Follow TV Tropes

Following

Long-Runner Line-up

Go To

This is when not only a band lasts 10 years or more (as per TV Tropes' definition of long runner), but a specific lineup of the band does so as well.

There are 5 categories:

  1. A band reaches its 10-year anniversary with no breakups, hiatuses, or line-up changes. Often crosses with True Companions.
  2. Various lineups but one or more noted as being long enough to qualify, no breakups or hiatuses after the lineup stabilized. This can look like (or sometimes arguably is) Type 1 when previous lineups are mere blips on the radar (see ZZ Top) or if the band received its current name after the lineup stabilized (see The Statler Brothers).
  3. At least one breakup and/or hiatus, but no intervening lineup before the original hits ten years total. In many cases, they go 10 consecutive years after the hiatus (at which case they become a Type 1 + 5).
  4. Various lineups but one or more noted as being long enough to qualify, at least one periodic breakup and/or hiatus after the lineup stabilized.
  5. The group has a lineup that lasted 10 total non-consecutive years, with other lineups intervening. If this lineup lasts 10 consecutive years, it becomes Type 2 (unless it's the original lineup, in which case it's a variant of Type 1).

Note: For types 3-5 to qualify, that particular lineup has to total 10 active years.

These bands can also fit under Revolving Door Band, especially types 2, 4 and 5, and can even fit this trope more than once, if multiple lineups have each lasted over 10 years (The Statler Brothers, R.E.M., The Moody Blues, Van Halen. Mötley Crüe and The Oak Ridge Boys; the last of whom fit twice with the same lineup.) The Logical Extreme of this is a now-defunct band in which all lineups (example: R.E.M.) or the only lineup (example: Led Zeppelin, Coldplay) lasted over 10 years.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Type 1 
Ten consecutive years from their formation with their first lineup.
  • All one-man-bands, a la Blue Stahli, Bathory, Catacombs, Burzum, Nine Inch Nails, Celldweller, City and Colour, Pain, and whatnot, are guaranteed this, should you not count live members, because a lineup change would result in the band ending. note 
  • The Answer have been Cormac Neeson, Paul Mahon, Micky Waters and James Heatley since their formation in 2000.
  • All Time Low has been Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, Zack Merrick, and Rian Dawson since the band's formation in 2003.
  • Alter Bridge has been Myles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti, Brian Marshall, and Scott Phillips since they formed in June 2004.
  • Aqua was Lene Nystrøm, René Dif, Søren Rasted, and Claus Norreen from their foundation in 1989 until they broke up in 2001 (12 years). They reunited from 2008 to 2012, and again from 2016 onwards without Norreen.
  • Asian Kung-Fu Generation has been Masafumi Gotoh, Kensuke Kita, Takahiro Yamada, and Kiyoshi Ijichi since their formation in 1996.
  • Anaal Nathrakh has been Mick Kinney and Dave Hunt since 1999. Rather unusual for a band as extreme as them.
  • Chiptune Power Pop band Anamanaguchi first formed between Peter Berkman and James DeVito in 2006, joined by Ary Warnaar and Luke Silas in 2009, and the four have since stayed active together without breakup or discernable hiatus.
  • Canadian punk/alt-rock band Billy Talent has had the same lineup from 1993 to 2016, when drummer Aaron Solowoniuk was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and retired from touring.
  • The Black Keys have been Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney since 2001.
  • Bombay Bicycle Club has been Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram, and Ed Nash since it was formed in 2005.
  • The Cars' original lineup of Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes, and David Robinson lasted from 1976 until breaking up in 1988. The band did reunite in 2010–2011, and again in 2018, but without Orr, who had died in 2000. Their run ended once and for all upon Ocasek's passing in 2019.
  • The Chemical Brothers have been Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons since 1991.
  • Coldplay has been Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Champion since 1996.
  • Aside from being "The Blue Velvets" and "The Golliwogs", Creedence Clearwater Revival consisted of John Fogerty, Tom Fogerty, Stu Cook, and Doug Clifford from the band's formation in 1959 to Tom's departure in 1971.
  • Crush 40 has been Johnny Gioeli and Jun Senoue since 1998.
  • The Crystal Method was composed of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland from 1993 to 2017, when Jordan retired. Kirkland has since kept the act alive as a solo moniker.
  • Daft Punk was only Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo from their start in 1993 until their retirement in 2021.
  • De La Soul's lineup was composed of Posdnuos, Maseo, and Trugoy from 1988 until 2023, when Trugoy died.
  • Elbow has been Guy Garvey, Mark Potter, Pete Turner, Craig Potter, and Richard Jupp from their formation in 1990 until Jupp left in 2016.
  • The Four Tops, which were Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton from 1953 (when they started) to 1997 (when Payton died) — 43 years. Only in 2012 did ZZ Top beat them for longevity.
  • Franz Ferdinand was Alex Kapranos, Nicholas McCarthy, Robert Hardy, and Paul Thomson from 2002–16, when it was announced McCarthy would be taking a break and not record the band's fifth album.
  • Isaac, Taylor, and Zac Hanson have been performing since 1992. You'd think this would be justified in that they are brothers, but Noel and Liam Gallagher have shown that brotherhood doesn't mean getting along.
  • The Hives have been Howlin' Pelle Almqvist, Nicholaus Arson, Vigilante Carlstroem, Dr. Matt Destruction, and Chris Dangerous (and Randy Fitzimmons, who is apparently their songwriter) since 1993.
  • Indica has been the same five ladies since their formation in 2001: Johanna "Jonsu" Salomaa, Heini Säisä, Sirkku Karvonen, Jenny Mandelin, and Laura Häkkänen.
  • INXS consisted of Garry Gary Beers, Andrew Farriss, Jon Farriss, Tim Farriss, and Kirk Pengilly from start to finish. Only the lead singer changed, and it was Michael Hutchence from 1977 to his death in 1997.
  • The Jackson 5 had the same lineup from 1964-1975 (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael Jackson), at which point the band name changed to The Jacksons and Jermaine left the band (only to return in 1983).
  • Korn's founding lineup of Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Brian "Head" Welch, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and David Silveria lasted from 1993 to 2005, when Head left. Head rejoined the band in 2013, and that lineup (with drummer Ray Luzier replaced David Silveria in 2008) has stayed the same until 2021 when Fieldy took a hiatus.
  • The Japanese Math Rock band LITE has been Nobuyuki, Jun, Kozo, and Akinori since their formation in 2003.
  • Little Big Town has been Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook since its foundation in 1998. Fairchild and Westbrook married in 2006.
  • Macabre has been Charles "Nefarious" Lescewicz, Lance "Corporate Death" Lencioni, and Dennis "The Menace" Ritchie since forming in 1985.
  • McFly has been Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, Dougie Poynter, and Harry Judd since forming in 2003.
  • Muse has been only Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard since they formed in 1993.
  • Oomph!, German metal band and the Trope Maker for NDH, had the same line-up for 33 years, from their formation in 1989 to 2021, when singer Dero Goi left to pursue a solo career. The only members to change were temporary live personnel.
  • Pet Shop Boys has only consisted of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe since they formed in 1981.
  • Radiohead has been Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood, and Phil Selway since 1985.
  • Rammstein has the same lineup from the beginning in 1994: Till Lindemann, Richard Kruspe, Paul Landers, Ollie Riedel, Doom Schneider and Flake Lorenz. They've stated that if any of them quit or die, the band will break up permanently.
  • Randy Rogers Band has been the same five guys (Brady Black, Geoffrey Hill, Les Lawless, Jon Richardson, and Randy Rogers) since 2000.
  • Brazilian band Roupa Nova always had the same six-member lineup since its debut in 1980, until 2020, when main singer Paulinho passed away due to COVID.
  • SHeDAISY has been sisters Kassidy, Kelsi, and Kristyn Osborn since 1999. Before that, they recorded as The Osborn Sisters from 1989 to 1991.
  • Shonen Knife's original lineup of Naoko Yamano, Michie Nakatani, and Atsuko Yamano remained unchanged for eighteen years (1981–99)
  • Shpongle has been Raja and Simon since 1996.
  • The Strokes have been Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr, Nick Valensi, Nikolai Fraiture, and Fabrizio Moretti since 1998.
  • Death Metal group Unleashed has had the exact same lineup since 1990, and every single album of theirs has the exact same musicians playing.
  • German Progressive Metal band Vanden Plas has had the same 5 man lineup from their formation in 1986.

Logical Extreme (Long Runner Bands that had just one lineup from formation to breakup.)

  • The vast majority of duos which have since split up, from Brooks & Dunn to The White Stripes.
  • Australian Alternative Rock band Grinspoon, formed in 1995 by Phil Jamieson, Pat Davern, Joe Hansen, and Kristian Hopes, kept their lineup through to 2013 when the band went on an "indefinite hiatus". Should they reform after this time, they also gain Type 3 status.
  • Led Zeppelin consisted of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham from their start in 1968 until they broke up after Bonham died in 1980. They've reunited a handful of times for one-off events since then, with guest drummers taking Bonham's place (including his own son, Jason) but have never written any new material.
  • Rascal Flatts was Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney from 1999 until their disbanding in 2021.
  • Run–D.M.C.. The starting Run–D.M.C. Jay lineup lasted for 21 years. When Jam Master Jay was killed in 2002, the band split up instead of getting another DJ.
  • Brazilian band Skank has had the same four guys since its formation in 1991 and announced they'd take a hiatus 30 years later.
  • Argentine alternative rockers Soda Stereo remained a Power Trio (Gustavo Cerati, Charly Alberti, and Zeta Bosio) from 1982 all the way up to their break-up in 1997.

    Type 1 + 2 
Ten consecutive years from their formation with their first lineup, then 10 consecutive years with another lineup; no hiatuses/breakups in between.
  • The Beaux Arts Trio's initial lineup of Menachem Pressler (piano), Daniel Guilet (violin), and Bernard Greenhouse (cello) lasted 13 years until 1968 when Guilet retired and was replaced by Isadore Cohen. That lineup would not change until 1987 (19 years) when Greenhouse left. The lineup changed quite a few times afterward until the trio's final performance in 2008 (with Pressler being the only constant).
  • Blind Guardian had the same formation between 1987 and 2005, with Hansi Kürsch, André Olbrich, Marcus Siepen, and Thomas "Thomen" Stauch. Stauch left the band and was replaced by Frederick Ehmke in 2005. This second lineup became a Type 2 in 2015.
  • Blues Traveler was John Popper, Chad Kinchla, Bobby Sheehan, and Brendan Hill from 1987 until bassist Sheehan died in 1999 (12 years). Chad's little brother Tad Kinchla replaced Sheehan that year, and Ben Wilson joined as a permanent keyboardist in 2000. The lineup hasn't changed since then (23 years and counting).
  • Bon Jovi have had two changes since their formation in 1983: bassist Alec John Such left in 1994 (the band was officially without a bassist ever since although Hugh McDonald played on every album since These Days and appears with them live, until 2016 when he finally joined as an official member), and 20 years later Richie Sambora left for some reason, being replaced by touring guitarist Phil X. And while Jon Bon Jovi recorded a demo with McDonald and other guys before forming the band, the closest one got to being The Pete Best in Bon Jovi is Jon's neighbor Dave Sabo, who was his original choice to play guitar, but went on to form Skid Row instead.
  • Mike + the Mechanics just made it to 10 years with its original lineup of Mike Rutherford, Paul Carrack, Paul Young, Adrian Lee, and Peter Van Hooke (1985–1995). After Lee and Van Hooke left, the remaining trio soldiered on until Young's death in 2000, with Rutherford and Carrack calling it quits in 2004. In late 2010, Rutherford restarted the band with a completely new lineup of himself, Anthony Drennan, Tim Howar, Luke Juby, Andrew Roachford, and Gary Wallis; this lineup has remained stable to this day (January 2024).
  • Brazilian quartet MPB-4 had the same lineup (Miltinho, Magro, Aquiles, and Ruy Faria) from 1965 until 2004, when Faria quit.
    • And again since 2013, with Miltinho, Aquiles, Dalmo Medeiros (who replaced Faria) and Paulo Malaguti (who replaced Magro after his death in 2012).
  • Sawyer Brown has done this three times. The original lineup was Mark Miller (lead vocals), Bobby Randall (lead guitar), Jim Scholten (bass), Joe Smyth (drums), and Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard (keyboards) from 1981 to 1991. Randall was replaced by Duncan Cameron from 1991 to 2004, and Cameron was replaced by Shayne Hill after that.
  • Slade was Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Jim Lea, and Don Powell from 1969–92 (around 23 years). After much shuffling of the lineup, it stabilized in 2005 with Hill, Powell, Mal McNulty, and John Berry until 2019 with McNulty's departure.

Logical Extreme (All lineups were long-runners)

  • The Bouncing Souls formed somewhere between 1987 and 1989 (depending on what source you use) and lasted with their original lineup until 2000 when drummer Shal Khichi left. He was replaced by Michael McDermott, who lasted until 2013. The third lineup (with George Rebelo on the drums) reached this threshold as well when 2023 hit.
  • Mudhoney's original lineup—Mark Arm, Steve Turner, Matt Lukin and Dan Peters—lasted from 1988–2001 (13 years). Lukin retired in 2001, and replacement bassist Guy Maddison has been with the band ever since.
  • The Presidents of the United States of America: Chris Ballew on bass and lead vocals, Dave Dederer on guitar and backing vocals, and Jason Finn on drums and backing vocals from 1993–2005; then Dederer left and was replaced by Andrew McKeag, who stayed with the band until they called it a day in 2016.
  • R.E.M. was Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe, and Bill Berry from 1980–97 (17 years). Then Berry retired for health reasons, and the others soldiered on without him until 2011 (14 years). Even then, there's been a handful of instances of Berry rejoining the band for a song at lower key concerts if they're in his neck of the woods.

    Type 1 + 3 
Got to ten consecutive years from their formation on their first lineup, broke up, then got back together with the original lineup.
  • ABBA has been Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad longer than they were ABBA (the original name for the group was "Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid"). The lineup lasted from June 1972 until December 1982, before reuniting in 2016.
  • a-ha has been Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen, and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy since 1982, with hiatuses from 1994–98 and 2010–15 (the second interrupted by a reunion concert during a memorial for the 2011 Norway attacks).
  • New Zealand indie rock band The Bats has consisted of Paul Kean, Malcolm Grant, Robert Scott, and Kaye Woodward since its formation in 1982, making them one of the longest running original lineups still performing together. Although the Bats have never broken up and have never had any other members aside from its original quartet, they are not a pure Type 1 because they often take hiatuses from touring and recording, something which they attribute their longevity to. Their longest break from recording was between 1995 and 2005, but even during that time they still played occasional shows.
  • Garbage has always been Shirley Manson, Butch Vig, Duke Erikson, and Steve Marker since their founding in 1994. Their first run lasted 11 years (1994–2005), after which they put the band on hiatus. They briefly reunited for a few months in 2007 to release a Greatest Hits Album, then went back on hiatus until 2010, when they got together again to start working on a new studio album (released in 2012) and remain together ever since.
  • Guano Apes has been Sandra Nasić, Henning Rümenapp, Stefan Ude, and Dennis Poschwatta since it was formed in 1994 up until they broke up twelve years later in 2006. Then they reformed in 2009 with the exact same line-up, and it's been that way ever since.
  • Luna Sea was Inoran, J, Ryuichi, Sugizo and Shinya (1989–2000). Then they broke up and reformed in 2010.
  • Indonesian band Padi was formed by Piyu, Fadli, Ari, Rindra, and Yoyo in 1997, went on hiatus in 2011, and reunited (as Padi Reborn) in 2017, all without a line-up change.
  • Roxette was always Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. They formed in 1986, went on hiatus in 2002 (coinciding with Fredriksson discovering a brain tumor), reunited in 2009, and appeared sporadically until the former's death in 2019.
  • Silverchair was formed by Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies, and Chris Joannou as Innocent Criminals in 1992, adopted the new name two years later and went on hiatus in 2003. They regrouped in 2006, disbanding 5 years later.
  • Spandau Ballet might qualify either here or in Type 2. While four of the band's founding members (Tony Hadley, Gary Kemp, Steve Norman, and John Keeble) had played together since 1976, they went through a few other members and several names before their lineup stabilized with the addition of Gary's brother Martin in July 1978. That lineup first performed as Spandau Ballet in December 1979 and remained together until March 1990 (a little more than 10 years as Spandau Ballet, a shade less than 12 with that lineup). They reunited in March 2009 and kept the lineup together until Hadley left in July 2017.
  • Stone Temple Pilots was Scott Weiland, Rob and Dean DeLeo and Eric Kretz from 1986 to 2003, and after a hiatus reunited in 2008. In 2012, Weiland left, completing 21 years together.
  • Supergrass was Gaz Coombes, Rob Coombes, Danny Goffey and Mick Quinn from 1993 to 2010, with a reunion between 2019 and 2022.

    Type 1 + 4 
Got to ten consecutive years from formation on their first lineup, changed lineups, had a hiatus (whichever comes first), but totaled at least another ten years with a lineup after the change.
  • The Andrews Sisters (LaVerne, Maxine, and Patricia "Patty" Andrews), who had an initial run from 1925–51 (26 years), were briefly a duo when Patty left in the early '50s, broke up in 1953, reunited as a trio in 1956, and split after LaVerne died in 1967 (11 years).
  • Mötley Crüe was Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Vince Neil, and Tommy Lee from 1981–92 (about 11 years), then from 1997 to 1999, and finally 2004–15 (another 11 years). And then in 2019 they recorded new songs and decided to still make another tour. In 2022, Mars announced his retirement from touring.
  • Naughty by Nature started out in 1986 as The New Style with Treach, Vin Rock, and DJ Kay Gee, changing their name shortly after their first album release in 1989. Kay Gee left in late 2000, and the other two continued on until officially disbanding in 2002. The trio reunited in May 2006. Vin Rock was fired in 2013, but returned two years later; while the group hasn't produced any new music since 2011, it continues as a touring act. In all, the classic lineup has been together 29 years to date (14 years from formation, followed by stints of 7 and 8 years).

    Type 1 + 5 
Original lineup didn't reach 10 consecutive years from formation, but reunited and got to 10 consecutive years, with or without hiatuses/breakups.
  • Christian group 2nd Chapter of Acts started in 1973, had a hiatus in 1976, then went from 1976–88. Their lineup was siblings Annie Herring, Nelly Greisen, and Michael Ward from beginning to end.
  • The Backstreet Boys were Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, and Kevin Richardson from 1993-2002 (9 years), split in 2002, reformed in 2005, then Richardson left in 2006 - only to return in April 2012. They remain together as of April 2023.
  • The Bee Gees (founded 1958) originally consisted of brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. Other members came and went between 1967 and 1970. Robin left in 1969 but returned the following year. After a short spell with an outside drummer in 1971–72, the lineup of Barry, Robin, and Maurice then lasted continuously for 31 years, from 1972 to 2003, only ending when Maurice passed away.
  • The Cardigans formed in 1992 and have had the same five-piece line-up ever since, but with hiatuses from 2000-01 and 2007-11.
  • Peter, Paul and Mary (Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers) lasted from 1961-1969 (8 years), broke up, reunited in 1978, and remained together until Mary died in 2009 (31 years).
  • Metal band Sevendust has had the same lineup from 1995 to 2004 when guitarist Clint Lowery left, and he ended up returning in 2008.
  • Sloan has had the same lineup for its entire run (1991–present). They do technically avert Type 1 as they briefly broke up in 1995 following their second album.
  • Ten Years After was Alvin Lee, Chick Churchill, Leo Lyons, and Ric Lee from 1966–1974 (8 years), broke up, reunited for a one-off show in 1983, and then had a more lasting reunion from 1988–2003 (15 years). A later lineup made it as a Type 4.
  • Wilson Phillips has been Carnie and Wendy Wilson (daughters of Brian Wilson) and Chynna Phillips (daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas) since forming in 1989, but first broke up in 1993 and didn't reunite until 2004 (though they did perform together for a single show in 2001). They broke up again in 2006 and again reunited in 2010. While their last studio album was released in 2012, they remain active as a touring group to this day, becoming Type 5 in 2014 and a Type 1 variant in 2020.
  • The original and classic lineup of punk band X consisted of John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake. This lineup lasted from 1977 to 1986 when Zoom left. He returned to the band in 1998 and has remained with them ever since.

    Type 2 
A lineup other than their first lasted 10 straight years; no hiatuses/breakups inbetween.
  • Since 1989, The 69 Eyes has had just one change in their line-up - in 1992.
  • 311 formed in Omaha in 1988 and originally consisted of Nick Hexum (vocals and guitar), Aaron "P-Nut" Wills (bass), Chad Sexton (drums), and Jim Watson (guitar). In 1991, Jim left the band and Tim Mahoney (guitar) and Doug "SA" Martinez (vocals, turntables) joined. The lineup has remained unchanged since.
  • AC/DC has changed a few members, but after original drummer Phil Rudd returned in the early '90s, the line-up from Back in Black (Rudd, founders/guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young, Bon Scott's replacement singer Brian Johnson, and bassist Cliff Williams, who joined in 1977) was back and remained the same until Malcolm Young had to retire due to health issues in 2014. That made 23 years together - 1980–83 and 1994–2014. The band just squeaked by 20 years with the same unchanged lineup the second time, as after Malcolm retired, there were several departures of longtime personnel in rapid succession: Rudd was fired in 2015 following legal problems, Johnson had to leave the band later that year due to a serious hearing condition and Williams retired in 2016 because his heart was no longer in the band after the other three had left. Johnson, Rudd, and Williams have all since rejoined the band.
  • Ace of Base was Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg and Jonas, Malin and Jenny Berggren from 1990–2007.
  • Aerosmith (founded 1969) had Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, and Joey Kramer for eight years from 1971 (when Whitford joined) to 1979 (when Perry left), and 1984 onwards— more than 40 years total, which places that lineup here rather than Type 5 (where, technically, it would also fit).
  • Alabama: Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry, Jeff Cook, and Mark Herndon from 1979 until the early 2000s. Before Herndon joined, three different drummers had been in the group. Although Herndon rarely played in-studio due to Executive Meddling, he did not officially leave until the early 2000s, so Owen, Gentry, and Cook continued recording and touring sporadically without him.
  • The All-American Rejects started with Tyson Ritter, Nick Wheeler, and Jesse Tabish. Tim Campbell joined in 2001 but he and Tabish left soon after, replaced with Mike Kennerty and Chris Gaylor, which has been the lineup since.
  • Ambrosia started in 1970 with Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, and Joe Puerta. North left in 1977; while he returned a year later, the band added other members before breaking up in 1982 after its last studio album to date. The original members reunited in 1989 as a touring act, adding Tollak Ollestad and Shem von Schroeck, and this lineup lasted until Pack left for good in 2000. The band still tours to this day, and has recorded some new material (though not enough yet for a full album), but has had no further lineup stable enough to qualify.
  • America started out in 1970 with Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell, and Dan Peek. Peek left in 1977 to pursue a solo career, but Beckley and Bunnell have continued to record and tour as America to this day (46 years and counting).
  • Anti-Flag started as a three-piece, went through a few bassists, became a four-piece in 1997 and finally settled on a bassist, Chris #2, in 1999 and has featured the same lineup until their break-up in 2023.
  • Anthrax has had the same lineup since 2013, when lead guitarist Jon Donais joined the band.
  • The B-52s most commercially successful lineup of Keith Strickland, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson has lasted since 1996 after Cindy Wilson rejoined the band after leaving in 1990 to focus on her family.note  This lineup was also in place from 1985-90, making them a Type 5 as well. This wasn't by choice as Cindy's brother Ricky Wilson, who also founded the band in 1976 with the other four members, ended up passing away from AIDS-related complications in 1985.
  • Bad Religion had a stable formation from 2001 (when original guitarist Brett Gurewitz returned) to 2013 (when another guitarist, Greg Hetson, left).
  • Bananarama has been Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward since 1991, interrupted from April 2017 to August 2018 by the return of original member Siobhan Fahey.
  • Barenaked Ladies: Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart, and Steven Page from the time Hearn joined in 1995 until Page left in 2009 — 14 years. Since then, Creeggan, Hearn, Robertson, and Stewart have continued on for 14 years thus far.
  • Beastie Boys were Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock from 1984 to MCA's death in 2012.
  • Between the Buried and Me hasn't changed lineups since 2005, when Dustie Waring, Blake Richardson and Dan Briggs joined and the band had already gone through two bassists, three guitarists and four drummers. The core members of Tommy Giles Rogers and Paul Waggoner have been together since the start of the band in 2000.
  • BIGMAMA debuted in 2006 as Masato Kanai, Hiroya Kakinuma, Ib Riad, Fusuke Yukasawa, and Kohei Yokota. A matter of months later, the latter two were replaced by Hideto Yasui and Mao Higashide, and the band would keep the same lineup for 13 years and change until mid-2020 with Riad's departure.
  • Blue Öyster Cult consisted of Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, Allen Lanier, Albert Bouchard, and Joe Bouchard from 1970 to 1981 when Albert left. Since then, they have been a Revolving Door Band centered around Bloom and Dharma.
  • Boyz II Men has two lineups that qualify, but neither was their original one. The first lineup of Michael McCary, Nathan and Wanya Morris (not related), Marc Nelson, and Shawn Stockman lasted only a year, with Nelson leaving in 1989 due to personal conflicts. The remaining four stayed together for 14 years until McCary left after back issues stemming from multiple sclerosis; the group has continued as a trio (the Morrises and Stockman) to this day.
  • Bring Me the Horizon has had two lineup changes since its formation in 2004, but the current lineup has lasted since 2013, consisting of lead vocalist Oli Sykes, lead guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nichols, and keyboardist/backing vocalist Jordan Fish. Fish is the only current member who was not a founding member. He joined the band in 2013 after the departure of rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, who in turn replaced original rhythm guitarist Curtis Ward in 2009.
  • British Sea Power's core consists of Yan and Hamilton Wilkinson, Martin Noble, and Matthew Wood since 1995. Outside of that, there was Alison Cotton, a founding member who was scooped up by another band in 1998, Eamon Hamilton, who joined in 2002 and left four years later, as well as Phil Sumner and Abi Fry, who joined in 2006 and 2008 respectively and stayed.
  • The Browns started out as Jim Ed Brown and his sister Maxine in 1954. In 1955, younger sister Bonnie joined them, and they were a trio until splitting in 1968.
  • Cake had one between 2004 and 2015, marking Paulo Baldi's tenure as the drummer.
  • The Canadian Brass, twice. They were Ronald Romm (Trumpet), Fred Mills (Trumpet), Graeme Page (French Horn), Gene Watts (trombone) and Charles Daellenbach (Tuba) from 1972 - 1983, and Romm, Mills, Watts, Daellenbach with David Ohanian on French Horn from 1986 to 1996.
  • Cheap Trick's classic lineup of Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos only lasted from 1974 to 1980, when Petersson left the band and was replaced by a series of bass players. He returned in 1987 and the band has since achieved Long Runner status by never changing their lineup permanently again. Carlos stopped touring with the band in 2010, replaced in concerts by Nielsen's son Daxx, but remains an official band member.
  • The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) have been Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire,note  and Emily Strayernote  since 1997. Originally they were a quartet consisting of Laura Lynch and Robin Lynn Macy along with Martie and Emily. Lynch and Macy left when the band went from straight-up bluegrass for a more mainstream sound.
  • Famous German psych/stoner rock band Colour Haze has been Stefan, Philipp, and Manfred since 1998.
  • The Cure: From 1995 to 2005 there were Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Perry Bamonte, and Roger O'Donnell. Started with Cooper's arrival (and O'Donnell's return), stopped after the last two were fired in May 2005 (although O'Donnell has since returned again).
  • Darkthrone went through a number of lineup changes early in their existence before stabilising as a four-piece, but eventually two of the members left, and neither of them was replaced. The lineup has consisted entirely of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto since at least 1994 (possibly since late 1993).
  • Industrial metal band Deadstar Assembly has consisted of vocalist Dearborn, bassist The Dro, guitarist DreGGs, drummer Kriz D. K., and keyboardist Mubo since 2009.
  • For the better part of the 2000s and the early 2010s, Death Cab for Cutie consisted of Ben Gibbard, Chris Walla and Nick Harmer (each present since the group expanded out of Gibbard’s solo project in 1997) with Jason McGerr (their third and longest-tenured drummer, who joined in 2003). Five of the group’s albums (including Transatlanticism, their best-received album to date) released with the lineup before Walla departed to pursue a solo production career in 2015; Gibbard, Harmer, and McGerr would continue afterward alongside newcomers Zac Rae and Dave Depper.
  • Although not the classic lineup of their commercial heyday, Def Leppard have remained unchanged since 1992, when former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell was hired to replace the late Steve Clark on guitar.
  • The Dells started in 1952 as the El-Rays with founding members Marvin Junior, Johnny Funches, Verne Allison, Mickey & Lucius McGill, and Chuck Barksdale. The group continued as a quintet when Lucius McGill left (and changed their name to the Dells not long after that), and initially broke up in 1958. They re-united 2 years later minus Funches, who was replaced by Johnny Carter. This lineup stayed intact until Carter's death in 2009 (49 years).
  • Depeche Mode had two lineups that qualify: Martin Gore, Dave Gahan, Andy Fletcher, and Alan Wilder from 1982 to 1995, and Gore, Gahan, and Fletcher from 1996 until Fletcher's death in 2022. The core three members were Depeche Mode from 1980 until Fletcher's passing.
  • Country Music band Diamond Rio has been Marty Roe, Gene Johnson, Jimmy Olander, Brian Prout, Dan Truman, and Dana Williams since 1989. None of them were original members, however; the band began in 1982 as the Grizzly River Boys/Tennessee River Boys and underwent several membership changes before taking on this lineup. One of the original members was Ty Herndon, who had several country hits on Epic Records in The '90s.
  • Die Ärzte has been the same Rock Trio since Rodrigo González joined in 1993.
  • Long-standing German punk band Die Toten Hosen has pretty much run the same lineup since 1983 (founded 1982, their original guitarist left because of drugs), with the only position changing hands in all these years being that of the drummer for various reasons: Trini Trimpop sat behind the set from their first concert to 1985, was replaced by Jakob Keusen for a time, who then subsequently was replaced by Wolfgang "Wölli" Rhode in 1986 (Keusen was part of another band). The latter-most gave up the position in 1999 due to health problems and took over management of the band, with his replacement being the band's current drummer Stephen "Vom" Ritchie.
  • Dir en grey formed as La:Sadie's in 1996, then disbanded after their split with then-bassist Kisaki in 1997. Shortly after, they reformed under the current name, with bassist Toshiya taking Kisaki's position. They hit their 10-year anniversary in 2007 with no changes in the lineup. The band can also be considered a Type 1, if 1997 is to be considered as their date of formation.
  • Dream Theater had the same line-up of John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, John Myung, James LaBrie and Jordan Rudess from 1999 until 2010 when Mike Portnoy left. Their next line-up with Mike Mangini has been consistent since 2010. The three core members (Myung, Petrucci, and Portnoy) had been together since 1985.
  • Duran Duran started out as a Revolving Door Band, followed by a long stretch of lesser churn. However, their current lineup of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes (the only constant member), John Taylor, and Roger Taylor has been together since late October 2006.
  • Edguy has been Tobias Sammet; Jens Ludwig; Dirk Sauer; Tobias Exxel and Felix Bohnke since 1999, when Exxel joined, and are still going strong. They only had one breakup, with the former drummer, in 1997.
  • Norwegian Black Metal band Enslaved were a Revolving Door Band in their early days, but their line-up has remained stable since 2004.
  • Epica has been Mark Jansen, Coen Janssen, Simone Simons, Ariën van Weesenbeek, Isaac Delahaye and Rob van der Loo since the latter joined the group in 2012 after the release of their fifth album. Prior to that the band typically had a line-up change every 3-4 years since its founding in 2002.
  • If you're looking for a classic example of a Revolving Door Band, British folk-rockers Fairport Convention fit the bill perfectly, so much so that rock historian Pete Frame created a band family tree titled "Resolving the Fairport Confusion". Nonetheless, their current lineup (Simon Nicol, David Pegg, Dave Mattacks, Ric Sanders, and Chris Leslie) has lasted since 1998.
  • The "classic" lineup of The Fixx (Cy Curnin, Jamie West-Oram, Rupert Greenall, Adam Woods, and Dan K. Brown) became a Type 2 in 2018, 10 years after Brown returned to the band. Brown had previously been the band's bassist for just less than 10 years between 1983 and 1992 and has been back with them since 2008 (as of May 2021, 13 consecutive years and 23 in all). The band had several other bass players both before Brown joined and during his absence; if not for that one revolving door they would have qualified for Type 3 status as well. The other four members have all been performing together since 1980, save for a few years' hiatus in the 1990s.
  • Fleetwood Mac spent its first eight years as a prototypical Revolving Door Band, right up to the New Sound Album that introduced Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. This lineup would remain stable for more than a decade, and would so define the band's sound that few people are even aware of its early albums and original blues-based aesthetic.
  • Foals as a five-piece band consisting of Yannis Philippakis, Jack Bevan, Jimmy Smith, Edwin Congreave and Walter Gervers lasted 12 years from 2006 (after the founder Andrew Mears left) to 2018 (when Gervers left).
  • The Foo Fighters spent four years as a Revolving Door Band (only founder/frontman Dave Grohl and bassist Nate Mendel never left), but it started to get stable in 1999 when guitarist Chris Shiflett joined. The band remained Grohl, Mendel, Shifflet, and drummer Taylor Hawkins until 2010, when guitarist Pat Smear (who was part of the band's first formation and had been part of the touring band since 2006) rejoined as a full-time member. Another touring member, Rami Jaffee, was promoted to full-time member in 2017 after more than a decade of collaboration. This period of stability ended with Hawkins' death in 2022.
  • Punk/Post-hardcore band Fugazi started as Ian MacKaye, Joe Lally, and Colin Sears in the summer of 1987. Sears left the band before they ever played a show and was replaced by Brendan Canty. Guy Picciotto was a glorified roadie/backup vocalist before becoming the official fourth member in less than a year. This lineup continued unchanged until 2002 when the band went on hiatus.
  • Gamma Ray, after the lineup stabilised from 1997–2012: Kai Hansen; Henjo Richter; Dirk Schlächter and Dan Zimmerman (quit in 2012 and has been replaced by Michael Ehre).
  • The British punk rock band GBH have had the same lineup since 1994 (singer Colin Abrahall, guitarist Jock Blyth, bassist Ross Lomas, drummer Scott Preece), and that lineup is still actively touring as of 2023. Of those four members, Abrahall and Blyth are original members from the band's original founding in 1978 and Lomas has been with the band since 1980 (two years before they released their first full album), making them the core of the band.
  • The Go-Go's' classic lineup of Belinda Carlisle, Jane Wiedlin, Charlotte Caffey, Kathy Valentine, and Gina Schock initially formed in 1981 and lasted until Wiedlin's departure in October 1984. The lineup had brief reunions in 1990 and 1994, officially became a Type 2 when it reunited again from 1999–2012, and reunited yet again in 2018.
  • Technical Death Metal group Gojira has been Joe Duplantier, Mario Duplantier, Christian Andreu, and Jean-Michel Labadie since 2001 (after bassist Alexandre Cornillon left when they were still called Godzilla).
  • Golden Earring was founded in 1961, but played with the same lineup from 1970 to their retirement in 2021, a total of 51 years.
    • Actually, it's their four core members (founding members Rinus Gerritsen and George Kooymans, 1967 arrival Barry Hay, and 1970 arrival Cesar Zuiderwijk) who were together for that period. Other members came and went in the '60s, '70s, and '80s, but those four were the entire band for most of the period from 1970–1986. After that point, it was just the core members until they called it quits when Kooymans was diagnosed with ALS in 2021.
  • The Grateful Dead were Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Brent Mydland, Phil Lesh, Robert Hunter, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart for 11 years, from 1979-90, when Mydland died.
  • Green Day has had the same lineup since 1990 when drummer Tré Cool joined the band. Even if you consider that touring guitarist Jason White had been added as a fourth member during the Uno/Dos/Tré era (2012–14), he's been playing with the band since 1999.
  • Herman's Hermits' original and most successful lineup only lasted 7 years, but a later lineup of original member Barry Whitwam (drums), Geoff Foot (vocals and bass), and Eddy Carter (guitar) lasted from 1995 to 2006.
  • Huey Lewis and the News started out in 1978 as Huey Lewis & The American Express with Lewis (lead vocals), Johnny Colla (rhythm guitar and sax), Sean Hopper (keys), Mario Cipollina (bass), and Bill Gibson (drums). They released their first single the next year as American Express, got a record deal, and changed their name to the current one because their label feared a trademark infringement action by the credit card company. The band was soon joined by lead guitarist Chris Hayes, creating the classic lineup that remained intact until Cipollina left in 1995 and was replaced with John Pierce. Then in 2001, Chris Hayes retired and was replaced by Stef Burns, and the band's lineup remained the same until 2016 with the addition of rhythm guitarist James Harrah.
  • U.S. Death Metal band Immolation consisted of Ross Dolan (bass, vocals), Bob Vigna (lead guitar), Bill Taylor (rhythm guitar), and Steve Shalaty (drums) since Shalaty replaced Alex Hernandez in 2003 until 2016 when Taylor left at some point during the year and was replaced by Alex Bouks of Incantation.
  • Incubus has been the same since the entrance of bassist Ben Kenney in 2003, with a short hiatus between 2008 and 2009.
  • American-Colombian Black Metal band Inquisition was a Revolving Door Band until 1996 when the lineup stabilised as guitarist/vocalist Dagon and drummer Incubus. The band has consisted of the same two members ever since. Unusually for a two-person band, they perform live without any additional members, and are quite well-regarded as a concert act.
  • Iron Maiden qualify under this category since the current line-up has been stable since 1999. Because guitarist Janick Gers remains in the band even though Adrian Smith returned, it is not a Type 5 'previous' line-up.
  • Isis had a revolving door lineup until around 2000, after which their membership remained stable until their breakup in 2010.
  • The J. Geils Band was J. Geils, Peter Wolf, Magic Dick, Danny Klein, and Stephen Bladd in 1967. In 1968, Seth Justman joined, and this lineup lasted until Peter Wolf left in 1983. They reteamed several times before J. Geils died in 2017.
  • Jars of Clay has been Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, and Matt Odmark since the other founding member, Matt Bronleewe, left in 1994. Also, though not an official member, Jake Goss has been their touring drummer since 2009.
  • Jethro Tull, infamous for having a Revolving Door Band lineup, has had two consistent lineups in 50+ years—the lineup of vocalist/flautist Ian Anderson, guitarist Martin Barre, bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, keyboardist John Evan, and drummer Barriemore Barlow from 1972 to 1975. A better qualifier would be Anderson, Barre, bassist Jonathan Noyce, keyboardist Andrew Giddings, and drummer Doane Perry, who lasted from 1995 to 2007. (Anderson, Barre, and Evan were the nucleus of the band from 1970–80.) Tull also had a fairly consistent lineup between 1980 and 1995. Besides Ian Anderson and Martin Barre, Dave Pegg held the bass slot for that period, and of course Doane Perry joined in during the Under Wraps tour and has been with them since (with the exception of Dave Mattacks who toured with them as the drummer in 1992). Other than that the only position that changed was the keyboardist for that period.
  • Kamelot had the same lineup from 1998, when Roy Khan joined Thomas Youngblood, Casey Grillo, and Glen Barry, until Barry's departure in 2009. In 2005, long-time tour keyboard player Oliver Palotai was also admitted as a full-time member, though the other four remained.
  • The Kentucky Headhunters has two. The post-name-change lineup of Richard and Fred Young, Greg Martin, Anthony Kenney, and Doug Phelps lasted from 1996 to 2008 when Kenney quit and Doug became Lead Bassist. Since then, no other lineup changes have occurred. Their pre-name-change lineup also qualified under Type 5.
  • Killswitch Engage followed a close call of 9 years by bringing back original singer Jesse Leach in 2012, and it hasn't changed since, which is only not Type 5 because it has another member other than the four founding (one of the guitarists started as a drummer).
  • King Diamond's eponymous band had the same lineup from 2001 to 2014.
  • King's X has consisted of Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor, and Jerry Gaskill since 1983, after two Pete Bests (Dan McCollam and Kirk Henderson) left.
  • KISS' current lineup - Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Singer, and Tommy Thayer - completed 10 years in 2013, though it had performed together before in a few 2002 performances, such as the That '70s Show episode the band appears on (Frehley was unsure to return and Criss' contract had expired, but the replacements were and still are wearing their make-up).
  • Kraftwerk had two instances, the first being the classic line-up of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Wolfgang Flür, and Karl Bartos from 1973 until Flür's departure in 1987 (14 years). This was later followed by the lineup of Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Fritz Hilpert, and Henning Schmitz, which lasted from 1991 until Florian Schneider's departure in 2008 (17 years).
  • Lacuna Coil were Andrea Ferro, Marco Biazzi, Marco Coti Zelati, Cristiano Migliore, Cristiano Mozzati and Cristina Scabbia from 1998 to 2014.
  • Ladytron has been Helen Marnie, Mira Aroyo, Daniel Hunt, and Reuben Wu since 1999 (save for a six-year hiatus between 2012 and 2018) until Wu's departure in 2023. Not quite a Type 1 as their first single was recorded as Hunt & Wu only with a guest vocalist.
  • The Levellers have had a constant lineup from 1991, when they brought in Simon Friend, to roughly 2005 when they started listing their touring piano player as a part of the regular band.
  • Linkin Park consisted of Chester Bennington (who replaced original lead singer Mark Wakefield in 1999), Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, and Mike Shinoda from around November 2000, when Farrell returned to the band after departing in 1998 due to touring commitments with another band, until Bennington's death in July 2017.
  • Lit was founded in 1988 as Razzle, changed its name to Stain in 1994, and took its current name in 1996. The band's first (and so far only) stable lineup formed the previous year, when second guitarist Chadd Anthony left, leaving founding members Kevin Baldes (bass) and A. Jay Popoff (lead vocals), plus 1989 arrivals Allen Shellenberger (replaced A. Jay on drums) and A. Jay's brother Jeremy (lead guitar). The lineup stayed stable until Shellenberger's death from brain cancer in 2009. Since then, the Popoffs and Baldes have stayed constants, but with a revolving door of drummers and two separate stints with a guitarist/keyboardist.
  • Lonestar has danced all around it. They were Richie McDonald (lead vocals/guitar/piano), Keech Rainwater (drums), Dean Sams (guitar), Michael Britt (keyboards), and John Rich (bass, occasional lead vocals) from 1992 to 1998 when Rich was fired. (He later went on to found Big & Rich with "Big" Kenny Alphin.) From then until 2007, they carried on with Robbie Cheuvront and later Michael Hill as unofficial bassist, plus a revolving door of backing band members. McDonald left in 2008 and Cody Collins replaced him, only for McDonald to return 3 years later, then leaving again in 2021. All in all, the McDonald-Rainwater-Sams-Britt quartet barely squeezed into Type 2, twice.
  • Vocal jazz ensemble The Manhattan Transfer has had four lineups. The original began in 1969 and broke up in 1973. Founding member Tim Hauser then recruited Alan Paul, Janis Siegel, and Laurel Massé. When Massé was seriously injured in an car accident in 1978, she was replaced by Cheryl Bentyne, and that lineup (except for a one-off fill-in for a single show) lasted 36 years, until Hauser's death in 2014. Hauser was replaced by Trist Curless; we'll see if that lineup also makes it to 10 years.
  • Manic Street Preachers have now been a trio for far longer than Richey Edwards was with them. In fact it's highly likely that people getting into them now may not even be aware that they were ever a four-piece.
  • Marillion was founded in 1979, had a revolving door until 1984, had three different lead singers in 1989, and has remained stable ever since.
  • Paul McCartney's backup band has been the same since 2001.
  • Metallica has two lineups: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Jason Newsted from 1986 to 2001 (after Newsted replaced the late Cliff Burton) and Hetfield, Ulrich, Hammett, and Rob Trujillo since 2003.
  • Mindless Self Indulgence has been Jimmy, Steve, LynZ, and Kitty since 2002 when LynZ replaced Vanessa YT as bassist.
  • Swedish band Millencolin formed in 1992 as a 3 piece with Nikola Sarcevic, Mathias Färm and Erik Ohlsson. Fredrik Larzon joined in 1993, and continue to this day with those four members.
  • Mogwai was Stuart Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison, Martin Bulloch, Barry Burns, John Cummings, and touring member Luke Sutherland from 1998, when Cummings and Sutherland joined, to 2015, when Cummings left.
  • The Moody Blues were Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Ray Thomas, Graeme Edge, and Mike Pinder from 1966 to 1978, when Pinder left and was replaced by Patrick Moraz. The Hayward/Lodge/Thomas/Edge/Moraz lineup then lasted from 1978 to 1991, when Moraz left. The Hayward/Lodge/Thomas/Edge lineup lasted from 1991 to 2002, when Thomas retired. The Hayward/Lodge/Edge lineup continued until the band quietly retired in 2018 (though their retirement wasn't revealed until after Edge's death in 2021), so the Moodies have four different lineups which fit this trope, only barred from Type 1 due to the Denny Laine era from 1964-66. Hayward, Lodge, and Edge were in the Moody Blues together for 52 years.
  • Motörhead also now qualify even though they're also listed in I Am the Band, as the line-up of Lemmy, guitarist Phil Campbell, and drummer Mikkey Dee existed from 1995 until the group's disbanding in 2015 following the death of Lemmy. Although these members were together since 1992, this line-up only counts from 1995 as until then the band also included guitarist Würzel (a member from 1984).
  • After a number of early lineup shifts, My Bloody Valentine has had the same lineup since 1987. Perhaps not coincidentally, all the material made before the band's current lineup falls under Canon Discontinuity. May be considered a Type 4 instead, but while it was not consistently active (and, in fact, there were twenty-two years in between the band's second and third studio albums, although this is as much a case of Development Hell as anything), the band never officially announced a hiatus (although some band members did announce other projects in between).
  • Napalm Death, despite being such a Revolving Door Band during their early years that no founding members are left in the band (nor are any of the members from their first recording, which was a significantly different lineup - in fact, the two sides of the LP had completely different lineups except for the drummer), had a stable lineup between 2004 (guitarist Jesse Pintado's departure) and 2015 (guitarist John Cooke's joining).
  • Japanese idol group Negicco, surprisingly given the nature of idol groups. They started in 2003 as a four member group with Nao☆, Megu, Kaede and Miku. Miku left in 2006 and was replaced by a new member, Misaki, who lasted until 2008. The group has been a trio composed of the original remaining members ever since. Not bad for a group that was originally put together to promote a local vegetable was and only supposed to exist for a month.
  • Neurosis has been Scott Kelly, Steve Von Till, Dave Edwardson, Jason Roeder, and Noah Landis since 1995.
  • New Found Glory had the same five guys since 1997, the year they formed (during which they replaced Joe Marino with current drummer Cyrus Bolooki), to 2013, when original rhythm guitarist Steve Klein left.
  • Nickelback has had the same lineup since 2005 when drummer Daniel Adair joined singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger, bassist Mike Kroeger, and guitarist Ryan Peake.
  • Japanese heavy metal Power Trio Ningen Isu was founded in 1987 by guitarist Shinji Wajima and bassist Kenichi Suzuki. They went through 3 different drummers until Nobu Nakajima joined in 2004; they have maintained that lineup since then.
  • After many years of being a Revolving Door Band, Nits stripped back to just its three core members in 2005, and that line-up has remained stable ever since.
  • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: Formed in 1966, their lineup from 1988-2000 was Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden, Jimmy Ibbotson, and Bob Carpenter. John McEuen rejoined in 2001, Ibbotson left in 2004, and the lineup remained stable ever since. Their third longest-lasting lineup? Only four years, when they were Hanna, Fadden, McEuen, Ibbotson, and Les Thompson from 1969 to 1973
  • NOFX started as a three-piece in 1983, became a bit of a Revolving Door Band starting in 1985, became a four-piece in 1986, and then stabilized in 1991 and has featured the same lineup since. Bonus points for still featuring all three original members (the original drummer left for about a year at one point and then came back).
  • NRBQ started in 1967 and went through various membership changes over the next 7 years, with founding members Terry Adams (keyboards) and Joey Spampinato (bass)note  as the only constants. But the lineup that was finalized in 1974—Adams, Spampinato, Al Anderson (guitar), and Tom Ardolino (drums)—stuck together for 20 years until Anderson left for a successful country songwriting career. Spampinato's brother Johnny replaced him and they kept going for another decade until they went on hiatus after Adams came down with cancer. Adams recently reactivated the NRBQ name but none of the others were involved.
  • The Oak Ridge Boys had been around since the 50s with many membership changes. But they ended up doing this twice—with the same lineup. They were Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban from 1973-87 (fourteen years), at which point Executive Meddling led to Steve Sanders taking Golden's place. Golden returned in 1995 and no other changes have ensued since.
  • The Offspring was Dexter Holland, Noodles, Greg K., and Ron Welty from 1987–2003—which was the duration of the lattermost's time in the band. They also had another qualifying line-up with Welty's second replacement, Pete Parada, from 2007 to 2018, when Greg K. was fired.
  • One Ok Rock has had the same lineup since 2009, consisting of Taka (vocals), Toru (guitar), Ryota (bass), and Tomoya (drums). Formed in 2005, the band was originally a five-piece. Taka, Toru, and Ryota are all founding members, along with former lead guitarist Alex. Tomoya joined the band in 2006, replacing their original drummer. When Alex was kicked from the band in 2009 after he got arrested for molesting a woman on a train, the other members decided not to find a replacement for him, making Toru the band's only guitarist. The band's lineup has remained stable ever since.
  • Brazilian band Os Paralamas do Sucesso have been the same Rock Trio since 1982 when drummer João Barone joined the band as the original drummer couldn't attend a gig.
  • Pato Fu was Fernanda Takai, John Ulhoa, Ricardo Koctus, Xande Tamietti and Lulu Camargo from 2002 to 2014 - aside from a six month period Camargo was away - when Tamietti left (in a Revolving Door Band sort of way, he returned in 2022, when Camargo had left).
  • Pearl Jam has had the same lineup since 1998 when current drummer Matt Cameron joined them. Guest keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been with the band since 2002.
  • Phish were Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Page McConnell and John Fishman from 1985 (when second guitarist Jeff Holdsworth left the band) to 2000 (when the group when on indefinite hiatus). They reunited from 2002 to 2004, and then again from 2009 to the present.
  • Pink Floyd had two lineups that qualify: from 1968 to 1979, plus a reunion concert in 2005, was Roger Waters, David Gilmour (who replaced original leader Syd Barrett), Richard Wright and Nick Mason - ending when Wright was fired during the recording of The Wall; from 1986 (recording of A Momentary Lapse of Reason) to 1996 (end of The Division Bell tour, band went on hiatus afterwards) it was Gilmour, Wright and Mason (who decided to not listen when Waters said the band was finished when he left in 1985).
  • Placebo was Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal, and Steve Hewitt from 1996 to 2007, the duration of the last one's tenure (which could have been longer: Hewitt was Molko's original choice for the drums when forming the band in 1994, but Hewitt couldn't leave the group he was at the time).
  • The Pointer Sisters have two qualifying lineups. They first performed under that name in 1969 with sisters Anita, June, and Bonnie Pointer. Their older sister Ruth joined in 1972. In 1977, June took a break and Bonnie left for a solo career, but June would return the next year. The Ruth/Anita/June lineup stayed together for 24 years, ending when June was kicked out in 2002. Ruth's daughter Issa joined in 2002 but left in 2009, with Issa's daughter Sadako joining. Issa returned in 2011 and the three-generation lineup has been together ever since, though only as a touring act (they haven't recorded new material since 1993).
  • The Prodigy was Liam Howlett, Maxim Reality, and Keith Flint from 2000 to 2019, when Flint died.
  • Queen: After a few months during which they were trying out various bassists, they kept the same lineup from early 1971 to late 1991 (when Freddie Mercury died). Afterwards, John Deacon retired in 1997, leaving the band to carry on as a duo of Brian May and Roger Taylor plus a guest vocalist, the current one being Adam Lambert since 2011.*
  • After years of existence as a Revolving Door Band around frontman Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age has since settled into this, with Homme joined by fellow guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, bassist Michael Shuman, keyboardist/guitarist Dean Fertita and most recently drummer Jon Theodore since 2013.
  • The Radiators were only technically disqualified from being Type 1. The original five members remained together for the full thirty-three years the band existed. They did add a Sixth Ranger, Glenn "Kuhl" Sears on vocals and percussion, a couple of years after forming, but went back to the original five-man lineup for their last twenty years.
  • Rancid, formed in 1991, lasted for 13 years without any changes from 1993 (when they added a second guitarist) through 2006 (when the original drummer left). The succeeding lineup also qualifies here as well.
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers' lineup of Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer lasted from 2009 to 2019, when Klinghoffer was replaced by a returning John Frusciante (see Type 5).
  • Rise Against has had the same lineup since March 2007: Tim McIlrath, Joe Principe, Brandon Barnes, and Zach Blair.
  • The Rolling Stones, once Ron Wood joined in 1975. If one considers keyboardist Ian Stewart (who was a founding member, but on their producer's advice had been just a collaborator and manager since 1963), there was a stable lineup until his death in 1985. If not, it was the same until 1993, when original bassist Bill Wyman left. And the band didn't change until drummer Charlie Watts died in 2021 (there is no official bassist, but Darryl Jones has been with the band ever since Wyman's departure). Also consider that this quartet, with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Watts along with Wood, was together for over 40 years, and given Watts joined in 1963, the core trio of Jagger-Richards-Watts were together for nearly 60 years (and Wyman's tenure made 30 of them with the same bassist).
  • Although Alex Lifeson is the only founding member of Rush still active, the holy trinity were together from when Peart joined in 1974 to his death in 2020 (though they did have a five-year hiatus).
  • Sade was formed in 1982 with Sade Adu, Stuart Matthewman, Paul Spencer Denman, and Paul Anthony Cook. In 1983, Andrew Hale joined the band and in 1984 Cook left. Dave Early had a brief stint from 1984 to 1985. Since then, the band has been the same for nearly four decades.
  • Saga: After a couple of Pete Bests, the lineup stabilized in 1980 with founding members Michael Sadler, brothers Ian and Jim Crichton, and Steve Negus joined by Jim Gilmour. Negus and Gilmour left in 1986 but returned in 1992, with that lineup qualifying as Type 2 before Negus left for good in 2003. No later lineup has qualified for this status.
  • Sepultura was Max Cavalera, Andreas Kisser, Paulo Jr., and Igor Cavalera from 1987–97 when Max left. (The subsequent lineup fits under Almost Made It.)
  • Sick Puppies was Shimon Moore, Emma Anzai and Mark Goodwin from 2003 (when the last one joined) to 2014 (when the first one was fired).
  • Slayer only ever changed drummers until the death of founding member Jeff Hanneman, and the classic lineup with Dave Lombardo on the drums lasted from 1982 to 1992 (save for a break around 1986 after recording Reign in Blood) and finally from 2001 until Lombardo's departure once again in 2013 and Hanneman's death in the same year (twenty-two nonconsecutive years).
  • Sodom was a Revolving Door Band for most of their career until they finally settled with bassist Tom Angelripper, drummer Bobby Schottkowski and guitarist Bernd "Bernemann" Kost. They lasted from 1997 until 2010 when Schottkowski left the band.
  • The Statler Brothers started out as the Four Star Quartet in 1955. The members were Harold and Don Reid, Phil Balsley, and Joe McDorman. During that time, they renamed themselves The Kingsmen. Lew DeWitt replaced McDorman in 1960, and the group renamed themselves The Statler Brothers around 1963 when another group called The Kingsmen had a hit called "Louie Louie". Crohn's disease forced DeWitt to retire in 1982 (22 years). His replacement was Jimmy Fortune, who stayed until the band retired in 2002 (another 20 years).
  • Status Quo have been around for so long that they qualify for Type 2 with three different line-ups: the classic 'Frantic Four' consisting of Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster, and John Coghlan lasted from 1968 to 1982 (although keyboard player Andy Bown slowly became integrated into the group from 1975 onwards); the post-Live Aid version with Rossi, Parfitt, Bown, bassist John 'Rhino' Edwards and drummer Jeff Rich lasted from 1986 until 2000. Matt Letley then took over the drums from Jeff Rich; that line-up ran from 2000 to 2013, when Leon Cave replaced Letley.
  • Sugar Ray started without DJ Homicide, but once he joined in 1995, the lineup was the same until he left in 2010.
  • Superchunk has been Mac McCaughan, Laura Ballance, Jim Wilbur, and Jon Wurster since 1991 (Wilbur replaced original guitarist Jack McCook in 1990, and Wurster replaced original drummer Chuck Garrison in 1991).
  • Switchfoot started out as a three-man band with Jon Foreman, Tim Foreman, and Chad Butler in 1996. Jerome Fontamillas was added to the lineup in 2001. Drew Shirley joined up in 2005, before he left in 2022, clocking in at 17 years.
  • Symphony X has been Russell Allen, Michael Romeo, Michael Pinnella, Michael LePond and Jason Rullo since Rullo rejoined the band after a two-year hiatus and LePond replaced bassist Thomas Miller in 1999.
  • Three Dog Night has been a Revolving Door Band for most of its history, including its 1970s commercial heyday. However, long after settling into the oldies circuit, they managed to have one lineup that qualified. Founding members Danny Hutton and Cory Wells were joined by classic members Michael Allsup and Jimmy Greenspoon, plus Paul Kingery and Pat Bautz, from 1996 until Greenspoon's death in 2015.
  • TLC was Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas from 1991 (when Chili entered instead of the one who started the band) to 2002 (when Lopes died).
  • tool has had the same lineup of Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor, and Danny Carey since 1995.
  • The Tragically Hip were Rob Baker, Gord Downie, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, and Gord Sinclair from 1986 (when Langlois joined and Davis Manning later quit) until 2017 when singer Gord Downie died and the band called it quits.
  • Travis did have a number of lineup changes in its early years but it stabilized in 1996, about a year before their first studio album. Since then, there have been no further lineup changes and the band remains active.
  • After a few name changes and Pete Bests, U2 has been Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. since 1978 (more than two years before releasing their first album in 1980).
  • Uriah Heep - a band once notorious for its Revolving Door policy- maintained the same lineup from 1986 to 2007 when ill health forced drummer Lee Kerslake to retire from touring.
  • Australian progressive metal band Voyager has consisted of singer Daniel Estrin, guitarists Simone Dow and Scott Kay, bassist Alex Canion and drummer Ashley Doodkorte since 2011. Of the five current members, only Estrin has been part of the band since its creation in 1999.
  • Weezer has had the same lineup since 2001 when bassist Scott Shriner joined (though only two are founding members per se, frontman Rivers Cuomo and drummer Patrick Wilson).
  • The Who went through a couple of rosters and a name change before they finally stabilized as Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon from 1964 to 1978.
  • Wilco's first decade saw several changes to their lineup, with lead singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt being the only original members to remain in the group. However, their status as a Revolving Door Band ended in 2004, and the lineup established then - Tweedy, Stirratt, guitarist Nels Cline, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, and drummer Glenn Kotche - has remained together ever since.
  • WithinTemptation's current lineup, consisting of Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt, Jeroen van Veen, Ruud Jolie, Martijn Spierenburg, Mike Coolen and Stefan Helleblad has been in place since late 2011 as a result of Westerholt stepping down from touring to look after his and den Adel's young children. Their breakthrough line-up (den Adel, Westerholt, van Veen, Jolie, Spierenburg and Stephen van Haestregt) was an Almost Made it example, managing to last eight years from early 2002 to 2010.
  • Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz first met "Weird Al" Yankovic in late 1980 and has been performing with him since 1981. Jim West and Steve Jay joined up in 1982. More than 40 years later, they're still with Weird Al. Ruben Valtierra still gets called "the new guy" by Al in interviews, because he's only been with them since 1991. This is an unusual example in that Weird Al almost completely overshadows them.
  • ZZ Top was Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard from 1969 until Hill's death in 2021 (more than 50 years!), and The Other Wiki lists these three as being the only members of ZZ Top during that period. (Hill would be replaced by the group's longtime guitar technician Elwood Francis.) However...
    • When Billy Gibbons rechristened The Moving Sidewalks as ZZ Top, the other members were Lanier Grieg and Dan Mitchell, and in 1970 they recorded their first single "Salt Lick". Grieg was replaced by Bill Ethridge, then Ethridge and Mitchell were replaced by Hill and Beard soon after. The band's first paying gig was performed by the classic lineup.
      • Even if you start from ZZ Top's first album (which is also the title), released in 1970, you still have over 50 years of the same three Southern gents, without a breakup or (official) hiatus until Hill's death and replacement by Elwood Francis in 2021.

    Type 3 
The band broke up at some point, but lasted 10 total years with the original lineup; no intervening lineups.
  • Rage Against the Machine formed in 1991, first broke up in 2000, and has since reunited a few more times, most recently since 2019. The band's lineup has never changed from Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk.

Logical Extreme (same criteria for already broken-up bands)

  • Simon & Garfunkel first formed in 1956 as a teenybopper duo called Tom and Jerry until 1958 when they decided to go to college. They regrouped in 1963 under their current name and released their most recognizable works until breaking up again in 1970 due to Creative Differences. Since then, they have reunited and broken up several timesnote , all adding up to over a decade in total.
  • Throbbing Gristle in both 1975–81 and 2004–10 with all four members.

    Type 4 
The band broke up at some point after changing lineups, but lasted 10 total years with the changed lineup with no intervening lineups.
  • blink-182 was Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker from 1998 (when Barker joined) to 2005 (break-up). They reunited in 2009, completing 15 non-consecutive years by the time Tom left in 2015 (he rejoined the band in 2022).
  • Blur was Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree from 1989 to 2002 when Coxon left the band. After going on hiatus in early 2004, the original lineup reunited in 2009 and has remained together since. Note that this lineup qualifies under Type 1 if one only count their time as "Blur", but they had Pete Bests very early in their history under a different name.
  • Thrash Metal band Coroner has had the same lineup since late 1986. Note that this lineup broke up in February 1996 and reunited in 2010. Also note that the band's self-titled album, recorded in 1995, contains session musicians on some tracks.
  • The Cranberries was Dolores O'Riordan, Noel and Mike Hogan, and Fergal Lawler from 1990 to a hiatus in 2003, then reunited in 2009 up until O'Riordan's death in 2018. (Not Type 1 because Dolores replaced a short-lived original singer.)
  • Creed: After their second guitarist left in 1995, the band was Scott Stapp, Mark Tremonti, Scott Phillips, and Brian Marshall until Marshall left in 2000 (a bassist was hired to perform on tour); they broke up in 2004, and after a hiatus (during which the ones other than Stapp formed Alter Bridge with Myles Kennedy) the original quartet reunited in 2009 and split again three years later.
  • Deep Purple: The Mark VIII line-up of vocalist Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer (and sole remaining original member) Ian Paice, guitarist Steve Morse and keyboardist Don Airey was in place for 20 years from 2002 until 2022, when Morse departed after his wife Janine fell ill. This explains why Gillan is irritated at the exclusion of Morse and Airey from the group's nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This lineup maintained until 2022 when Morse was replaced by Simon McBride. The band splitting from 1976 to 1984 disqualified them from Type 2.
  • Dinosaur Jr. has been J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph since their 2005 reunion. This was also the band's original lineup when it formed in 1984, but Barlow was kicked out of the group in 1989, and Murph left in 1993. The second iteration of this classic lineup has also lasted longer (going on 17 years, 2005 to present) than the entire initial run of the band with or without the original members (13 years, 1984 to 1997).
  • Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band kept its nucleus of Miami Steve Van Zandt (guitar/vocals/mandolin), Clarence Clemons (saxophone), Roy Bittan (piano/synthesizers), Danny Federici (organ), Garry Tallent (bass), and Max Weinberg (drums) from 1975 to 1984 when Van Zandt left and was replaced by Nils Lofgren. This lineup (often augmented by Springsteen's soon-to-be-wife Patti Scialfa as backing vocalist/acoustic guitarist) lasted until 1992 when Springsteen dissolved the band. Van Zandt augmented the reunited 1984-92 lineup in 1995 for new tracks on a Greatest Hits Album, but more or less was out of action until 1999. This lineup (Van Zandt/Lofgren/Bittan/Federici/Clemons/Tallent/Weinberg/Scialfa) lasted until Federici's death in 2008 (Charlie Giordiano replaced him) and Clemons' death in 2011 (Clemons' nephew Jake, plus a brass section replaced Clarence). This remains the lineup as of 2022. (Occasionally, Springsteen would add a female violinist; Suki Lahav in 1975, Soozie Tyrell since 1992.)
  • The early 21st-century incarnation of the Eagles (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Timothy Schmit) began touring in 2001, and just passed the 10-year threshold in February 2011. It was a total of 12 years unchanged until in 2013 original guitarist Bernie Leadon returned for a "History of the Eagles" tour (which ended in 2015, and the following year Frey died). The previous and most well-known line-up almost qualified themselves, see "Almost Made It" below.
  • Europe was something of a Revolving Door Band from its formation in 1979 until its 1992 hiatus, with constant lead singer Joey Tempest joined by two different guitarists, three different bassists, two different drummers, and a keyboard player who didn't join until 1984. The lineup that recorded their 1986 international breakthrough album, The Final Countdown—Tempest, John Norum on guitar, John Levén on bass, Ian Haugland on drums, and Mic Michaeli on keyboards—lasted only from 1984 to 1986. However, this lineup reunited in 2003 and has been together ever since (20 continuous years and 22 in all).
  • Fall Out Boy hasn't changed members ever since drummer Andy Hurley joined in 2002, and a hiatus between 2009 and 2013 forces them into this category.
  • Genesis lasted from 1971 to 1975 with the lineup of Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Phil Collins, guitarist Steve Hackett and guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford. Gabriel left in 1975, to be replaced with Collins on vocals, the band continuing as a four-piece. Hackett left in 1977. Collins, Rutherford, and Banks would remain in the line-up from 1978 to 1996 when Collins left. On top of that, the touring version of the band was those three plus Daryl Stuermer and Chester Thompson from 1978–1992. After one album was made with vocalist Ray Wilson of Stiltskin replacing Collins (Calling All Stations in 1997), the band called it quits. Collins, Rutherford, and Banks returned for a reunion tour in 2006 (with Stuermer and Thompson back as touring members), but Collins' spinal injuries (which prevent him from drumming) put Genesis on ice 3 years later. The Banks/Collins/Rutherford lineup reunited from 2020 to 2022 for what Collins called his farewell tour, though with a different touring band this time.
  • Hootie & the Blowfish was Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld from 1989 to 2008 when they went on hiatus due to Rucker beginning a solo career, reuniting in 2019. Before 1989, Brantley Smith was the drummer, replaced by Sonefeld long before the band started recording.
  • Brazilian band Ira! had the same four guys from 1985 to a break-up in 2007 (they reunited in 2014 with only the two members).
  • Judas Priest had two of such line-ups, both with Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, and Ian Hill:
    • From 1979 to 1989, their drummer (the sixth overall) was Dave Holland and their guitarist was K.K. Downing.
    • The band's lineup consisting of Halford, Tipton, and Hill, plus drummer Scott Travis and guitarist Richie Faulkner, has been together since 2011.
  • The classic lineup of Live formed in 1984 when Ed Kowalczyk joined a middle school rock trio. They reached the mark the year of their second album's release (the commercial breakthrough Throwing Copper). The band entered a hiatus in 2009, reformed without Kowalczyk in 2012, but when he returned in 2016, the band was back to the classic lineup until 2022 when everyone but Kowalczyk left and was replaced.
  • Madness was Graham "Suggs" McPherson, Mike Barson, Lee Thompson, Chris Foreman, Mark Bedford, Daniel Woodgate, and Carl "Chas Smash" Smyth from 1979 until Barson left in 1984 (five years), the remaining group breaking up two years later. In 1993, they started doing reunion tours. In 2005, Foreman left but patched things up near the end of 2006. Bedford left in 2009 to pursue other projects, but came back briefly in 2012 and more permanently in 2013, the year before Chas Smash left for good. The remaining six have stayed together as of this writing (June 2022).
  • Mexican band Maná has been stable since 1995 (though only the singer and the bassist are founding members).
  • Midnight Oil hasn't changed members since Bones Hillman joined as the bass guitarist in 1987, even if the band broke up in 2002. There were brief reunions in 2005 and 2009, until in 2016 it was announced they would reunite for good, and even recorded an album before Hillman died in 2020.
  • New Order was originally Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris. Morris's girlfriend Gillian Gilbert joined a few months after the band forming (thus barely disqualifying them from Type 1). This lineup lasted from 1980 until Gilbert's retirement in 2001 (she was replaced by Phil Cunningham, although she has since returned to the band), with a hiatus between 1993 and 1998 (15 years total). Counting their years in Joy Division, Sumner, Hook and Morris performed together from 1976 until 2007. (31 years total - When the band reunited in 2011, Hook was not involved). The band's current lineup also qualifies, having remained the same since the reunion.
  • No Doubt (founded 1986) has been Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Adrian Young, and Tom Dumont since 1995, but didn't become Type 4 until 2009 because they took a hiatus from 2004–2008. They took a longer one from 2015–2024.
  • The Pogues never actually qualified in their original period of activity from 1982–96, but some of the more prominent members of the "Classic" Lineup(s) reformed in 2001 as Touring-only and are still going, thus now qualifying.
  • Primus was Les Claypool, Larry "Ler" LaLonde and Tim "Herb" Alexander from 1989 to 1996 when Alexander left. The band went on hiatus in 2000, reforming in 2003 with Alexander. And the drummer left again in 2010... only to return in 2013.
  • Restless Heart has been Larry Stewart (who replaced original lead singer Verlon Thompson before the first single), John Dittrich, Paul Gregg, Greg Jennings, and Dave Innis from 1984–92, and again from 2004 onward. (Stewart left in 1992 and Innis in 1993, although the band continued to record until going on hiatus in 1994, and everyone except Innis also reunited briefly in 1998 for a Greatest Hits Album.)
  • Sleater-Kinney formed in 1994 and had at least three drummers before Janet Weiss joined in 1997. From 1997 to 2006, the band's lineup was Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and Weiss. The group was inactive from 2006 until 2014 when it reunited with the Brownstein/Tucker/Weiss lineup. As of 2019, Weiss has left the band.
  • Slipknot from 1999 to 2010 were Corey Taylor, Joey Jordison, Mick Thompson, Shawn Crahan, Craig Jones, Paul Grey, Jim Root, Chris Fehn, and Sid Wilson, with various hiatuses between albums as the various members worked on other projects. This lineup came to an end after Paul Grey died of an accidental overdose.
  • Bassist Ben Shepherd joined Soundgarden in 1991, the band dismantled in 1997, and reunited in 2010 - though in the period ever since everyone is sidetracked by other projects (drummer Matt Cameron would not play with Soundgarden in 2014 due to a Pearl Jam tour). Once Chris Cornell tragically hanged himself in 2017, the lineup's run ended at 15 years.
  • Spin Doctors are an interesting example—they formed as Trucking Company with vocalist Chris Barron, drummer Aaron Comess, guitarist Eric Schenkman, bassist Mark White, and harmonicist John Popper in 1988. Popper left less than a year later to focus on his other band and the rest changed the band name to Spin Doctors. The lineup stuck until 1994 when Anthony Krizen replaced Schenkman. In 1997, Eran Tabib replaced Krizen, and they added keyboardist Ivan Neville. Then Carl Carter replaced White in 1998, and the band took a hiatus after recording the album Here Comes The Bride in 1999. In 2001, they reunited with the lineup of... Barron, Comess, Schenkman, and White, which was the lineup until 2022, when White was fired from the band.
  • While the classic lineup of Styx (Dennis DeYoung, brothers Chuck and John Panozzo, Tommy Shaw, and James "J.Y." Young) only lasted a little more than 8 years (December 1975–January 1984, the band broke up afterwards), a later lineup of Shaw, Young, Lawrence Gowan, Ricky Phillips, and Todd Sucherman as full-timers, with Chuck Panozzo as an official member but only performing part-time due to health issues, lasted from 2004 until Will Evankovich was added in 2021.
  • Supertramp kept its classic lineup of Rick Davies (vocals/keyboards), Roger Hodgson (vocals/guitars/keyboards), John Helliwell (woodwinds/synthesizers/vocals), Dougie Thomson (bass), and Bob Siebenberg (drums) from 1972–83.
  • Talking Heads formed in 1974 with David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth. In 1977, The Modern Lovers alum Jerry Harrison joined the lineup, and they stayed in this configuration for fourteen years, dissolving at the end of 1991. Later in the '90s, Frantz, Harrison, and Weymouth briefly regrouped without Byrne, first as Shrunken Heads, then as just the Heads with a bevy of guest singers, before the four-piece lineup reunited for a one-off performance at their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2002.
  • Ten Years After, from the "Type 1 + 5" folder, also made it into Type 4 after founding member Alvin Lee left for good in 2003. Lee's replacement Joe Gooch joined the rest of the original members, and this lineup stayed intact until 2014.
  • The most famous lineup from Twisted Sister lasted from 1982 to 1986, when drummer A.J. Pero left (and his replacement was nicknamed "Seven" for being the band's seventh drummer - the band then broke up in 1987), had brief reunions in 1998 (recording a song for a film Dee Snider directed) and 2001 (a 9/11 relief concert) and returned full-time in 2003, without changes until Pero died in 2015.
  • Van Halen was David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and Alex Van Halen from 1974-1985, then Sammy Hagar, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, and Alex Van Halen from 1985-1996. After an Audience-Alienating Era, a hiatus from 1999 to 2003, then a reunion of the Hagar lineup in 2004. They were David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Wolfgang Van Halen, and Alex Van Halen from 2006 until Eddie's death in 2020, making it 3 lineups that fit!
  • Westlife were Shane Filan, Markus Feehilynote , Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, and Bryan McFadden from 1998 to 2004 (6 years) when Bryan left. The remaining four continued until 2012 and reunited in 2018.
  • Wire started out with an extremely short-lived five-member lineup, then continued on with the same four-member grouping from 1977 to 2003, interrupted by two hiatuses (1980-1984, 1991-1999) and a brief stint as a three-piece under the name Wir (1991-1993).
  • X Japan was Toshi, Yoshiki, Pata, Heath, and Sugizo from the 2011 death of Taiji (who had left in 1997 but returned in 2010) until Heath's passing in 2023. The band still considers Taiji a member, as well as hide, who had been a member when the band broke up in 1997 and died a year later, long before the band got back together in 2007.

    Type 5 
A lineup that lasted 10 total years despite intervening lineups, with or without hiatuses/breakups.
  • The following bands would be here if they weren't already Type 1:
  • The following bands would be here if they weren't already Type 2:
  • Alien Ant Farm started out in 1996 with Dryden Mitchell, Terry Corso, Tye Zamora, and Mike Cosgrove, a lineup that lasted until Corso left in 2003. Joe Hill would join the following year. In 2008, Hill left and the original lineup reunited, with Zamora returning after a two-year absence. The original four continued with no changes, except for Hill's return for a single show in 2012, until Zamora left for the second time in 2014.
  • The original lineup of Bad Company (Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Mick Ralphs, and Boz Burrell) lasted from 1973 to 1982 and briefly reunited from 1998 to 1999, adding up to 11 years together. Burrell died in 2006, though the other three members have performed occasionally since then.
  • The classic lineup of Big Country formed in mid-1982 with Stuart Adamson, Bruce Watson, Tony Butler, and Mark Brzezicki. They remained intact until Brzezicki left in July 1989. Brzezicki returned in March 1993, and they remained together through what the band billed as its farewell tour, which ended in October 2000, giving them a little more than 14 years in all. Adamson committed suicide in 2001; the surviving members re-formed the band twice, first by themselves in 2007–2008 and later with several new members in 2011. While the band continues to perform today, it's become more of a Revolving Door Band.
  • Black Sabbath was Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward from their founding in 1968-79, intervened by a month in 1968 with Ernie Chataway in Iommi's place, and a couple of months in late-'77/early '78 with Dave Walker when Osbourne left without notice. They then returned to the original lineup in 1997–98, 1999–2005, and 2011 - in 2012, Ward had a contractual disagreement before recording the band's comeback album and left.
  • Deep Purple Mark II (Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice) just barely make it, first lasting from July 1969 to June 1973 (3 years 11 months), then reuniting from April 1984 to April 1989 (5 years), and finally from August 1992 to November 1993 (1 year 3 months), thus totaling 10 years and two months.
  • Devo:
    • Lasted 10 years (1976-1986) with their most successful lineup of Mark & Bob "Bob 1" Mothersbaugh, Gerald & Bob "Bob 2" Casale, and Alan Myers before Myers left.
    • The band broke up in 1991, but reformed with Josh Freese on drums in 1996. This lineup lasted until 2014, ended by the passing of Bob 2.
  • The Hollies lineup of Allan Clarke, Terry Sylvester, Tony Hicks, Bernie Calvert, and Bobby Elliott lasted from 1968 to 1971, split with Clarke for a while, then reformed and lasted from 1973 to 1981, totalling 11 years.
  • Judas Priest: After the Dave Holland era, Scott Travis took over the drums in 1989. Robert Halford left in 1992 just as the band took a 4-year hiatus and rejoined 11 years later to replace Tim "Ripper" Owens. Just when the Halford-Travis-Downing-Tipton line-up managed a decade in total, in 2011, K.K. Downing retired and was replaced.
  • The Kentucky Headhunters, under their original name of Itchy Brother, consisted of brothers Richard (rhythm guitar) and Fred Young (drums), along with Anthony Kenney (bass) and Greg Martin (lead guitar), from 1968 to 1982, with James Harrison temporarily replacing Greg Martin from 1973 to 1976.
  • Killing Joke kept its founding lineup of Jaz Coleman, Kevin "Geordie" Walker, Martin "Youth" Glover, and Paul Ferguson until Youth's departure in 1982. Ferguson left in 1987, and the band as a whole was inactive from 1996 to 2002. Since 2008, the lineup consists of all four original members plus Reza Uhdin on keyboards, a position added in 1984.
  • KISS' original formation of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss played for 13 non-consecutive years - 1972 to 1980, then from 1996 to 2001 (both times being interrupted by Criss leaving).
  • Limp Bizkit was Fred Durst, Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and DJ Lethal from 1996 to 2001 when Borland left. After three years with another guitarist, Borland returned in 2004, only for the band to enter a hiatus from 2006 to 2009. Lethal left in 2012 and rejoined in 2018, while Rivers left in 2015 and rejoined in 2019. This adds up to 18 years with this line-up.
  • Loudness was founded in early 1981 with Minoru Niihada, Akira Takasaki, Masayoshi Yamashita, and Munetaka Higuchi; this lineup lasted until 1988 when Niihada was fired and replaced with an English-speaking vocalist after their producer suggested this might help them break through in the American market. After two more lineup changes in 1992 and 1994 that left Takasaki as the only original member, the group returned to its original lineup in 2001; this lineup lasted an additional seven-plus years until Higuchi's death from cancer in late 2008, over 15 years total but never even 8 consecutive years.
  • Brazilian band O Rappa's most stable lineup started in 2001 (not counting extra musicians), as their Lead Drummer was shot and replaced with the keyboardist. In 2009, they took a break, only returning two years later, and decided to call it quits in 2018.
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers were Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante for over 16 years, total. This lineup lasted for the following time periods: 1988-1992 (a bit under 4 years), 1998-2007 (9 years), a few months in 2008, and since 2019. The band had a revolving door until Smith and Frusciante joined in 1988, then Frusciante left in 1992 (being eventually replaced by Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro), rejoining in 1998, the band was on tour with additional member Josh Klinghoffer throughout 2007, then Frusciante left late in 2008 with Klinghoffer becoming his replacement. And that formation broke ten years too (see Type 2), with no changes until Klinghoffer left in 2019 so Frusciante could return.
  • Also from Brazil, but one with many more break-ups: RPM was the same quartet between 1985 and a 1989 hiatus, a brief reunion from 2001 to 2003, and a more stable one from 2011 to 2018, when Lead Bassist Paulo Ricardo left. It's only not Type 4 because they recorded an album together during the original break-up with another drummer.
  • The Stone Roses' best-known lineup of Ian Brown, John Squire, Mani, and Remi existed from 1987 to 1995 and reunited in 2011, breaking up again in 2017 (14 years in all).
  • Stray Cats started out in 1979 with Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom, and Lee Rocker. In 1984, they briefly added Tommy Byrnes as a second guitarist before breaking up. The original trio reunited briefly in 1986 before a hiatus, reuniting again from 1989 to 1992. An even longer breakup followed, with another reunion from 2004–2009, yet another breakup, and their most recent reunion from 2018–present. As of 2022, the original trio has spent a bit more than 17 years together.
  • They Might Be Giants were John Linnell and John Flansburgh from August 1982 until recruiting a full band in June 1992, lasting 9 years and 10 months with the original line-up. From 1992 to 2004 they toured with "The Band of Dans" (Miller, Weinkauf, and Hickey) before Hickey dropped out and Marty Beller came on, a new configuration that has lasted now 10 years in its own right.

    Almost Made It 
These are bands that lasted more than 9 years with a single lineup but never made it to 10. These bands may be moved to Types 3-5 if they return to that lineup long enough to finally qualify.

Type 1

  • Melodic Death Metal band The Agonist might have made it. Arch-Enemy's vocalist of 14 years Angela Gossow quit and recommended Alissa White-Gluz of the Agonist. Needless to say, Alissa accepted the request to help her friend and was kicked out of The Agonist, being replaced by Vicky Psarakis. It is unknown if it happened late 2013 or early 2014. If the previous, they almost made it. If the latter, they are a type 1 long runner line up. Word of God says she was in the band for a decade, so they probably made it.
  • BTS was RM, SUGA, j-hope, Jin, Jimin, V, and Jungkook from June 2013 until going on an enforced hiatus in October 2022 to allow the members to fulfill their Korean military obligations. They plan to reunite when all members complete their service in 2025.
  • Hüsker Dü was Bob Mould, Greg Norton, and Grant Hart from 1979 to 1988. The closest things to reunions were Hart appearing at a Mould concert in 2009, and Norton doing the same 10 years later (by then, Hart had died).
  • Little Mix consisted of Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall from their formation in 2011 on The X Factor until Nelson's departure in December 2020.
  • Manic Street Preachers were James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Sean Moore, and Richey James Edwards from 1986-1995 (9 years)—then Edwards vanished. Thirteen years later, he was declared Legally Dead. By that time, the other three members had become a Type 2, and they've continued without any further change to this day.

Type 2

  • The most stable lineup for Mary's Blood started in November 2012 with Eye (vocals), Saki (guitar), Rio (bass), and Mari (drums). The group lasted until they officially went on hiatus in April 2022 - thus missing this trope by mere months.
  • Megadeth was Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Marty Friedman, and Nick Menza from 1990 - when Friedman joined - to 1998 - Menza had a medical leave, Mustaine hired a backup tour drummer, and opted to keep him full time instead of calling Menza back.
  • Skid Row had nine years with singer Sebastian Bach, from 1987 to 1996. Ever since his departure, they have not had the same success.

Type 4

  • Brazilian band Capital Inicial started as Dinho Ouro Preto (vocals), Loro Jones (guitar), and brothers Fe (bass) and Flávio Lemos (drums) in 1982. In 1988 they added a keyboardist, who left in 1992. Thus the original line-up lasted another year until Dinho left in 1993. In 1998, Dinho returned, and the band had a Career Resurrection. In 2001, Jones left, leading to a lineup lasting 9 non-consecutive years.
  • The most well-known incarnation of the Eagles (Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, and Timothy Schmit, and Don Felder), having recorded The Long Run in 1977 and releasing it in 1979, then having an acrimonious breakup in 1980... and then Hell Freezes Over in 1994... but Felder was booted from the group in February 2001 just short of the 10-year mark. The subsequent lineup got a spot in Type 4 above.
  • The Fall were well-known for being an extreme example of a Revolving Door Band, with 66 members passing through its ranks in its 40 years of existence. However, near the end of the band's career, they lasted nine straight years (2007-2016) with the same lineup: Frontman and only constant member Mark E. Smith, his wife Elena Poulou, Dave Spurr, Pete Greenway, and Kerion Melling. This lineup ended when Poulou divorced Smith in 2016, but the three other members remained with The Fall until Smith's death ended the band for good in early 2018.
  • The most well-known incarnation of Jane's Addiction (Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins) got together in 1986 and remained together until the band's first break-up in 1991. After a brief reformation without Avery from 2001 to 2004, the band reformed with the bassist in 2008, and then Avery decided to drop out in 2010, making it 9 non-consecutive years.
  • Sabaton's "classic" line-up (recordings: Primo Victoria through Carolus Rex) mostly formed in 1999, but they switched drummers in 2001, and would be a solid type 4 but for adding a member in 2005 (keyboardist/backing vocalist Daniel Mÿhr). All but lead vocalist Joakim Brodén and bassist Pär Sundström left amicably after the 2012 double album Carolus Rex due to Creative Differences: the other members wanted to tour a little less and have more input into songwriting (mostly monopolized by Brodén and Sundström), and subsequently formed Civil War.
  • Sepultura was Derrick Green (replacing Max Cavalera, with whom they had a ten-year line-up), Andreas Kisser, Paulo Jr., and Igor Cavalera from 1997 to 2006, when Igor left to join his brother in Cavalera Conspiracy.
  • Also from Brazil, Titãs had the same line-up for 9 years, from 1992 (when singer - one of many, in fact - Arnaldo Antunes left) to 2001 (when guitarist Marcelo Fromer died).

    Non-band examples 
  • Major League Baseball:
    • From 1903, when the Baltimore Orioles (not to be confused with the current team of the same name) moved to New York City to become the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees), to 1953 when the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore to become the current Orioles, MLB consisted of the same 16 teams in the same 10 cities.
    • MLB's next stable lineup lasted from 1977, when the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays were added, to 1993, when the Colorado Rockies and Florida (now Miami) Marlins were added.
    • The current 30-team lineup has been stable since 2005 when the Montreal Expos moved to the U.S. capital and became the Washington Nationals. This period of stability is likely to end some time from 2024–28, with the Oakland Athletics having one foot out the door to Las Vegas.
    • As for players, the "Core Four" was a group of Yankees who all made the team's major-league roster in 1995 and went on to win five World Series together. Three of the four—shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada, and closer Mariano Rivera—were together from 1995 to 2011 (when Posada retired), longer than any group of players of its size in the history of major North American sports. The fourth, starting pitcher Andy Pettitte, wasn't around for all of that period; he went to the Houston Astros in 2004, returned to the Yankees in 2007, retired in 2010, came back in 2012, and retired for good in 2013. Running the numbers, the Jeter/Posada/Rivera triumvirate stayed together for at least part of 17 seasons, while Pettitte was there for 13 of those seasons.
  • Depending on definitions, the National Basketball Association got its first such lineup in either 2018 or 2022. The last time an NBA team moved to a different media market was in 2008, when the Seattle SuperSonics moved to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. The New Jersey Nets, which had played in Newark, moved to Brooklyn in 2012; while Newark is part of the NYC metro area and media market, Jersey has a very distinct identity from NYC, especially Brooklyn.
  • The only period in which the National Football League had such a lineup (defined as no expansion, contraction, or relocation to a different media market) started with the 2002 entry of the Houston Texans and ended with the 2016 return of the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles.
  • National Hockey League:
    • It consisted of the same six teams from the demise of the Brooklyn Americans in 1942 to the league's doubling in size in 1967. Those teams (Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs) are to this day called the "Original Six", even though only two were actual founding league members.
    • Apart from the Original Six era, the league's longest run of stability was 11 years—from the 2000 entry of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild to the Atlanta Thrashers' 2011 move to become the current Winnipeg Jets.
  • Australian Football League:
    • The predecessor to today's AFL, the Victorian Football League, was formed in 1897 with seven teams in Melbourne and one about 45 miles/75 km away in Geelong. The original lineup of Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda, and South Melbourne remained intact until Richmond and University joined from other area leagues in 1908.
    • After University folded in 1914, the VFL remained stable until Footscray, Hawthorn, and North Melbourne joined in 1925.
    • This new lineup remained stable for over a half-century, with the next change coming in 1982 when South Melbourne relocated to become the Sydney Swans, making the "VFL" name an Artifact Title until 1990, when the league adopted its current name (by which time it had added the Brisbane Bears and Perth-based West Coast Eagles).
    • After more interstate teams were added over time, plus Fitzroy and Brisbane Bears merging to form the current Brisbane Lions and Footscray renaming itself Western Bulldogs, the first stable lineup in the AFL era lasted from 1997 to 2010, with Adelaide, Brisbane Lions, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fremantle, Geelong, Hawthorn, Melbourne, North Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Richmond, St Kilda, Sydney Swans, West Coast Eagles, and Western Bulldogs. This period ended with Gold Coast's 2011 entry into the league.
    • Greater Western Sydney's arrival in 2012 created the lineup that most Aussies know and love (or hate) to this day.
  • FOX's NASCAR Cup Series booth team was comprised of Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip from the network's first NASCAR broadcast in 2001 (minus the occasional substitution) through their last race of 2015. That's fifteen seasons, which is a record for any commentary team in any sport for a nationwide broadcast. McReynolds was shifted to the Hollywood Hotel (Fox's pit studio) starting in 2016, with Jeff Gordon taking his place in the booth.
  • Many of the famous college choirs in the Midwest came about in the early 20th century and have only been through 4 conductors at the most in 100+ years of existence. Usually, this is the founder of the ensemble (as in F. Melius Christiansen), his son (Olaf Christiansen), his son's protégé (Kenneth Jennings) and HIS protégé (Anton Armstrong) and all of these tenures last for 25 years or more. One of them, the director of Nordic Choir of Luther College, helmed the ensemble for 57 years. Classical music loves these things.
  • Heaven Sent Gaming has been primarily Mario Lucero and Isabel Lucero since 2006.
  • Many NCAA Division I conferences have fit this trope, both in the past and present.
    • Atlantic Coast Conference:
      • Launched in June 1953 with Clemson, Duke, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wake Forest, it added Virginia that December, with that lineup remaining stable until South Carolina left in July 1971 (17 years and change).
      • Added Georgia Tech in 1979 (although it didn't play ACC football until 1983), resulting in 12 years of stability until...
      • ...Florida State joined in 1991 (moving football into the league the next year). The next change in conference membership came in 2004 when Miami and Virginia Tech joined.
      • The current lineup of Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame (all sports but football), Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest will make it exactly to the 10-year mark before California, SMU, and Stanford join in 2024.
    • The Big Eight Conference, the main precursor to today's Big 12, had two qualifying lineups, plus one that "almost made it".
      • In 1928, the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association split, mainly along public/private school lines. Six of the public schools—namely Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma—left to form their own league, which for the time being kept the MVIAA name but was popularly known as the Big Six. This lineup stayed intact until December 1947, when Colorado joined to create the Big Seven.
      • The new lineup just missed out on "long-runner" status, with Oklahoma A&M, which had been left behind in the original MVIAA split, joining (or rejoining) in June 1957, a year before it became Oklahoma State. The new lineup, now known as the Big Eight, stayed intact until the Big 12 started play in 1996.
    • The Big Ten Conference has three lineups that qualify:
      • While it's been around since 1896, its first lineup that met the 10-year threshold (Chicago, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin) stayed intact from 1916 (when Michigan returned) to 1946 (when Chicago left).
      • The next membership change was the arrival of Michigan State in 1950, which led to 40 years of stability until Penn State joined in 1990.
      • This lineup stayed stable for 21 years until Nebraska joined in 2011. As in the case of the ACC, the current lineup has been in place since 2014, when Maryland and Rutgers joined.
      • The current lineup will make it to the 10-year mark and no longer, with Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington set to join in 2024.
    • Big 12 Conference:
      • The original lineup of Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech stayed intact from the start of conference competition in 1996 until Colorado and Nebraska left in 2011.
      • The next stable lineup, with TCU and West Virginia having joined in 2012 when Missouri and Texas A&M skedaddled for the SEC, lasted until BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF joined in 2023. In 2024, Oklahoma and Texas will leave for the SEC, Colorado will return, and Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah will also join.
    • The Ivy League takes this to the logical extreme. It has the same eight members that it had when it officially formed as an athletic conference in 1954... which happen to be the same eight schools that agreed on common football policies and scheduling practices in 1945.
      • On top of that, when the Ivy League became an all-sports conference, it absorbed the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League, a men's basketball league. While all Ivy schools except Brown had first joined the EIBL no later than 1911 (Brown didn't join until 1953), not all of them consistently competed in that league. It did have two lineups that stayed together for the required period. First, from 1913–1933 (with a hiatus for WWI in the 1918–19 season), six of the seven long-term members (all but Harvard) were present. Then, Harvard rejoined in 1933, and the lineup remained stable until Brown joined, though Harvard, Princeton, and Yale all suspended their programs for varying periods during WWII. Even considering the WWII hiatus, the seven-member lineup was stable from 1933–1943.
    • Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: This league, currently a non-football conference (though it had I-AA/FCS football from 1994–2007), has had one lineup stay intact for the required period. The lineup of Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Loyola (MD), Manhattan, Marist, Niagara, Rider, Saint Peter's, and Siena stayed intact from the 1997 arrival of Marist and Rider to 2013, when Loyola left for the Patriot League (below) and Monmouth and Quinnipiac joined. This created a lineup that missed out by a year, with Monmouth leaving in 2022.
    • Mid-American Conference:
      • Its first lineup that reached the 10-year mark (Bowling Green, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan) lasted from Western Reserve's departure in 1955 to Marshall's expulsion in 1969.
      • Its next stable lineup of Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan coincided with Northern Illinois' first conference tenure from 1975 to 1986.
      • The current MAC lineup (Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan) has been intact since Marshall, which had returned to the MAC in 1997, voluntarily left in 2005. That made it the only Division I FBS conference whose core membership remained unchanged during the conference realignments of the early 2010s. The core membership also didn't change in the early-2020s realignment triggered by Oklahoma and Texas announcing their departure from the Big 12, though not by lack of trying on the MAC's part... until it was announced that UMass would join in 2025.
    • Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: One of the two D-I conferences whose full members are all HBCUs, it's had a bad case of "almost made it", having two different lineups fizzle out at 9 years and a third at 8 years. It did manage to hit the 10-year mark with Bethune–Cookman, Coppin State, Delaware State, Florida A&M, Hampton, Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State, Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, and South Carolina State, starting with Norfolk State's 1997 arrival and ending with Winston-Salem State's 2007 arrival (the latter would leave in 2010).
    • The Missouri Valley Conference (a non-football conference since the mid-80s) has been a Revolving Door Band since its formation as the MVIAA in 1907, but managed to keep one of its many lineups intact for the required period. Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and Wichita State were together from the 1996 departure of Tulsa until 2013, when Creighton left and Loyola Chicago joined.
    • The Mountain West Conference reached the 10-year mark in 2023 with Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, and Wyoming. The current football lineup, made up of the 11 full members plus Hawaiʻi, has been stable for the same period.
    • The Ohio Valley Conference has had fairly steady churn during its history, though nothing like what the Western Athletic Conference has experienced in the current century. It did manage to keep one lineup together for the required period—Austin Peay, East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Murray State, Tennessee Tech, and Western Kentucky were together from Peay's arrival in 1962 to ETSU's departure in 1978.
    • Pac-12 Conference:
      • While its current charter was not established until 1959, it claims the history of the Pacific Coast Conference, founded in 1915. The PCC's only lineup meeting the 10-year mark (California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State) lasted from UCLA's arrival in 1928 to Montana's departure in 1950.
      • Cal, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Washington formed the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959. Washington State became the first of three other old PCC members to return in 1962; two years later, Oregon and Oregon State, also old PCC members, came back. This lineup remained in place through a 1968 name change to Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) until Arizona and Arizona State joined in 1978, leading to another name change to Pacific-10 Conference.
      • The Pac-10 had no changes until Colorado and Utah joined in 2011, creating the current Pac-12.
      • The current lineup will remain intact until 2024, when the conference itself will effectively fold. The only two schools that haven't announced their departure yet are Oregon State and Washington State.note 
    • Patriot League:
      • Founded in 1986 as the football-only Colonial League and adopting its current name when it added other sports in 1990, its first lineup to reach the 10-year mark (American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Navy) lasted from American's arrival in 2001 to 2013...
      • ...when the current lineup formed with the arrival of Boston University and Loyola (MD). This group obviously hit 10 years in 2023.
    • Southeastern Conference:
      • Founded in 1932, its first lineup meeting the 10-year mark (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Tulane, Vanderbilt) lasted from Sewanee's departure in 1940 to Georgia Tech's departure in 1964.
      • Tulane left in 1966, leading to 25 years of stability until Arkansas and South Carolina joined in 1991.
      • This lineup stayed stable until the 2012 arrival of Missouri and Texas A&M.
      • The current lineup reached the 10-year mark in 2022 and will last until Oklahoma and Texas join in 2024.
    • The Southwest Conference, the other precursor to the Big 12, had three stable lineups.
      • The first formed with the 1925 departure of Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), leaving Arkansas, Baylor, Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas, and Texas A&M.
      • Then, in 1956, Texas Tech joined, leading to 16 years of stability,
      • The last stable lineup formed when Houston arrived in 1972 (though basketball and football didn't immediately start conference play, respectively waiting until 1975 and 1976). That lineup remained intact until Arkansas left for the SEC in 1991. The SWC collapsed in 1994 but continued play until formally dissolving at the end of the 1995–96 school year; four of its final members joined with the Big Eight to form the Big 12.
    • Southwestern Athletic Conference: Division I's other all-HBCU league, founded in 1920, saw its starting lineup end at 9 years. Unlike its sister HBCU league, however, it's had several stable lineups:
      • Arkansas AM&N (now Arkansas–Pine Bluff), Bishop, Huston–Tillotson, Langston, Prairie View A&M, Southern, Texas College, Wiley: Addition of AM&N in 1936 to arrival of Texas Southern in 1954.
      • Alcorn State, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Southern, Prairie View, Texas Southern: Departure of AM&N in 1970 to arrival of Alabama State in 1982.
      • The new lineup with Alabama State remained stable until Arkansas–Pine Bluff returned in 1997.
      • Then in 1999, Alabama A&M joined, creating a lineup that stayed unchanged until the 2021 arrival of Bethune–Cookman and Florida A&M.
    • West Coast Conference:
      • After Seattle left in 1980, its eight-member lineup of Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara remained unchanged until BYU joined in 2011.
      • The next stable lineup, formed when Pacific rejoined in 2013,note  made it exactly to the 10-year mark before BYU left for the Big 12.
    • While the Western Athletic Conference has pretty much defined High Turnover Rate in the D-I context, especially since 1996, it has managed to reach 10 years with two of its many lineups:
      • Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, Utah, UTEP, Wyoming: 1968 (arrival of CSU and UTEP) to 1978 (departure of the Arizona schools).
      • The six remaining members from this lineup were later joined by San Diego State (1978), Hawaiʻi (1979), and Air Force (1980), forming a group that remained intact until Fresno State joined in 1992.
  • Several state delegations in the US Congress also qualify:
    • Rhode Island has been represented by Democratic senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline since 2011, when Cicilline was first elected. Reed and Whitehouse have been together in the Senate since 2007.
    • Washington State's senate duo of Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have been serving together ever since 2001, the longest serving duo in the country.
    • Other states with senators serving together for at least 10 years (as of 2023):
      • Connecticut: Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy since 2013.
      • Delaware: Tom Carper and Chris Coons since 2010.
      • Hawaii: Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono since 2013.
      • Idaho: Mike Crapo and Jim Risch since 2009.
      • Kentucky: Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul since 2011.
      • Maine: Susan Collins and Angus King since 2013. One of two examples in which the senators aren't of the same party; Collins is a Republican and King an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
      • Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey since 2013.
      • New Jersey: Bob Menendez and Cory Booker since 2013.
      • New York: Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand since 2009.
      • Oregon: Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley since 2009.
      • South Carolina: Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott since 2013.
      • Texas: John Cornyn and Ted Cruz since 2013.
      • Virginia: Mark Warner and Tim Kaine since 2013.
      • Wisconsin: Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin since 2013. The other inter-party example, with Johnson a Republican and Baldwin a Democrat.
  • The longest period of stability on the US Supreme Court lasted from the swearing-in of Stephen Breyer as an Associate Justice on August 3, 1994 to the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist on September 3, 2005. Justices during this time were (in order of seniority) Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Breyer.

Top