Of the ones I’m familiar with in this thread, most have no intra-band romance, and of the ones that do, half of them it did cause problems (Aqua, Mamas and the Papas), half it didn’t (ABBA, buriguri). And in the cases of both Aqua and TMatP, it was intra-band romantic TRIANGLES that caused problems.
the brilliant green began a five year haitus a year before Tomoko and Shunsaku got married, but the two are unrelated - Tomoko wanted to explore some solo stuff, and the band recently resurfaced - a couple singles have been released and an album’s supposed to be in the works.
And ABBA broke up around the same time that Anna-Frid and Benny broke up, but as far as I’m aware, they’re not particularly related (other than both being motivated by them drifting apart), and the band did survive Bjorn and Agnetha’s breakup several years before.
Actually, that wasn’t true. The New Bohemians were a very legit band in their own right. Edie Brickell was NOT one of their original members! They were founded as a folk-pop trio in Dallas by guitarist Eric Presswood, bassist Brad Houser and drummer Brandon Ely. They performed together for several years BEFORE Edie Brickell joined them. Even then, the band was called the New Bohemians- it wasn’t until they signed with Geffen Records that they were marketed as “Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians.”
The perception that they were just Edie Brickell’s employees led to some bad feelings, which was part of what led to her initial split from the band.
The Grateful Dead, at least for part of their carreer.
And the re-formed band that went by the Dead included Joan Osborne as a member during one tour.
There was a glam-rock /metal band in the late 80s or early 90s called Princess Pang fronted by a woman (Jeni Foster), but I think I may be the only person who owns that album, so I guess they weren’t popular by any definition.
Also, another interesting twist, you have a band like The Breeders: three females, with one male. Perhaps a more uncommon arrangement than the three-guys-and-a-chick-on-bass we’re used to seeing.
If there is any justice in the world, The Brunettes will soon find themselves catapulted to a rightful super-stardom. Imagine a perfect combination of twee, bubblegummy doo-wop and punky, alternate rock. Wouldn’t have thought that was a match made in Heaven, but there it is.