These days there is much talk of the reunion and tour of the legendary group Roxy Music, despite differences that seem irreconcilable between some of its former members.In the 90s, the unexpected reunions of the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac showed that everything is possible in rock, beyond hatred or fights to the death.However, some meetings longed for by thousands of followers will not take place.Next, stories of rock reunions that were not in anyone's calculations.By Jacobo Celnik If something has characterized rock in the last four decades, it is that almost everything that seemed improbable was achieved.And I am referring especially to meetings of big bands that seemed impossible, unimaginable, preposterous or unfeasible due to the irreconcilable differences between their members.These days there is a lot of talk in the specialized media about the tour of the legendary British band Roxy Music to celebrate 50 years since the release of their first album, and the question is whether Brian Eno, an original member of the group but who left it in 1973 due to artistic differences, he is going to join his old companions again.There are plenty of cases, some more resonant, transcendental and notorious than others.The Live Aid concert in 1985 established an indicator of the success or failure of some reunions.Iconic bands that had been inactive for a while returned to the stage for a charitable cause and showed that their talent was intact, such as The Who (inactive since 1982), Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne (inactive since 78), the three survivors of Led Zeppelin with Phil Collins on drums (inactive since 1979), Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (seized by the fuses since 1974)... However, despite the great milestones at Live Aid (including the great Queen concert) the great comeback of the 80s was that of the Rolling Stones who, after four years in limbo, of tense relationships, of solo initiatives by their members, were reborn in 1989 with an exceptional album (Steel wheels ) and a world tour that marked a before and after in its history.Because since then the wheel has not stopped turning.Although some Live Aid events were important, a before and after of impossible rock meetings could be established with the return of the Eagles in 1994. After the tour of the album The long run (1980), Don Henley and Glenn Frey had a heated argument with guitarist Don Felder over political issues.Democratic versus Republican ideas.What seemed to be solved with a couple of beers ended in blows and with the dissolution of the group.Over the next few years, Henley was repeatedly asked by the press about a possible return of the band, and his answer was always the same: "We'll be back when hell freezes over."Such a forceful statement could have ostracized another group.But this is one of the greatest bands in rock history.Hell Freezes Over became the ironic and apt title of the Eagles' 1994 album and reunion tour after a 14-year absence from the stage.The album included four new songs (Get over it, Love will keep us alive, The girl from yesterday and Learn to bee still), in addition to 11 songs recorded for a disconnected for the MTV network that left impossible to forget versions like those of Hotel California and Take It easy.The most interesting thing about the Eagles reunion was that it marked the rebirth of the group that, until Frey's death, and in later years, remained active.They even recorded an album in 2007: The long road out of Eden.After four years in limbo, of tense relationships, of solo initiatives by its members, they were reborn in 1989 with an exceptional album (Steel wheels) and a world tour that marked a before and after in their history.Because since then the wheel has not stopped turning.Precisely MTV's Unplugged gave rise to some unlikely or unexpected reunions such as those of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, from which the fabulous album No Quarter of 1994 was left. Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, founders of the group with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, and who left a memorable show thanks to the versions of Beth, 2000 man, Rock and roll all nite and Nothing to loose.Mention should also be made of the reunion of half of the Faces (Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart) with the excuse of reviving classics by his band and solo such as Stay with me, Maggie May, Hot legs and Reason to believe, which appear on the album Unplugged… and seated (1993), which together with that of Eric Clapton is one of the best produced of that series of disconnected.However, the great achievement of the MTV initiative was the meeting of Fleetwood Mac, precisely under the pretext of an acoustic show that ended up being electroacoustic.The Dance, recorded at the Warner Bros studios in Burbank in May 1997, marked the return of the group's most successful lineup with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, a reunion that had not occurred since the album Tango in the night (1987). .In less than two weeks the album reached number 1 on the Billboard charts and became one of the best-selling albums in the group's history.That performance opened the door for 2003's Say You Will album and a US tour.The Fleetwood Mac reunion was a clear example that the great differences in rock can be overcome when music and art weigh.Let's not forget that the relationships between the members of the group have been marked by artistic and conjugal rivalries, infidelities and ruptures very well portrayed in the Rumors album of 1977. Entering the 2000s and with the fall in record sales throughout the In the world, live performances took hold and became a necessary tool for bands to compensate for lost income from the sale of music on physical media.I don't want to say that this was the only factor in setting up a meeting, but don't forget that “the monkey dances for money”.And let Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce say so, from Cream, one of the most advanced and transcendental bands in rock history.After their inevitable dissolution in 1968 and with three majestic studio albums, the ex-Cream met again for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. It took 12 years for money to do the trick. yours and manage to convince these three temperamental rock geniuses for presentations in London and New York.And I say convince them because the relationship between Bruce and Baker, from their days at the Graham Bond Organization (pre-Cream) was not a good one.They even went to blows on more than one occasion for issues such as: "You didn't stop playing the bass on my drum solo", as Baker recalled in his biographical documentary Beware of Mr Baker.The Fleetwood Mac reunion was a clear example that the great differences in rock can be overcome when music and art weigh.The relationships between the members of the group have been marked by artistic and marital rivalries, infidelities and breakups very well portrayed on the 1977 album 'Rumors.Cream's first concerts were on May 2, 3, 5 and 6, 2005 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, of which an audiovisual record remained (Royal Albert Hall London May 2-3-5-6, 2005) that captured the intact chemistry between these extraordinary musicians.Although it was not on paper, a juicy sum of money took them to Madison Square Garden in New York in October of that year for two presentations that, in Clapton's words, were forgotten due to the low standards of the show.According to Clapton, the lack of rehearsals and the constant fights between Bruce and Baker affected the presentation.However, those who witnessed that performance were privileged because Burce died in 2014 and Baker in 2019. And while the reunions of Fleeetwood Mac, Cream, Kiss and the Eagles were memorable ⸻to name a few of many more that took place (The Who, Black Sabbath, Velvet Underground, Van Halen, Genesis, Guns N'Roses, Heart, Iron Maiden with Bruce Dickinson, Judas Priest, Ultravox, Soft Cell)⸻, there are two that will occupy a special place in the chapter of unexpected reunions of rock: that of Pink Floyd in 2005 for the Live 8 concert and that of The Police in 2007 to commemorate 30 years of their debut album.Entering the 2000s and with the decline in record sales around the world, live performances took hold and became a necessary tool for bands to compensate for lost income from the sale of music on physical media.What is particular about these meetings is the background and the context in which they took place.In the case of Pink Floyd, the backdrop was the fight between Roger Waters and David Gilmour and Richard Wright, mainly due to the facts related to the trial for the rights of the group.Let's not forget that the relationship between bassist and keyboardist Rick Wright ended badly after The wall tour (Waters had the audacity to kick him out of the group!) That 2005 reunion was possible because Bob Geldoff, organizer of the London concert, interceded and convinced the parties.Gilmour laid down the terms, determined the track listing, and Waters bowed his head and agreed.Those 33 minutes, represented in four tracks, went down in immortality as the last time the Pink Floyd lineup from the '70s played live.There was never an option for anything else.The differences between Gilmour and Waters determined this, although there were millionaire offers to see them play in the United States.As for The Police, the fact that Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland have agreed to tour was reason enough to cheer.The end of The Police in the mid-1980s was marked by very strong friction between Copeland and Summers with Sting, especially over creative issues.There was no lack of fights and public taunts and the closure, after some failed attempts to record an album in 1986 (although the remake of Don't stand so close to me 86 was left), was not the best.However, the three of them, now well into their 50s, accepted the challenge and gave 151 concerts throughout much of the world, four of them in South America.A double live album and a DVD were left from that tour: The Police Live in Buenos Aires.For the last concert in New York, the relations between the three musicians passed through a point of no return.Once the concert ended, without a formal statement, the end of The Police was sentenced.Or at least that's what guitarist Andy Summers implied in his documentary in which he described Sting as an impossible and authoritarian guy.Words more words less he said: “He who is does not cease to be”.Fifteen years have passed since that meeting and there are no surprises on the horizon.But in rock everything is possible.In the saga of long-awaited and impossible comebacks, there are two that for decades have captured the gaze of their followers: Genesis with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett, and Roxy Music with Brian Eno.Gabriel's case is very special because although in 1982 there was a brief reunion with his band for a charity issue, since then he cut all the ties that united him with the group.And although in 1999, for a greatest hits album, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks and Gabriel re-recorded the song The Carpet Crawlers, what their fans always wanted was to see them perform live.The reasons for Gabriel to reject the constant invitations are multiple, mainly due to the complexity involved in learning and interpreting songs that, in some cases, exceed ten minutes in length.Without Gabriel, the presence of Hackett (although he is the one who has kept the progressive spirit of the group alive) is meaningless and that is why the 2007 and 2022 Genesis reunions were represented by the trio Collins, Banks and Rutherford.In the saga of long-awaited and impossible comebacks, there are two that for decades have captured the gaze of their followers: Genesis with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett, and Roxy Music with Brian Eno.The Roxy Music thing seems much simpler, although it is still disturbing.When Eno left the band after the release of the second album For your pleasure (1973) he wanted nothing to do with the group.For years he denied his time at Roxy Music and practically erased them from his resume.Phil Manzanera and Bryan Ferry took the creative lead and with the arrival of Eddie Jobson Eno was soon forgotten.Although he became a legend, a mythical figure for the group's history, especially for what he did years later with Robert Fripp, David Bowie, Cluster and as a producer for Talking Heads and U2.Yet fans of the group for five decades have dreamed of the moment when the five original members of Roxy Music will play one last show, because few bands of that generation still have their founders alive.The thing is that for Eno the Roxy Music issue is sensitive.In 2015, during the Hay Festival in Cartagena, I had the pleasure of interviewing him and his press officer warned me, almost like an order, to avoid asking him questions about Roxy Music.I obeyed, no matter what, although I subtly slipped the Roxy Music thing to him.I asked him about the development of the talent of musicians in the 70's through concerts.His response reflects why a Roxy Music reunion with Brian Eno is unworkable: “In my case, that's a problem I chose not to deal with.I decided not to give live shows, I did very few.And one of the reasons is that, for various reasons, I didn't think that a concert was the right situation to hear the kind of music that I wanted to do.I didn't think it was the music I wanted to listen to with thousands of people around.I couldn't imagine playing my music, from the first Roxy Music works in the studio, in front of 20,000 people.A live act was more about introspection and being alone than being surrounded by a crowd, which, by the way, is exciting.”Last week, in an interview NME magazine did with Phil Manzanera about the group's 50th anniversary tour, the Eno theme came up again.In this regard, the guitarist stated: “Brian is an incredible and unique person who was not designed to be in a band.He finds it terribly uncomfortable (…).In a dream world, that would be perfect.But Brian is not that kind of person and it's not going to happen."Other memorable and almost impossible reunions: The Who in 1989. Velvet Underground in 1992. Sex Pistols in 1996. Blondie in 1997. Judas Priest in 2003. Van Halen in 2007. Led Zeppelin in 2007. Asia in 2007. Pulp in 2010. Emerson , Lake & Palmer in 2010. Rage Against the Machine in 2011. The Cars in 2011. Grateful Dead in 2015. Guns N´ Roses in 2016.