Who has not wanted to be a rock star or, failing that, a pop star. Presidential suites , champagne and long limousines that are too short next to that large line of groupies waiting, in adolescent effervescence, to see you do what you do best. Money, recognition, your minute of glory in the Hormiguero or La Resistencia and a healthy retirement based on merchandising income and remastering of your first album.

It seems easy, but there is a price to pay, something that makes many do not resist at the top and want more than anything in this world to withdraw or let themselves be separated. There we have the stress, the jealousy, the pressure of the companies, the harassment of the fans, the insane competition of egos, the endless sprees that begin to take their toll on your psyche, the distrust, paranoia and the lack of vitamin D for always live at night. For this reason, and although it seemed impossible, some great stars left their bands.

Robbie Williams and Take That

While it didn't hit much in the US , in Europe and his native UK Take That was a virtually religious experience. You could cross the street from teen to teen fanatic. They wanted to be like them, they wanted to marry them, they wanted to be a new member introduced in society at their next concert ... However, Robbie "Excesses" Williams said he was leaving there around 1995 .

Fans almost got a kick in unison. There was even talk of a super dedicated German fan who attempted suicide for it. And when Take That announced that they were not going to continue without Robbie, in the UK they had to set up a helpline to quell more fuss like the German one. "In prevention of new tragedies, British Take That fans have a phone line where they can vent their grief," El Pais published in 1996. And there is nothing more unpredictable than a groupie in shock .

All this schism caused by Robbie came because he felt that his ideas regarding the musical direction the band had to take were dismissed. He wanted more squishy, ​​velvety ballads and less hip-hop and rap. Who could blame him?

So he passed on from that contract that explicitly stated that if he left the boy band he had to drop £ 500,000 and told his teammates that he would leave the group when the tour was over that they were about to start.

Farrah Franklin and Destinys Child

Before Destiny's Child was the trio we all know, they went through various screens. Some members were kicked out of the lineup, but others like Farrah Franklin resigned on their own.

Franklin, originally, was only going to be an extra from the Bills, Bills, Bills video clip, but Beyoncé's father and manager of the set, Mathew Knowles , proposed to join. It would not last long, only six months. Beyoncé told the media that she was fired because she committed the irresponsibility of not showing up for promotional tours.

But obviously Franklin points to a totally different story. He explains that he fell into a terrible flu and that, despite his doctor's instructions, he returned to work. It was then, at a gathering of the gang, that everyone seemed unconcerned about her illness and mutinied against her. She felt trampled like never before and decided to quit.

After Destiny's Child, her career didn't seem to go anywhere. In fact, she was arrested numerous times for various small crimes. Perhaps that is why he has stated that he would not mind returning to the group if it decides to meet in the future.

Kevin Richardson and The Backstreet Boys

Surely the boy band that everyone thinks of when they think of a boy band . They melted all the sugary hearts of the nineties with their sicaliptic choreography and pop ballads. They stayed on high until one of its members could no longer.

Kevin Richardson , the best profiled knob of the decade, decided in 2006 to leave the band. According to him, it was necessary to do so to continue with the next chapter of his life. Or so he stated on his official website. On the part of his companions there was no reproach and they encouraged him to return when he wanted or could.

It was in 2012 when he returned to the ranks of the Backstreet Boys , declaring to the American show Access Hollywood that what happened in 2006 is that he felt that he had nothing left to say. Also, "there were some things he wanted to do with his own life," things like starting a family and being "normal" for a while.

And it went well for him, in 2007 he was a father and when a little more time passed he felt sufficiently "inspired" and "wanted to make music again".

Tom Delonge and Blink-182

Blink 182's guitars played throughout the turn of the millennium, made us jump and dance, and promised much more when, after a break, they came out looking forward to 2015. Soon, however, their guitarist Tom DeLonge announced to Rolling Stone that left the band indefinitely.

The guitarist was accused of postponing the recording of a new album with all the members until they finally received an email from their manager saying that he would not participate in the band anymore, he wanted to focus on other things not related to music.

What neither his gang nor the world knew is that DeLonge had a complex mission. In 2016, he assured the media that long tours did not leave him time to deal with a "national security issue": UFOs . Yes, so, finally free of his restraints, Tom was able to start investigating in order to expose all the hidden secrets related to the subject.

In an interview in 2019 he went on to assure that his goal is to reveal something that "will change the path humanity is on" and that will change the world for his children and those of everyone else. Clearly, he abandoned Blink-182 for the greater good. We love you, Tom.

Geri Halliwell and Spice Girls

And if, despite the success, the Backstreet Boys had the loss of a member, why not the Spice Girls , their feminine and spicy counterpoint. They burst onto the scene in 1996 but within a few years they were already nails and with problems with Geri , who announced that he was leaving the group.

And he announced it in the midst of the total success of a world tour. She said that it is over, that there were many differences between them and that in reality nothing happened because she was sure that the group would continue to have popularity. "I wish you the best". And although he also stated that he had no immediate plans for his career, it didn't take him a year to release a solo album.

Geri has given several versions of this soon that he gave. In a 2007 documentary he spoke of a kind of epiphany he had on stage: "I had given everything I could. I felt like I no longer belonged to any group. They no longer needed me, actually, and I definitely felt very redundant." But in another interview with Vanity Fair in 2010, according to her, it all came because she asked to do a solo interview on breast cancer and was told she couldn't do it. So, of course, he had to leave the band.

Zayn Malik and One Direction

One Direction , that band, that since you are from another generation you have not found out that it ever existed, was a success for the youngest. A British singing contest created them in 2010 almost as a poignant canned product set to succeed, but five years later, and after peaking, Zayn , one of its members, suddenly decides to quit. "I'm leaving because I want to be a normal 22-year-old boy who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight."

His former teammates said in a television interview that One Direction was never really Zayn's style and that their taste for music was different from what they really did, which is why he may have abandoned it.

But in 2016 , Zayn opened his mouth to emphasize how difficult it was to be psychologically in this boy band . He announced to the Complex medium that they would not let him grow his beard or dye his hair. They nicknamed him "the mysterious" , but it was simply because the production did not allow him to speak in public. And of course, this and the feeling of not being authentic and free because it frustrates.

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