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Daryl Hall and John Oates are currently embroiled in a messy legal battle and haven't performed together since 2022, but according to Wikipedia Hall & Oates is still an "active" band. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Oates was asked if there should be an end date added to their page.
“You can ask Daryl the same question,” he said. “But, yes. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve moved on. I feel like I have a new lease on my creative life.”
“I’m basically a Taoist,” he added, picking up a book. “And I’m going to read you something that was in my daily meditation today. It says, ‘The rule for those who follow Tao is this, ‘Walk the path together as long as you can, and when you must part, never hold your companion back.'”
“That’s how I feel about things,” Oates continued. “A good friend of mine said something to me when this was all starting. He said, ‘John, you were a musician before you met Daryl, and you’re still a musician. You’re an individual.’ And Daryl and I have always called ourselves Daryl Hall and John Oates, because we always wanted to be perceived as two individuals who work together. That was very important to us. If you look at the albums, you’ll see that on every album. And so this is the ultimate expression of that.”
Late last year, Hall filed a lawsuit and restraining order against Oates and The John W. Oates TISA Trust. The issue stems from a limited liability partnership titled Whole Oats Enterprises LLP (WOE), owned by both musicians. In early November, Oates attempted to transfer Hall's "right, title and interest" in Whole Oats Enterprises to Primary Wave Music without consulting him.
When Hall realized what Oates was doing, he obtained a restraining order and filed a lawsuit to prevent "imminent irreparable harm."
But despite it all, Oates is open to repairing their friendship. “I’m always open for that,” he told Rolling Stone. “Daryl Hall is an amazing individual. He is one of the great, great songwriters of all time, and without a doubt, one of the great singers of all time. I would never say anything negative about him. But we have a different strategy for our lives, and we have a different strategy for our business lives as well as our personal lives. And that’s that, so be it. We’re old guys. We deserve to be allowed to do whatever we want to do.”
As for one more performance to end their career on a positive note, Oates isn't so certain. “I have no idea,” he said. “But I don’t see it. I really don’t. Life is funny though. You never know what kind of curve it will throw you.”