Downfall of Hall & Oates: Daryl Hall obtains restraining order against former bandmate John Oates

Singers Daryl Hall and John Oates once topped the charts together but it seems their friendship has soured over the years. Photo / Getty Images

Daryl Hall has obtained a restraining order against Hall & Oates bandmate John Oates.

The 77-year-old singer is embroiled in a legal battle against his former musical partner but the court documents are sealed, however, according to Philadelphia magazine, court records show the bassist filed an undisclosed complaint on November 16, as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order.

The following day, the court officially issued a temporary restraining order to begin on November 30.

While the Nashville Chancery Court confirmed the existence of the lawsuit to Variety, it declined to comment further.

Last year, Hall insisted he and Oates are simply “business partners” and have always been “very separate”. Speaking on the Club Random podcast, he said: “You think John Oates is my partner? … He’s my business partner. He’s not my creative partner.

“John and I are brothers, but we are not creative brothers. We are business partners. We made records called Hall & Oates together, but we’ve always been very separate, and that’s a really important thing for me.”

He then went on to insist the duo’s 1980 number one hit single Kiss on My List - on which Oates is listed as co-producer but not songwriter - as an example of their creative divide, he said: “I did all those [harmonies]. That’s all me”.

The duo met in 1967 and began their musical collaboration three years later, releasing 18 studio albums since their 1972 debut LP Whole Oats and have had six number-one singles.

They last toured together in October 2022 but Hall stressed he is more interested in “pursuing [his] own world”.

He told the Los Angeles Times: “I don’t have any plans to work with John. I mean, whatever. Time will tell.

“Perceptions changed, life changed, everything changed,” he added, “I’m more interested in pursuing my own world. And so is John.

“That takes me back to what I was saying about duos. I couldn’t just say what I think, I had to add what he thinks.”