Hall & Oates, one of the most successful and iconic duos in music history, are not only not getting along… they are also in legal dispute.
Daryl Hall filed a lawsuit against his former musical counterpart John Oates, alleging some sort of contract breach. What’s more, Hall obtained a restraining order against Oates last Friday.
As for the details, the court record is sealed, but we’ve been able to gather some information that might shed light on this dispute.
According to the summary, Hall and Oates were in some sort of arbitration over a dispute. Typically, musical groups have their own contracts and it seems that Hall believes Oates breached that agreement. As for what it could be, it might be something related to the division of song rights or Oates continuing to sing the group’s songs in his solo performances.
Hall escalated things by going to the Nashville Chancery Court and seeking a restraining order against his former partner, a request that the judge granted.
The fact is, Hall and Oates have been going their separate ways for years. They would reunite at times, but often performed solo. Although it’s not known, Hall might be of the opinion that Oates has no right to perform their songs during his concerts.
Oates has been on tour this year, most recently in Arizona earlier this month.
Hall criticized Oates on Bill Maher‘s “Club Random” podcast, referring to him as his “business partner” rather than his “creative partner”. Once again, it seems that Hall believes Oates has no right to perform their hits. This is strange, considering they co-wrote many of their songs.