10 stars who broke away from their original groups in search of success in their own right Dusty Springfield Son of A Preacher Man [1969] Perhaps the greatest white soul singer of her time, Dusty Springfield's impeccable voice and adaptability ensured that her music transcended her image as a ‘60s fashionista in the decades that followed. Along with her brother, Springfield was in British folk trio The Springfields (from which she took her name) and enjoyed early success when the band became one of the UK’s best-selling.
Shortly after they cracked the US top ten, the singer quit to pursue a solo career, allegedly after seeing the power and soulfulness of the Motown acts. Her quintessential 1969 'blue-eyed soul' album Dusty in Memphis sealed her reputation as an all-time great and spawned this classic hit – a pop gem that showcases Springfield's sultry voice over sparse guitars, slinky basslines, pared back drums and horns that simmer in the mix. Its use by Quentin Tarantino in the ‘90s classic Pulp Fiction continued Springfield's legacy for a new generation.
Peter Gabriel Solsbury Hill [1977] The story goes that Peter Gabriel – eccentric frontman of progressive rock band Genesis – was sitting atop a hill minding his own business, when he was struck by an epiphany: quit the band, go solo, and name your debut single after that very hill. "I was feeling part of the scenery, " sings Gabriel, who used to dress as a tree as part of Genesis's increasingly experimental performances. "I fell right out of the machinery, my heart going boom boom boom.
" Opening with delicate acoustic guitars, panpipes and a gently thumping bass drum, the song builds and builds, morphing into an energized concoction of overdriven guitars, tribal rhythms and strange vocal noises; the sound of a free artist about to do great things with his newfound independence. Rod Stewart Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? [1978] With a voice like that, Rod Stewart was always going to be a huge pop star. Even when performing in The Faces – which included Ronnie Wood (later of the Rolling Stones) – Stewart was releasing solo material simultaneously, often causing friction within the group.
Playing sloppy-drunk rock and roll, the Faces were a rag-tag bunch of likely lads – an image that didn’t fit too well with Stewart’s ambitions to be a bigger star. They held things together until 1976, when they released their brilliant final album Ooh La La , after which Stewart concentrated on his solo efforts, embarking on a career that would turn him into one of the biggest pop stars of all time. But gone were the days of his folk-influenced work like 1971’s ‘Maggie May’ – it was time for Disco Rod. ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?’ became a huge hit, throwing disco beats, saxophone and clean pop production into the mix.
If you need to get the grandmas on the dancefloor, you can bet this track will do the job! Michael Jackson Billie Jean [1983] One of pop’s most iconic stars was already famous by the time he broke away from The Jackson 5 (by then called The Jacksons) in pursuit of a solo career. But that didn’t stop him going on to achieve unprecedented levels of success. Certainly his hitpacked back catalogue was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, but Jackson also broke down racial barriers, transformed the previously contrived music video format into an artform, and (let’s not forget) popularised the ‘moonwalk’ .
You just know that when Billie Jean’s signature bass line drops and that groove kicks in, your dance-floor will fill; the King of Pop’s tale of parental denial is, according to keyboard player Greg Phillinganes, “hot on every level [...] It affects you physically, emotionally, even spiritually.” Sting Englishman In New York [1988] The Police, one of pop’s ultimate power trios, were once pronounced ‘The Biggest Band in The World’ by the press, following their sold out Shea Stadium gigs at the height of their pop culture power in 1983.
Sting, understandably, felt that they’d “reached their Everest,” as he put it. So, he stuck the band on hiatus, abandoned their sixth album, and decided to enjoy the musical freedom his fame had given him. Sting’s first effort was a jazz-fusion project, but there was always a pop edge to his work and his second album, …Nothing But the Sun, found UK number one. ‘Englishman In New York’ soon became the musician’s best-known solo track, combining reggae rhythms, plucked strings, jazzy saxophone lines and quintessentially British lyrics (“I don’t drink coffee, I take tea, my dear”) to perfectly capture the sense of ‘foreigness’ felt by the song’s subject – the eccentric gay icon Quentin Crisp – when he first moved to New York.
It’s a Sting classic, but just one of many – the singer has sold 350 million records worldwide. Ice Cube It Was a Good Day [1992] A dispute over royalties, rather than creative differences, caused legendary rapper Ice Cube to quit the pioneering gangster rap group NWA. Despite being dissed by Dr Dre and Eazy-E after he left, Ice Cube embarked on a successful solo career, creating two defining hip-hop albums of the 1990s ( AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted and Death Certificate) and pushing the genre into the mainstream, thus sealing his status as a hip-hop icon.
But it was his 1993 single ‘It Was a Good Day’ that gave him his biggest chart success, performing well in both the mainstream and rap charts. Over loose, laidback beats and a melancholy Isley Brothers sample, Ice Cube raps about a blissful day spent cruising around South Central LA. A signature track of the gangsta rap genre, the song is considered one of the greatest hip-hop tracks of all time. Robbie Williams Angels [1997] One of the world’s biggest pop stars, Robbie Williams was essentially kicked out of ‘90s poster boys Take That (though he voluntarily left) due to ongoing substance problems.
Williams wanted to party a little too much for Gary Barlow and chums’ liking, but what Williams saw as a lack of willingness to explore other genres (such as hip-hop and rock) was another factor. He kicked off his solo career with a cover of George Michael’s ‘Freedom’ but you could argue it was this epic track that sealed his legendary status. “Angels is the song that defines me,” Williams told the New Zealand Herald back in 2010. “I'm still searching for another one like that [...] the one that transcends everything and hits people's hearts.” ‘Angels’ began an impressive string of UK chart hits for Williams (in order): ‘Angels’ (#4), ‘Let Me Entertain You’ (#3), ‘Millennium’ (#1), ‘No Regrets’ (#4), ‘Strong’ (#4), ‘She’s The One’ (#1), ‘Rock DJ’ (#1) and ‘Kids’ (#2).
So take that, Take That. Fatboy Slim Praise You [1998] His stage name itself is a contradiction, so it’s little surprise that one of the world’s biggest DJs actually started out playing bass in an indie band from Hull. Despite finding the top of the UK charts with their a cappella version of 'Caravan of Love' , The Housemartins eventually disbanded. But while frontman Paul Heaton's project, The Beautiful South, may have become beloved by the indie crowds, Fatboy Slim was the one who became a true superstar, reinventing himself as a DJ/producer with an enviable record collection.
His classic second album, You've Come A Long Way, Baby , helped pioneer the 'big beat' dance sound of the late 1990s, mining the pop music canon for eclectic samples and laying them over breakbeats that dominated the mix. It was the decidedly odd 'Praise You' that served as the album's highlight, utilising a prominent vocal sample from Camille Yarbrough's 'Take Yo' Praise' , a funky bassline composed by Cook himself, and that iconic opening piano riff to give Fatboy Slim his first UK number one.
Justin Timberlake Cr y Me a River [2003] This legendary pop track marked the first collaboration between Justin Timberlake and renowned producer Timberland, a duo that would dominate the pop charts for much of the 2000s. Before all of that, Timberlake did of course hone his craft in the hugely successful boy band *NSYNC – but the group wasn’t creatively satisfying enough for the ambitious young star. In 2018, he told the Hollywood Reporter: “I was growing out of it.
I felt like I cared more about the music than some of the other people in the group. And I felt like I had other music I wanted to make.” His 2002 debut album, Justified , spawned the hit singles ‘Like I Love You’ , ‘Rock Your Body’ and ‘Cry Me A River’ . Timbaland’s deft production showcased Timberlake’s silky smooth vocals over beatboxing and epic strings to create a true R&B classic. When producing the 2017 coming-of-age comedy, Lady Bird (set in 2003), director Greta Gerwig sent Timberlake a letter asking for permission to use ‘Cry Me A River’ in the film.
She said, “Your album Justified was that year, and it owned that year.” Job done. Beyoncé Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) [2008] If you'll excuse the pun, Beyoncé was always destined to be more than Destiny's Child. In retrospect, the singer's chart-topping R&B group was really just her getting started. Flying solo, she started by releasing one of the defining tracks of the 2000s with 'Crazy In Love' and what followed was a string of critically and commercially successful albums that have pushed the boundaries of what pop music can be and do.
Drawing on hip-hop, rock, R&B, pop, folk and spoken word to deliver poignant political messages, her 2016 album, Lemonade , showed just how far Beyoncé had developed as an artist. For many fans, however, her defining moment will always be I Am… Sasha Fierce , which gave us pop gems like 'Halo' , and 'Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)' . Like many things Beyoncé does, the latter track was a pop culture 'moment' , spawning a dance craze and popularising the term 'put a ring on it' as a euphemism for proposal.
Beckoning single ladies (and men) to the dancefloor since 2008, it's a floor-filler to this day, pairing minimal but solid beats with strange, sliding synth sounds, powerful vocal hooks, and that killer call-and-response chorus. Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) By 2002, relations had started to turn sour in the hugely successful Backstreet Boys. Carter decided to pursue a solo career, releasing his moderately successful album Now Or Never later that same year.
But when the Backstreet Boys decided to reunite and record another album in 2004, Carter jumped straight back on board, having reconciled with the band in 2003 out of solidarity with AJ McLean, who was recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Victoria Beckham (Spice Girls) Out of all the Spice Girls, it was Posh who had the highest hopes of solo success, especially given her high-profile marriage to one of England’s greatest ever footballers. The fame was already there, but that didn’t stop her debut album, Victoria Beckham , from flopping, selling just 50,000 copies.
The singles fared a little better (‘Out Of Your Mind’ reached UK #2 and ‘Not Such An Innocent Girl’ cracked the top ten) but in Posh’s defence, she was up against stiff competition: ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)’ and ‘Can’t Get Your Out of My Head’ – two modern pop classics. Matt Willis (Busted) Fame can be cruel; it giveth and it taketh away. Finding success as a teen pop-punk rocker in Busted, bassist Matt Willis nosedived into drug addiction and undertook a brief stint in rehab after the band split up in 2005.
Launching his solo career in 2006, Willis’ debut album Don't Let It Go to Waste was a commercial flop (UK #66) and he has yet to release another record. However, you may remember him from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, which he won in 2006. Three Solo Flops
