We take a look at some of the bands who we’d love to see reunite in 2021 and help the music industry get back on track.
Let’s be honest: we all love a reunion. TV fans have been foaming at the mouth over Friends returning to our screens; when The Stone Roses reunited in 2012, lads across the U.K. rejoiced.
COVID-19 effectively shut down the music industry for most of 2020, causing touring to stop and artists to struggle. 2021, then, needs to be the year it comes back hard, and there’s no bigger money-spinner than a reunion concert.
Just imagine if The Smiths got back together to play the entirety of The Queen Is Dead: they’d probably make enough money to singlehandedly support the music industry through another worldwide pandemic.
Take a look at our list below to see 5 other bands that we’d love to see reunite this year. And we’ve decided to leave The Smiths off, because Morrissey’s presumably too busy being problematic to even meet up with Johnny Marr and co. for a pint.
Oasis
We may as well get the obvious one out of the way. The Britpop icons endured one of the most bitter splits of any band in 2009, brotherly love between the Gallagher pair nowhere to be seen. They went their separate ways, Liam forming Beady Eye with most members of Oasis while Noel went solo with his High Flying Birds outfit.
Now, over a decade since they broke up, an Oasis reunion might be closer than ever. Liam, always the brother more inclined to the idea of reforming, closed 2020 with a heartfelt tweet to his brother. If we were in Noel’s shoes, we’d be jumping at the chance: the money Oasis would make even if they just got back together to belt out ‘Live Forever’ one more time would be utterly ridiculous.
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Check out ‘Live Forever’ by Oasis:
Destiny’s Child
After dominating R&B at the beginning of this century, the best-known lineup of the girl group went on, um, different paths. Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland both had their individual successes (who can ever forget Kelly’s all-time collaboration with Nelly?) but it was the other one called Beyoncé who found post-group superstardom.
It’s certainly crude to just cite Destiny’s Child when referencing Queen B because the group were an unstoppable force at their peak. Hits like ‘Bootylicious’ and ‘Survivor’ made them one of the most successful girl groups of all time. While they’ve got back together for brief performances at the likes of Coachella, a formal reunion has never come around. If Beyoncé wants to take a break from being all-conquering alone though, the appetite for a noughties R&B throwback would be there.
Check out ‘Bootylicious’ by Destiny’s Child:
Life Without Buildings
Undoubtedly the least-known name on this list, that shouldn’t diminish just how excellent Life Without Buildings were: the Glasgow indie band released just one album, Any Other City, but it was a masterpiece of vibrant and idiosyncratic rock, propelled by singer Sue Tompkins supremely chaotic vocals. After successfully touring Australia, they broke up to pursue other artistic passions, only adding to their legend.
The reason why 2021 is the year for a return? They’ve become the latest band to unexpectedly find their music being embraced virally by the TikTok crowd. Just a purely wonderful moment of generations and music colliding. There’s no doubt that the band could create a second record just as excellent as their debut either.
Check out ‘The Leanover’ by Life Without Buildings:
OutKast
The best hip-hop duo to ever do it have been absent since 2006, save for a brief reunion in 2014 to play the festival circuit. Their classic album Stankonia celebrated its 20th anniversary last December, with much reminiscing about how good it was and how big the impact it had when it was first released.
André 3000 has said he’d be fine for an OutKast reunion with Big Boi some day. With Kanye currently off the boil sonically and Soundcloud rappers increasingly dominating, now would be a prime moment for the group to remind audiences of the quality of their Southern brand of hip-hop.
Check out ‘Ms. Jackson’ by OutKast:
ABBA
It’s almost unbelievable that there hasn’t been an ABBA reunion after the mammoth success of the Mamma Mia! series based on their beloved hits. Their songs are still karaoke favourites around the world. The four original members are also still surprisingly alive. The good news is that the group had been working on new material, with five new songs ready to go.
The coronavirus pandemic delayed their release and we can only hope that 2021 will finally be the year. At the very least, the Swedish superstars releasing new music would remind the U.K. of just how nice their European neighbours are post-Brexit.
Check out ‘Dancing Queen’ by ABBA:
