The rock world is full of conflict. It’s an inevitable byproduct of so many egos crashing into one another. Whether it’s in-band arguments, lengthy tiffs taking place via the media or drunken award-show punch-ups, it’s an unavoidable part of an industry containing so many larger-than-life characters and outsized personalities.

But 21 years ago, the rubbishest beef in rock history took place, between Pearl Jam and Sugar Ray.



The bands: In the red corner, Pearl Jam, one of the most influential rock bands of all time, flag-fliers for everything alternative music and grunge were and are supposed to stand for. They eschewed most of what was ‘the done thing’, making very few music videos, refusing to perform at venues they considered to be excessively logo-covered, and using their platform to speak out for causes they believed in and denounce those they opposed. They once famously stood up to corporate giant Ticketmaster, accusing them of running a monopoly and unfairly increasing fees fans had to pay.

In the blue corner, Sugar Ray, whose lead singer was quite good-looking and… well, that was kind of it.

The context: It was 1997. After Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard took a swipe at the world of corporate rock in general (you don’t really hear the phrase “corporate rock” so much these days – it essentially refers to low-integrity, mass-appeal tunes, cynically-produced disposable fluff that is commercially successful but artistically lacking), Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath took offence.



McGrath was a fan of Pearl Jam, and they had featured in what he described as recently as 2016 as one of the best moments of his life. “Our whole band was in New York City riding in a taxi cab. [Sugar Ray single] Mean Machine suddenly came on the radio. I think it was on K-Rock. We made the cabbie pull over and we just started dancing on the streets. It was one of the greatest moments in my entire life. They said, ‘That was Van Halen. This is Sugar Ray. Coming up shortly, Pearl Jam!’ We all went, ‘Ahhhhh!’ We died and went to heaven.