- Tom Hamilton (Aerosmith) โ Often undercut by the toxic twinsโ power plays.
- Andy Rourke (The Smiths) โ Financially shafted despite giving the groove.
- Pete Farndon (The Pretenders) โ Fired before his tragic death due to drug issues.
๐ง Low-end thunder doesn’t mean you’re loved, mun. Sometimes being the bassist is like being the drummer’s emotional support animalโthere, dependable, but invisible until it all blows up.
Would these bassists make it onto your fantasy โFired But Fabulousโ supergroup? Let us know and weโll draft a cartoon banner faster than Lars Ulrich suing Napster. ๐คช๐ธ
