Daryl Hall revealed his feelings on reuniting with his longtime bandmate John Oates, 76.

In an interview with The Times last week, the Private Eyes singer, 78, closed the door on any hope of a reunion. 

‘That ship has gone to the bottom of the ocean,’ Hall told the outlet. ‘I’ve had a lot of surprises in my life, disappointments, betrayals, so I’m kind of used to it.’ 

Hall also set the record straight on who wrote which songs, claiming he’s written the majority of them.

‘The songs with his lead vocal are the songs he wrote, and all the other ones, which is about 90 percent, are the ones I wrote,’ Hall said, noting that he felt his contribution went a bit unnoticed.

‘It was very frustrating,’ the Kiss On my List singer added.

The final nail in the coffin for the singing duo came in 2023 when Oates tried to sell their stake in their publishing company Whole Oats Enterprises to music publisher Primary Wave Music without Hall’s permission. 

Portrait of American musicians Darryl Hall (left) and John Oates at the Whitehall H๏τel, Chicago, Illinois, November 5, 1981.

Hall called it ‘the ultimate partnership betrayal,’ and in 2024 called their 50+ year working relationship done for good.

Read More Music legend John Oates says fallout with Daryl Hall was ‘ruining my life’ as he defends his decision to try and sell his half of their music catalog

The two met when they were students at Temple University in Philadelphia and had success with their second song, Rich Girl in 1976.

From there they went on a decade-long spree of popularity and chart-topping hits including She’s Gone, Maneater, One on One and many, many others.

Oates defended his decision to try and part ways with Hall in an interview with Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan’

‘When this whole situation got mired in legality and really complex legal wrangles, I got frustrated.’

He claimed that Hall had ‘always wanted to be his own man’ and he was simply trying to ‘give him the opportunity to do that.’ 

‘I said, “If I sell my half, he can do what he wants”, it was kind of ruining my life to be honest with you, I wasn’t happy. 

Inductees John Oates and Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates attend the 29th Annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on April 10, 2014 

Daryl Hall and John Oates of the music duo Hall & Oats performs during the 2019 Bourbon & Beyond Music Festival at Highland Ground on September 21, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky

Daryl Hall and John Oates perform on stage at Hard Rock Live in the Seminole Hard Rock H๏τel & Casino on September 22, 2021 in Hollywood, Florida

‘I said, “I’ll just step aside.” People do it all the time, look at all the artists selling their catalogs, it’s not that big a deal. Darryl didn’t like the idea that I would sell to a certain third party,’ he alleged.

When Michael told Oates that Hall had described his decision to sell his half of the catalog as ‘a completely clandestine and bad faith move’ and ‘the ultimate partnership betrayal,’ Oates insisted that he really doesn’t see it that way.

‘We’ve always looked at ourselves as individuals working together and I felt like I had the right to do that,’ he said, before confirming that they haven’t made music for the past two decades – they’ve only performed their hits live together.

Asked if they’d ever fallen out before the legal feud, Oates revealed: ‘No, not really. We never really had a lot of disagreements, but then again we never really talked to each other very much.

‘For the past 20 years, we’d show up at a show individually, walk on stage, play and then we’d go our separate ways. It really wasn’t as тιԍнт as people might… would like to imagine in their fantasy imagination of our relationship.’

When asked what he would say to Hall if he could send him a message, Oates responded: ‘I love him like a brother…. I love you like a brother, if I’m talking to him directly. But do you know what? Brothers have disagreements. Families grow apart.

‘I would say, I wish him the best, I hope that he has everything he wants in life and that he can pursue his dream of being a respected solo artist, which I believe is something that he’s always wanted.’

Oates, who had a restraining order taken out against him by Hall, said that he thinks his former musical partner has ‘changed a lot’ and also confirmed whether or not they will ever perform live again.

Daryl Hall performs on stage at Resorts World Arena on April 24, 2019 in Birmingham, England

John Oates visits SiriusXM Studios on May 13, 2024 in New York City.

‘Not from my point of view but you need to ask Daryl how he feels about it,’ he told Strahan.

Hall and Oates first joined forces in Philadelphia in 1970 and achieved huge success throughout the 70’s and 80’s with singles such as Rich Girl, Maneater, and You Make My Dreams.

In 2003, the duo were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and in April 2014, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and went on to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2016.

Most recently, the two men were inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Class of 2023.