1985–1987: Formation and ''Jane's Addiction'' (left) and
Perry Farrell (right) performing with the band in 2009 Jane's Addiction formed from the remains of frontman
Perry Farrell's previous band,
Psi Com. In mid-1985, Farrell was searching for a bassist to replace Kelly Wheeler in the faltering Psi Com. He was introduced to
Eric Avery by
Carla Bozulich (later of the
Geraldine Fibbers), and the pair bonded over a mutual appreciation of
Joy Division and
the Velvet Underground. They began to practice together, although Avery never became a full-fledged member of Farrell's disintegrating group. The new band was dubbed "Jane's Addiction" in honor of Farrell's housemate, Jane Bainter, who was their
muse and inspiration. However, the play on words also seems to be there suggesting that "Jane's" signifies "Chains", being a synonym for addiction (i.e. a corrosive habit). "My girlfriend Casey Niccoli and I were sitting in the car," Farrell recalled, "and we started to think about band names. She threw in Jane's Heroin Experience. I thought it wasn't vague enough. If you want to invite people in, you don't want to put heroin on your door." In its formative incarnation, Jane's Addiction went through four guitarists and featured Matt Chaikin, formerly of
Kommunity FK, on drums. After Chaikin failed to show up for rehearsals, Farrell sought a new drummer. Avery's younger sister Rebecca suggested her boyfriend
Stephen Perkins. Avery was uncertain because of their differing tastes in music, but eventually relented. After Perkins was hired, the drummer and Rebecca promised to get their friend
Dave Navarro into the group. Based on Perkins' recommendation, the band auditioned and hired Navarro. Jane's Addiction became a sensation on the Los Angeles club scene, primarily headlining at
Scream, and won interest from a variety of record labels. While the group decided to sign with
Warner Bros. Records, they insisted on releasing their debut on
independent record label Triple X Records first. The band's manager negotiated the largest advance up to that point, with Warner Bros. signing the band for between $250,000 to $300,000. In January 1987, the band recorded its debut ''
Jane's Addiction'' during a performance at the
Roxy Theatre, at a cost of $4,000. Before the album's release, Jane's Addiction supported British band
Love and Rockets on a two-month tour in late 1987. In late 1987, the band opened for former Bauhaus vocalist
Peter Murphy at the now demolished Fender's Ballroom in Long Beach.
1988–1989: ''Nothing's Shocking'' In January 1988, Jane's Addiction went into the studio to record its major label debut and follow-up to ''Jane's Addiction
, Nothing's Shocking''. Warner Bros. gave Jane's Addiction a list of producers to choose from, and the group chose
Dave Jerden. ''Nothing's Shocking'' was released in 1988. "Mountain Song" was released as a single; MTV refused to air the song's music video because of a scene containing full frontal nudity. Farrell then decided to release the music video commercially with added live footage to create the
Soul Kiss home video. Because of the lack of airplay on MTV and
modern rock radio, the album only sold 200,000 to 250,000 copies in its first year of release. After the album's release, the band went on tour, opening for
Iggy Pop and The
Ramones. By the end of the tour, Jane's Addiction was headlining clubs and theaters. During the recording sessions, Farrell stated he wanted 50% of the band's publishing royalties for writing the lyrics, plus a quarter of the remaining half for writing music, adding up to 62.5%. Bassist
Eric Avery said he and the other members – guitarist
Dave Navarro and drummer
Stephen Perkins – were stunned by these demands. Farrell refused to compromise. One day Jerden drove to the studio to find Farrell, Navarro, and Perkins leaving; Farrell told him the band had broken up and there would be no record. Warner Bros. called an emergency meeting to resolve the situation. Farrell received the royalty percentages he sought, with the other members receiving 12.5 percent each. Avery said the incident had a profound effect on the band, creating an internal fracture. Not long after the royalties dispute, Farrell and Avery – who had cofounded the band – had a falling-out. This was the result of Avery's newfound sobriety as well as an incident in which Farrell believed Avery had drunkenly tried to pick up his girlfriend. "Unfortunately," Farrell recalled, "the tensions between Eric and I affected the whole family. Some people were asked to take sides, and others just moped about because they didn't know what was going on." Perkins, however, is reported to have got along with Navarro, Avery and Farrell.
1989–1991: Ritual de lo Habitual Jane's Addiction was scheduled to begin recording its next album in mid-1989. Navarro later stated he had almost no recollection of working on the album due to his addiction to heroin.
Ritual de lo Habitual was released in 1990. To support it, the band embarked on a lengthy tour. Farrell recalled, "That thirteen-month tour behind
Ritual was half the reason we wound up unable to stand one another. The other half is that I am an intolerable narcissist who can't get along with anyone." Part of the tour included headlining the first
Lollapalooza festival, which traveled across North America in mid-1991. The festival, created by Farrell and Marc Geiger, was to become a farewell for Jane's Addiction, but also a showcase for other cult artists:
Siouxsie and the Banshees,
Nine Inch Nails, the
Butthole Surfers,
Living Colour, the
Rollins Band, the
Violent Femmes, and
Ice-T's
Body Count. The headliners began to get more exposure than ever before: "
Been Caught Stealing" and "
Stop!" became hits and earned rotation on MTV. During the first Lollapalooza show, Farrell and Navarro got into a fight onstage after violently bumping each other mid-song. The band walked off, but came back to play an
encore; however, the fight continued and Navarro eventually threw his guitar into the crowd. Regardless, the band continued the tour and played about 25 more Lollapalooza shows, frequently covering
Sly and the Family Stone's "
Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" with Ice-T and Body Count. Differences between the members on the issue of drug use on the "Ritual" tour led to a schism: Farrell and Perkins regularly partook, while Avery and Navarro abstained. According to
Spin, between shows, Avery and Navarro sought to avoid temptation by retiring to a section of the tour bus set aside for them. After shows, Avery and Navarro (and Navarro's wife at the time, Tanya) would retire to their hotel. "They have," said
Spin, "simply learned that they cannot use drugs of any kind anymore without becoming slaves to them, and that slavery is death." In late 1991, Avery told Navarro that he planned to leave. Navarro quickly agreed to do the same. The two told their management, who in turn tried to convince them to play in Japan, but Avery and Navarro only wanted to play as much as was contractually obligated. The band played its last shows in Australia and Hawaii before disbanding. "It's weird to be at the end of a cycle like that," remarked Avery, "having run the gamut of the usual 'rock story' from beginning to end: you get signed, get strung out, break up."
1997: First reunion and Kettle Whistle of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, of whom Navarro was concurrently the guitarist of at the time, replaced Avery on bass during their first reunion in 1997, and played bass on two new songs on that year's compilation album
Kettle Whistle. He had previously played the Trumpet on the ''
Nothing's Shocking'' track "Idiots Rule" in 1988. Dave Navarro joined the
Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1993 and during a hiatus for the band, Navarro along with Chili Peppers's
Flea joined Porno for Pyros to record "Hard Charger" in 1997 for Howard Stern's movie,
Private Parts soundtrack. This led to a brief Jane's Addiction Relapse tour, with Flea replacing Avery who declined an invitation to rejoin the band. They produced a compilation album titled
Kettle Whistle featuring two new songs with Flea on bass. In 2010, Perkins stated that "Flea, to me, was a great match in '97. As a drummer, he was very exciting for me to work with."
2001–2004: Strays "I got a phone call from a promoter who asked me if I would be interested in re-forming the band for the
Coachella festival in LA," said Farrell in 2001, "and taking the band on tour after that... This comes at a time when this record
Song Yet to Be Sung is about to be plucked.
Perkins played on three of the songs, and
Navarro played with Steve on the single. So there are plans for Jane's' summer tour." The consequent 2001
Jubilee Tour featured largely the classics, alongside "Hungry" from Navarro's
Trust No One and "Happy Birthday Jubilee" from
Song Yet to Be Sung. Fans were told to expect a "Sexual Psycho Circus... half-naked, penny rafters, guitar solos, and tribal drums..." Indeed, during '
Classic Girl', scantily clad stage dancers filled the arenas. Avery declined to be involved. Since Flea was busy with the Chili Peppers, Porno for Pyros bassist
Martyn LeNoble was enlisted. (Fellow Pyros member
Peter DiStefano guested at one show, to play "
Pets".) Following the success of this tour, the band decided to record a follow-up album to
Ritual de lo Habitual and tapped
Chris Chaney to replace LeNoble on bass. They entered the studio with producer
Bob Ezrin in 2001, recording as a band for the first time in over 10 years. The result was a fourth album,
Strays. Some of the songs (or parts of songs) dated far back in the band's history, while others were new. Reaction was generally favorable, with
Rolling Stone reporting that "The band sounds familiar" and "beefier" though without the "glint of madness" of the original line-up. The first single, "
Just Because", reached number 72 on the
Billboard Hot 100, while "Superhero" garnered exposure as the theme for
HBO's hit series
Entourage. The band spent 2003 on an extensive worldwide tour in support of
Strays, including a summer headliner slot in a reincarnated Lollapalooza U.S. tour. Following this homecoming of sorts, Jane's Addiction once again broke up towards the end of 2003 after canceling several dates. Although details surrounding the band's demise are sparse, Navarro claimed on his website, in June 2004, that the reasons were essentially the same as they were in 1991. Perkins later stated, "We always break up if it's not real. We really can't fake it, We can make a million dollars for three months touring but we would fucking hate each other, which isn't good. Even with the nostalgia, it's not worth it if it doesn't sound good, or look good. One of the things with Jane's is that we have never been good at faking it." A hits album – ''
Up from the Catacombs – The Best of Jane's Addiction'' – was released on September 19, 2006.
2008–2010: Return of Eric Avery and NIN/JA Tour rejoined the band during their third reformation in 2008 before leaving the band again in 2010. in
Charlotte, North Carolina in 2009 Jane's Addiction performed at the first-ever
NME Awards USA on April 23, 2008, with the reunited core line-up of Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins. This was the first performance with bassist Eric Avery since 1991, taking place after their acceptance speech for the "Godlike Genius Award". To follow this up, the original line up performed their first full set in 17 years in Los Angeles on October 23, 2008, at La Cita Bar, and played two further club gigs at the
El Cid in Los Angeles on November 20. and the Echoplex on February 16, 2009. On April 11, 2009, they had a birthday bash for Perry that included members of Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros on the same stage; the bash was nicknamed Perrypalooza. Around this time, photos of Farrell, Navarro, Avery and Perkins, taken by
Trent Reznor, appeared on
Nine Inch Nails' official website, leading to speculation that Reznor could be helping Jane's Addiction record new material. "He did his best to be both producer and psychologist," Farrell said, in a
Billboard report about tension between himself and Avery. "He was very respectful, trying to get out of the way and not overproduce. I wish honestly he would've produced a little more, but he was a little gun-shy after seeing us explode on each other in the studio. He became the referee for a day and after that day I think he was done." Nonetheless, Reznor subsequently posted a blog entry announcing that Jane's Addiction would accompany Nine Inch Nails on their summer 2009 tour, which kicked off on May 8 in West Palm Beach, Florida. To accompany the tour, newly recorded versions of "Chip Away" and "Whores" were released for free via the official tour website. Farrell explained: "To get some creative juice flowing, we went into the studio for about two weeks. We had the idea to re-record two tunes, just because they'd never been done officially in the studio. And we had some fun writing some new things. A handful that are close to finished, but not quite done. But there's no rush to put anything out at this point." Navarro blogged: "We wanted to give our longtime listeners something to celebrate the tour and 'Whores' has always been one of the tracks that defined Jane's early on." A retrospective box set,
A Cabinet of Curiosities, was released to coincide with the NIN/JA tour in April 2009. In July 2009, Jane's Addiction was scheduled to play the
Splendour in the Grass festival in Australia when a health issue forced a last-minute cancellation.
Music Feeds reports that an arm infection, probably that of drummer Stephen Perkins, is the cause of the cancellation. The entire Australian leg of the Jane's Addiction 2009 world tour was cancelled, though Jane's Addiction would play the next year's Splendour in the Grass. Jane's Addiction performed at the 2009
Voodoo Fest held at City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana over Halloween weekend. The concert was filmed and a year later released as
Live Voodoo DVD, which received mixed reviews. "It all falls rather flat, a two-dimensional sound robbing the likes of 'Ocean Size' and 'Ted, Just Admit It' of any sense of dynamics," Phil Mongredien of
Q wrote. Jane's Addiction returned to Australia in February 2010 for the Soundwave Festival. Avery left the band following the festival, stating: "That's it. With equal parts regret and relief, the Jane's Addiction experiment is at an end."
2010–2012: The Great Escape Artist The band began working with
Guns N' Roses bassist
Duff McKagan on new material. with a picture of the group working together posted on Navarro's Twitter page. It was later confirmed by Dave Navarro on his Dark Matter radio program that McKagan had indeed joined Jane's Addiction on a permanent basis. The new lineup of Jane's Addiction made their debut, performing at singer
Perry Farrell's 51st birthday celebration, at Les Deux in Los Angeles, California on March 30. In April 2010, the group announced two European dates, scheduled for June, taking place at the
GelreDome, in
Arnhem, Netherlands, and an appearance at the
Rock in Rio in Madrid, Spain. Preceding these shows in Europe was a one-off Cinco de Mayo concert that took place at the Bardot in Hollywood, California on Wednesday, May 5, 2010. During the show, they debuted a new song titled "Soulmate". In September 2010 McKagan left the band. On September 25, 2010, Jane's Addiction performed a live set for "
Guitar Center Sessions" on
DirecTV. The episode included an interview with the band by program host,
Nic Harcourt. On January 5, 2011, the band announced that they had recruited
TV on the Radio guitarist and producer
Dave Sitek as a replacement for
Duff McKagan. Sitek was set to record the bass for the band's fourth studio album, entitled
The Great Escape Artist. On January 14, 2011, while talking about the recording of the new album, drummer
Stephen Perkins mentioned that although Sitek was a "stabilizing force" for Jane's Addiction, and was to appear on the upcoming album, he was not the band's full-time bassist as was previously reported. It was then confirmed that Sitek would not be touring with the band, which was set to promote the album on a summer tour, including headlining
Reading and Leeds Festivals. These sets would later be cancelled due to Farrell's illness. It was then announced that Chris Chaney would be the band's live bassist for some shows in 2011. On March 30, 2011, a song from
The Great Escape Artist, titled "
End to the Lies" was premiered on the Chilean radio station Radio Futuro, and was also performed at Lollapalooza Chile on April 3, 2011. On April 8, "End to the Lies" was released via their website as free to download. On July 23, 2011, the band headlined the
Gathering of the Vibes Music and Arts festival in
Bridgeport, Connecticut. On August 3, 2011, the band released the second single entitled "
Irresistible Force". The initial release date for new album was scheduled for September 27, 2011, but was postponed until October.
The Great Escape Artist was released on October 18, 2011. In an interview with Jason Tanamor, guitarist
Dave Navarro said, "This album is different because the band went in a new direction that we haven't been in before but at the same time there are many familiar threads of where we used to come from. It's an evolution from where we were but always remembering where we came from." Jane's Addiction launched their Theatre of the Escapists Tour in 2012 to a sold-out crowd at the 2,000 seat Pageant Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. In February 2012, Perry Farrell discussed the possibility of releasing a follow-up to
The Great Escape Artist while touring in support of the album, stating, "What I have not seen before is a group that's done a record, had somewhat of a theme –
escapism – and then done a second record almost as if it was a follow-up
movie. I want to do that. We have material left from
The Great Escape Artist we didn't record. I'm very inspired to keep with the theme. Something's feeling right about it." In 2012, the band contributed a studio cover of
the Rolling Stones' 1968 song "
Sympathy for the Devil" to the television series
Sons of Anarchy.
2013–2021: Continued activity and anniversary touring After finishing up touring in support of
The Great Escape Artist, the band remained active with several subsequent tours, releases and band-related projects. They released their second live album,
Live in NYC, on July 8, 2013, recorded during their "Theatre of Escapists" tour. On August 8, 2013, they released a stand-alone studio single, called "Another Soulmate", which they had previously performed live during
Duff McKagen's brief tenure as bass guitarist in 2010. Later that year, Jane's Addiction was awarded with the 2,509th star of the
Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 30, 2013. Their star is located at 6436 Hollywood Boulevard. In 2014, the band embarked upon a tour performing ''Nothing's Shocking
in full. In 2016, they launched the Sterling Spoon Anniversary Tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Ritual De Lo Habitual
and Lollapalooza. Special guests on the tour included Dinosaur Jr., Living Colour, and Fishbone. A live album from this tour, Alive at Twenty-Five'', was released on August 4, 2017. On February 6, 2020, ten seconds of a song entitled "Laughing Beats" (also referred to as "Embrace the Darkness") was played by Dave Navarro's guitar tech Dan Cleary on Rare Form Radio. The song was recorded with Eric Avery and produced by Trent Reznor in 2009, prompting speculation that the song could be released in full in the near future. On February 8, 2020, Jane's Addiction performed for the first time in over two years at a memorial show for Andrew Burkle, son of billionaire
Ronald Burkle, who died in January 2020. The band was joined on stage by
John Frusciante for "Mountain Song". Frusciante was there performing with the
Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time in 13 years after recently rejoining the band. Stephen Perkins also filled in for Chili Peppers drummer
Chad Smith during their performance due to Smith being unable to attend due to an art show appearance.
2022–2023: Eric Avery's second return and Navarro's hiatus On May 11, 2022,
the Smashing Pumpkins announced the Spirits on Fire Tour, a 32-date trek across America with Jane's Addiction, starting in Dallas on October 2 and wrapping up in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Bowl on November 19. After contracting
COVID-19 in December 2021, Dave Navarro continued to suffer health complications from
long COVID, causing the band to cancel their planned summer festival appearances at
Welcome to Rockville and
Lollapallooza. Farrell and Perkins reformed
Porno for Pyros to replace the band at both events, leading to a full reunion of Porno for Pyros' original line-up. On August 17, 2022, the band revealed on
Instagram that founding bass guitarist
Eric Avery had returned to Jane's Addiction after a twelve-year absence. Later that week, Avery confirmed that the band were working on new material: "Four promising new song ideas. Big thanks to you all for all the kind words of support. It leaves me feeling inspired. Honestly. It produces the best kind of pressure, your passion leaves me determined to do all I can for Jane's Addiction." Avery's surprise return was revealed to have been tentatively in the works since 2020, with
Foo Fighters drummer
Taylor Hawkins helping facilitate phone calls between Farrell and Avery for a possible reunion in honor of
Lollapalooza's 30th anniversary in 2021. Farrell envisioned the band becoming a five-piece with then-current bass guitarist
Chris Chaney remaining in the band alongside Avery. With Avery returning to the band, Chaney was let go after an eleven-year tenure. The split became acrimonious between Farrell and Chaney: "Chris knew that this day would come because we talked about it. When Taylor died, things really changed in our relationship. We can definitely call it 'estranged.' I do not have a good separation with Chris Chaney, that's for sure." In January 2023, Klinghoffer was announced as Navarro's full replacement for their 2023 tour dates.
2024–2025: Reunion tour, stage altercation and breakup On May 23, 2024, the classic Jane's Addiction line-up of Farrell, Navarro, Avery and Perkins performed at the 400-capacity
Bush Hall in London, marking the first time the four-piece had performed together since 2010. The band debuted new material at the show, their first with Avery in thirty-four years, ahead of a full European tour. Both
The Guardian and
NME, awarded five-star reviews to the band's performance at London's
Roundhouse, with
The Guardian writing: "They've not sounded this vivid and alive in decades. It might finally be time to believe in Jane's Addiction again – after all, they clearly do," and
NME describing them as "a force to be reckoned with". Navarro said "some of those UK club dates are among my favorite Jane's Addiction shows that I've ever played". Jane's Addiction announced a US tour, with support from
Love and Rockets, with whom the band had previously toured in 1987. On July 24, 2024, they released the single "Imminent Redemption", the first original song with Avery in 34 years. The band stated: "It is different this time. To have everyone back together, releasing new music. It's time. Welcome to the next chapter of Jane's Addiction. 'Imminent Redemption' is only the beginning." The band confirmed that they had been working on several other new songs, with Avery saying he was "guardedly optimistic" that they could complete new music: "The phrase that Dave and I were talking about the other day is: 'If there is a Jane's Addiction in 2025, then there will be new music for sure.' But you just never know if there's going to be a band at all."
The Guardian reported that there were tensions between band members when they played in New York City in September. On September 13, a concert at
Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston was cut short after Farrell shoved and punched Navarro and was restrained by the crew members. Farrell's wife, Etty Lau Farrell, said Farrell had been suffering from
tinnitus and a sore throat and felt his voice was being drowned out by the band. On September 16, they canceled the remainder of the tour and said they would "take some time away as a group". Navarro, Avery and Perkins released a joint statement attributing the cancellation to Farrell's behavior and mental health, while Farrell released an apology of his own, saying his behavior was "inexcusable". After several months of inactivity, on December 25, Navarro and Avery re-released their 1994
Deconstruction album on
music streaming services for the first time, with
Spin naming it a "quiet masterpiece" in an accompanying feature. On January 3, 2025, it was revealed that Avery, Navarro and Perkins were working on new music together, without the participation of Farrell. In May 2025, Navarro stated that there was "no chance" the band would reunite. In July 2025, Avery, Navarro, and Perkins sued Farrell for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. Their lawsuit seeks at least $10 million in damages owing to the tour's cancellation and the breakup of the band, and asks that Farrell pay outstanding costs related to the cancelled tour and the inability to record new songs for which the band is contractually obligated. Farrell subsequently filed his own lawsuit against Navarro, Perkins and Avery, accusing his bandmates of bullying, assault and battery, and for "harassing him onstage during performances" which allegedly included "playing their instruments at a high volume so that he could not hear himself sing without blasting his own in-ear monitors at an unsafe level." Farrell also seeks damages for
libel, claiming that the other members inaccurately described him in the media as suffering from poor mental health and alcoholism. On December 17, 2025, the members of Jane's Addiction confirmed in a joint statement that, despite having reconciled with Farrell, the band would not continue: "We have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Jane's Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together. We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors. Jane's Addiction will forever live in our hearts. We are proud of the music we created together." ==Musical style and influences==