John Oates on Daryl Hall's legal battle: 'Siblings fall out, families grow'

John Oates held little back as he discussed his ongoing legal battle with Daryl Hall and the unrelenting nature of the pair's relationship in recent years in a new Good morning America interview.

Late last year, Hall filed a restraining order against Oates in an attempt to prevent Oates from selling half of his business, Whole Oates Enterprises, to Primary Wave. Hall, in legal documents, described the sale as a “totally clandestine and bad faith move,” a characterization that Oates disputed.

“We've always thought of ourselves as collaborative people,” Oates said GMA. “And I felt I had the right to do that. But, you know, he didn't.”

Oates was outspoken about his decision to sell his half of the business and even seemed to frame his decision as a way to allow Hall to break free from Hall and Oates. “When this whole situation got bogged down in legalese and really complicated legal wrangling, I was disappointed,” Oates said. “And I said, 'You know what? Daryl always wanted to be his own man.' I said, “I'll give him a chance to do that. If I sell my half, he can do whatever he wants.''

Oates continued, “And it was ruining my life, to be honest with you. I wasn't happy. And I said, “Well, I'll just step aside,” people do that all the time. I mean, you look at all the artists that sell all their catalogs… it's pretty common. It's not that big of a deal. But Darryl didn't like the idea of ​​me selling to a third party.”

(That “particular third party,” Primary Wave, happens to already have some of Hall and Oates' music after Hall himself struck a deal with the label in 2006. recent interviewshowever, Hall expressed some regret about this arrangement, especially as the market for artists selling their releases has exploded in recent years.)

Just like he said Rolling rock recently, Oates did not seem to think it was likely that Hall and Oates would ever reunite. “Not from my point of view, but you'd have to ask Darryl how he feels about it,” quipped Oates (whose new solo album, out today, happens to be called Reunification).

He was also extremely blunt when discussing the duo's recent working relationship, which involved nothing more than playing gigs where they “slammed the hits”. While before the lawsuit, there wasn't much animosity between the two, they “never really spoke to each other” anyway.

“For the past 20 years, we've been showing up to a show separately, walking on stage, playing and then going our separate ways,” Oates said. “It wasn't really as tight as people would like to imagine, you know, in a fantasy of our relationship.”

Asked what he would say to Hall if he was watching, Oates replied: “I love you like a brother… but you know what? Siblings falling out, families falling apart…I'd say, I wish him the best. I hope she gets everything she wants in life. And that he can follow his dream of becoming a respected solo artist, which I think is something he's always wanted.”