Inside Jane’s Addiction highs and lows as band seems to interrupt up

Jane’s Addiction became a prominent alternative rock band starting in the 1980s – but the group has also been embroiled in drama from fights amongst band members and past drug abuse. 

Last Friday, lead singer Perry Farrell and guitarist, Dave Navarro got into an onstage brawl during a live concert in Boston. 

Following the altercation, the band – which also consists of drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery – cancelled their entire tour.

The concerts were halted due to ‘a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell…’ 

Shortly before the tour’s cancellation, the singer issued an apology to his fellow bandmates – and his wife, Etty Lau, broke her silence after the fight, saying Perry had gotten frustrated because his ‘voice was being drowned out by the band.’ 

Following the onstage altercation and tour cancellation, DailyMail.com takes an inside look at Jane’s Addiction’s highs and lows over the years. 

1985 – The Beginning of Jane’s Addiction 

In 1985, Jane’s Addiction was formed by Perry Farrell from his previous band called, Psi Com. 

Inspiration for the band’s name came from Farrell’s former roommate named, Jane Bainter – who became the group’s muse. 

Bainter had an addiction to heroin and had also been in a toxic relationship with her boyfriend, Sergio, at the time. The relationship also inspired the band’s track titled, Jane Says. 

Farrell reflected to Billboard in a past interview, ‘We were starting to practice and put together Jane’s Addiction. Eric moved back in with his parents, probably because it was just too much going on.’ 

‘But he said, “I’ve got a friend, Jane [Bainter], she can take my place.” So people were moving out all the time. People were getting kicked out. People didn’t have money. People were getting into fights. People were just moving on.’ 

‘Jane comes in, and we had a good time with Jane back in those days. I found her to be very strange and special.’ 

Navarro also explained in the same interview that Jane, ‘was certainly a source of drama and certainly a source of energy. She was a beautiful soul, and she was a damaged heart, much like I was.’ 

‘She was definitely a component of all of that, and certainly the name of the band came from some of the interactions between her and Eric and Perry. The band was named [Jane’s Addiction] when I joined it.’ 

1987 – Rise to Fame 

In 1987, Jane’s Addiction released their debut album – which was a live recording of their performance at the Roxy Theater in Los Angeles – under the independent record label called Triple X. 

Following negotiations, the group was also signed with Warner Bros. with an advance of around $300,000. 

The following year, the band dropped the studio album, Nothing’s Shocking, and in 1990, released another album called Ritual de lo Habitual. 

After Nothing’s Shocking was released, the group had the chance to open for other band’s such as Iggy Pop – which helped thrust them more into the spotlight. 

Jane’s Addiction continued to gain recognition not only for their music, but the stage ensembles as well.  

Arguments Within the Band 

While also talking to Billboard, Navarro recalled arguments that the band had in the midst of recording. 

‘You can hear us fighting against each other in the music,’ the guitarist said. 

‘You can hear different sensibilities clashing at times, and I feel like you can hear the almost disconnectedness becoming connected because of all that tension.’

‘Typically, we’d be writing a song and somebody didn’t like what we were working on. One of us didn’t like it, and we had to go with it…’ he continued to the outlet. 

‘It was that kind of a philosophy: “This is what we’re doing, this is the song, and not everybody was onboard, but we just soldiered through.”‘ 

Publishing and Royalties Disputes

Along with arguments when it came to recording, another dispute between the band members occurred when Farrell requested a larger percentage when it came to publishing rights and royalties. 

Perry’s reasoning for this was due to him saying that he was the main songwriter for the band. 

The issue also sparked Jane’s Addiction to briefly split. 

Avery told Billboard, ‘That was definitely a dispute. It was mediated by [former Warner Bros. president] Lenny Waronker.’

‘And we were brought into the halls of power to have them adjudicate the dispute because Perry wanted a large percentage.’

Eric continued, ‘I was saying, “I think we should all have the same.” Then we wound up at sort of a compromise, but we did technically break up.’ 

‘I think for a day or two we were not a band. We were not going to be a band anymore, and [then the record] company brought us in.’ 

Farrell had asked for 62.5% when it came to publishing rights and royalties, and the rest would be split amongst the other three members. He wanted 50% for penning most of the lyrics and another 12.5% for writing the music. 

Avery said, ‘To be fair, I could see how he wanted more than an equal split, certainly. And where we wound up was, we gave him twice as much as any other member, and then we split what was left amongst the rest of us.’ 

‘That was consistent with Perry always going forward to this day. When it comes to money and stuff like that, he’s pretty aggressively self-interested.’ 

The guitarist, Navarro, had also worn a shirt on stage ‘that said “12%” or something, because that was the amount that was going to be left for him in Perry’s system. So it left some resentment, for sure.’ 

Navarro explained, ‘It definitely drove a wedge between [Perry] and the three of us.’

‘If one guy is saying that he is more important than the others, that’s going to drive a wedge. The three of us felt insulted, but it ultimately got worked out.’ 

1991 – Lollapalooza 

Perry Farrell founded Lollapalooza in 1991, and performed with Jane’s Addiction live onstage during the special occasion. 

However, Farrell and Navarro notably got into a fight in the midst of performing. After initially leaving the stage, the band returned but the arguing did not cease. 

At one point, Dave tossed his guitar into the crowd. 

Navarro reflected on the altercation when talking to Vanity Fair in 2011, and when asked if he remembered what had initially started the argument, he replied, ‘No, we were kids and we were volatile.’ 

‘We had different forms of expression than we do now. I’m sure that some of those altercations were chemically induced in one way or another. I have very little recollection of what that was all about.’ 

When it came to the fighting and drug abuse, Dave admitted to the outlet, ‘That is definitely not something I’m ever nostalgic about. We’re very much about living in the moment right now.’ 

Drug Abuse 

Amid the band’s continuous rise to fame and success, tensions amongst band members also persisted – with drug abuse playing a factor. 

Differences when it came to taking drugs within the band arose, with Avery and Navarro eventually choosing to abstain. 

Dave talked about choosing to try to step away from drugs while talking to Spin during a past interview. 

‘I also see it coming out in myself a lot, but – I tell you, I get so self-absorbed when I’m f***ed up, and pretty much all that runs through my head is that I’m blowin’ it. And that no one thinks I’m any good.’

‘I’ve been struggling with getting sober. That’s not to say that I am. But I think that has a great deal to do with it. I find that performance is a wonderful thing when you’re sober,’ he expressed. 

Perkins also recalled to Spin when his bandmates, including Perry, Dave and Eric, were taking drugs at one point. 

‘We’d try to pull rehearsals together and Dave would call and say, “Oh, I can’t make it.” Perry would show up two hours late. Because of drugs. They were just more into getting high than working. And now it’s turned around.’

However, Avery and Navarro eventually made the decision to leave the band in late 1991. 

1997 – Partial Reunion 

Six years after the band’s hiatus, most of the members reunited for Jane’s Addiction Relapse tour. However, Avery did not rejoin. 

A few years later, the band went on the 2001 Jubilee tour and eventually recorded the third studio album called Strays. Bassist Chris Chaney replaced Avery – who had not returned to the band. 

The LP became a success, with the single, Just Because, landing a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

But in 2003, the group broke up again. 

In 2008, Avery briefly joined Jane’s Addiction once again – but exited two years later in 2010. 

Their fourth studio album, The Great Escape Artist, was released in 2011 without Avery.  

2024 – Reunion and Tour Cancellation  

Jane’s Addiction began their reunion tour in May of this year with all four of the band’s original lineup since 2010. 

However, last week on Friday, Farrell and Navarro got into a fight in the middle of their Boston show, with eyewitnesses claiming Farrell began shouting at Navarro during Mountain Song.

On Monday, Navarro told fans the tour would no longer continue. 

‘Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour,’ Navarro said in a statement.

He continued: ‘Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs.’

‘We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.’

Navarro signed off the statement with a heartbreaking message, adding: ‘Our hearts are broken. Dave, Eric and Stephen.’

The post came after Farrell’s wife Etty Lau broke her silence after her husband attacked his lead guitarist, claiming the frontman was upset by being ‘drowned out’ by his bandmates playing too loudly.

Lau took to Instagram to share her husband’s side of the story after he was slammed for body-checking and punching guitarist Dave Navarro on stage on Friday night.

‘Rather than speculating, I thought to post a first person account of what happened on stage,’ she wrote.

Lau said Farrell has been struggling with ‘tinnitus and a sore throat every night’ that has affected his voice, and he ‘felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band.’

Lau said that there had been ‘tension and animosity between the bandmembers’, but felt that this was not always a bad thing as it was also ‘the magic that made the band so dynamic.’

But on Friday night, Lau said her husband reached breaking point after he was heckled by fans who couldn’t hear him.

Perry also issued an apology which read: ‘This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show.’

‘Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.’