Hall & Oates: What happens when great creative partnerships go very bad
When Daryl Hall filed for a restraining order against John Oates, the duo became the latest in a long line of artistic collaborators to experience a serious falling out
Daryl Hall and John Oates of Hall & Oates perform in 2017 in Sacramento, California. Photo: Getty
When news broke that Daryl Hall had obtained a temporary restraining order against his bandmate and musical collaborator of five decades, John Oates, it didn’t take long for the waggish social media posts to emerge. “Dear Hall & Oates,” one dismayed fan wrote. “I can’t go for that. No can do.” Another lamented: “It’s hard to be thankful knowing Hall & Oates hate each other”. Our own Panti aptly summarised the unexpected feud by saying: “This is like fish getting a restraining order against chips”.
Rather than a case of physical intimidation — although some like the idea of Oates standing outside Hall’s house, softly humming the melody to Private Eyes under his breath — it seems that the restraining order relates to that most inauspicious of celebrity feuds: the legal battle. Although the court case (which was first filed on November 17) is shrouded in secrecy for reasons of confidentiality, glimmers of the juicy details have found their way to the media. It seems that Hall sought the order to block Oates’ sale of his stake in Whole Oats Enterprises, their business venture which apparently owns a percentage of their back catalogue. It appears that Oates wanted to sell his share to music publishing company Primary Wave Music. The singer alleged that the proposed sale was brokered “surreptitiously” and would violate the terms of a business agreement the duo had forged in 2021. Hall used emotive language in the filing, calling the proposed sale “the ultimate partnership betrayal” and claimed to be “deeply troubled by the deterioration of my relationship with, and trust in, John Oates.”
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