Does it bother you when a band doesn't replace a member who leaves, but instead just uses a succession of temps? I dislike it when this is done ... official photos of The Rolling Stones without a bassist, official photos of Oasis and Teenage Fanclub without drummers ... I don't know, a band seems incomplete to me when they take that route, even if the new recordings sound fine.

Is it a case of them not wanting to split the pie? Better to have an employee than another partner.

You can't dust for vomit.

Darryl Jones has been the Stones' bassist since 1993 (18 years). It's way past time to make him an official member!

All about the benjamins and YES it bothers the hell out of me.
So, R.E.M. lose a drummer and don't replace him? So, it's loads of non-members getting paid as hired hands.
Guy Pratt was Pink Floyd's bassist from 1986-95 yet he actually didn't replace anyone!
Geoff Nicholls played on every Black Sabbath album and tour from 1979-2001 and was only sometimes listed as an official member (though almost all fans have acknowldged his major role in writing and arranging in addition to playing keyboards, rhythm guitars and backing vocals). he only got to play on stage with the band on a few tours.
I think Bon Jovi's bass player (Hugh McDonough? Not sure of the exact name) replaced Alec Jon Such around the mid 90's but gets no mention at all. Bizarre.
And there's another thing-the infamous "guy playing keyboards" on the side of the stage. What the hell is up with that??? Ozzy did it for years. In the early days Don Airey said no way, I'm a full band member and he was out there all those years. But from 1986-2002 (aside from 1996) Ozzy shoved his keyboard players to the side. It looked so stupid hearing keyboards so prominent ("Mr. Crowley" especially) and seeing nobody playing them. And the, at the end of the show, Ozzy would announce the band, and lo and behold, there was John Sinclair the keyboard player! Now, Ozzy has his keyboardist out there (Adam Wakeman).
Dio did this as well early on but brought Claude Schnell out front in 1985.

I don't think it's entirely about money when bands do this. There's no reason you can't designate someone an "official" member yet still pay them as a hired hand. The Eagles did (and still do) it with Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit. Roger McGuinn did it with all the various Byrds members who replaced the original guys. And of course there's Kiss...

Maybe Ozzy did it because he was afriad some of his fans would think keyboards were somehow less "rock" than guitars, basses and drums.

I think it was with Echo that Tom Petty finally named Scott Thurston an official Heartbreaker, and Steve Ferrone.made the cut with The Last DJ.

Aren't the Beach Boys a good example?

Pretty sure there will only ever be one member of Nine Inch Nails.

Especially now that he's "retired". Chris Vrenna played on most (all?) of the studio recordings of NIN.

Are Gene & Paul the only KISS members, with the other two rotating hired hands?

Sure...every touring member since Ricky & Blondie left.

Heck, Bruce may have that status in Mike's mind.

Heck, AL may have had that status in Mike's mind.

John "Rabbit" Bundrick has played keyboards for the Who since Keith Moon died, but I don't think the Who have ever had an "official" keyboard player. Kenney Jones was the "official" Who drummer back in the 80's, but neither Simon Phillips nor Zak Starkey have managed to attain similar credited status as bandmembers.

Supposedly it took Ron Wood twenty years to became a "full" Rolling Stone with any sort of contractual ability to have any input into group decisions.

These things get complicated. Remember, after the Beatles split up, they spent nineteen years in litigation with one another.

Zak was offered it a while back, as well as the same status in Oasis, but turned down both, so he could keep his options open.

I wonder if the offer from The Who still open, since Oasis is no more, and Chris Sharrock is the official drummer for Beady Eye?

Porcupine Tree has a guitarist/singer (John Wesley) who is suposed to be a non member but he is there in everything they do.

Uh, he replaced Roger Waters, who was the band's bassist. Although Waters is irreplaceable, it can be argued.

It depends on how you define "member." Gene and Paul are the only ones who have corporate ownership of Kiss, while the other two guys are paid a salary and can be fired. But it's been that way since Peter Criss was replaced by Eric Carr (Carr was a hired hand too). If you asked them they would probably say the other guys are "official members" even though they are hired hands.

Same with the Eagles... Henley and Frey are the only remaining owners of the Eagles Corporation (now that Felder has been bought out). Walsh and B. Schmit are employees, but they are presented to the public as official members.

In the case of the Beach Boys, Bruce Johnston has never been part of the Beach Boys Corporation, he's always been a hired hand. Same with Blondie and Ricky when they were members. Yet they are or were considered real members.

There's been a lot of replacement members who are designated "official members" in terms of status but not in terms of corporate/financial partnership.

Keith Moon supposedly claimed he was never actually asked to join the Who. It comes up in "The Kids Are Alright" in a bit with Ringo, and it seems to be played for comic effect, but I've read elsewhere that it truly bothered him.

Alan

What's even more bizarre is that Hugh McDonald is never seen in a video or in concert footage. He's the phantom member of Bon Jovi.

Ironic, because Alec Jon Such, who was regarded as a member of the group, is said to have never played on any of the albums he was supposed to be a part of. Or he'd stopped playing in the studio at some point for reasons unknown.

BTW, in the business sense, Jon Bon Jovi IS Bon Jovi. He owns the name and is the only signatory to the contract with Universal. Technically, the other members of Bon Jovi are hired hands, employees and it's been that way since day one.

Same thing with the E-Street Band...Springsteen owns the whole thing 100%, and only his name is on the contracts.

The Bee Gees used to joke that "Alan Kendall has been with us longer than we have."