Brutal message behind Silverchair split: ‘Broke up the band’

It was one of the most high-profile splits in Aussie music history – and the brutal way it came about has now been laid bare by two members of Silverchair.

Silverchair’s Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou have revealed the brutal story behind the band’s high-profile demise.

The legendary Australian rock band formed their group in 1992 after meeting in primary school in Newcastle. They got their big break two years later, while still in their early teens, after being signed by Sony Music subsidiary, Murmur Records.

Silverchair’s debut album, Frogstomp, was released in 1995, having been recorded in only nine days while the trio were aged just 15.

It became a number one album in Australia and New Zealand, and sold four million copies, paving the way for Silverchair’s enormous success.

Silverchair hit the big time when its members were in the early teens. Picture: ABC

In Gillies and Joannou’s highly-anticipated joint memoir, Love & Pain – which was published today by Hachette Australia – the pair explained that frontman Daniel Johns had “broken up the band” a number of times “only to change his mind”, causing them an “emotional rollercoaster”.

However, after their appearance at the Groovin’ The Moo’ festival in 2010, “things were different”.

Gillies explained that he’d gotten a “confusing call” from Johns, who told him cryptically “it’s inevitable”.

When the drummer pressed his longtime friend and bandmate on his meaning, he claimed Johns changed the subject.

Meanwhile, Joannou claimed he “didn’t get a call from [Johns] himself”, instead finding out via the band’s manager John “Watto” Watson that a press release announcing their “indefinite hiatus” was imminent.

“We wanted to scream. It shouldn’t have ended like that,” Gillies and Joannou wrote in the memoir.

“Even if the three of us weren’t aligned on the way to go forward together, we deserved to go out in a way that celebrated our achievements as a band. If it was really over, we deserved more than a press release that left everything floating in the ether, even if that was the agreed approach.

“At the very least, we owed it to ourselves to have a face-to-face adult conversation and make the decision together.”

Silverchair performing in San Francisco in 1995. Picture: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

The musicians also opened up realising Johns was still “p***ed off” a decade later, after his interview in the YouTube series In The Mind Of Daniel Johns was released.

“We’ve seen it on TV, we’ve heard it on the radio, and we’ve read it on the news,” they wrote. “The anger is fresh. It burns.”

Referring to Johns’ assertion that he “wouldn’t get Silverchair back together for a million dollars with a gun to my head”, the duo pointed out that “no one was”.

“There’s a vitriol to Dan’s words. They sting. We’re hurt, but we can’t show it. We don’t want to fan the flames, don’t want to stir the pot, don’t want to tarnish the legacy of the band we all love,” Gillies and Joannou explained.

Their longtime friendship sadly ended with the band. Picture: ABC

The iconic Aussie band has been firmly back in the spotlight recently, with Gillies and Joannou taking part in a two-part Australian Story documentary and media interviews to coincide with the book release.

They appeared together on WSFM’s Jonesy and Amanda on Monday, just hours ahead of the airing of Part Two of their ABC special.

“Daniel [Johns] is not involved in the book?” Brendan “Jonesy” Jones asked the pair, point-blank.

“No. He’s not,” Joannou admitted.

When pressed on whether the duo were in communication with Johns at all, Gillies was diplomatic, while not actually answering the question.

“We’ve all drifted into different directions over the years and done different projects,” he told the radio hosts.

“And it’s no disrespect to any individual in the way things rolled out, it’s just what happened.”

Joannou (left) and Gillies (right) have now released a joint memoir. Picture: ABC

Johns, 44, declined to be involved in the ABC documentary, but shared his side of the story on Sunday following issues over copyright and subsequent “unhelpful speculation”.

“I was asked at the end of filming to be interviewed about their contribution to the band and although I wished them all the best, I respectfully declined for one reason,” Johns wrote in a statement.

“I haven’t been involved in the book nor am I aware of the contents. I’ve been asked on many occasions to read the book but haven’t been sent a copy, consequently I was uncomfortable being interviewed to help promote it.

“ … I said to Sony and ABC that I would be open to approving all songs [for the documentary] provided I received a copy of the book to ensure I wasn’t having my songs used to promote something I had no visibility on. I was told again that Ben & Chris would not give me a copy to read. That’s why the iView use was denied.”

Last year, the rift between the former high school friends was on full display as Johns opened up in a candid interview on The Project.

“Bitterness, jealousy, anger, like anything,” Johns told Carrie Bickmore of the reasoning behind their falling out.

“I don’t have any bad feelings, but I know. I know bitterness and I know jealousy.

“One of the guys in particular has taken a real shining to kicking me while I was down and while I was in rehab and stuff. Saying I was exploiting mental health to sell records or something along those lines.”

Johns said he felt Gillies was particularly jealous of his success beyond the band.

“They’ve not shown me any respect. Me and Chris have a very passive relationship,” he said.

“Ben, for some reason has a real issue with me being successful without him. That’s sad because I wish him all the best honestly, but unfortunately he doesn’t want me to branch out.”

Originally published as Brutal message behind Silverchair split: ‘Broke up the band’