Graham Nash was "making peace" with David Crosby after years-long feud, "then he was gone"

25 August 2023, 16:08

Success and inflated egos come hand-in-hand.

So imagine the internal battles in a supergroup where each member feels like they're the be-all-and-end-all of the band.

In many ways, that's exactly what happened with countercultural folk-rock icons Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Neil Young was a frequent collaborator, but he only dipped his toes into the musical unit every so often, as he knew his destiny lay with his solo career.

But as a three-piece, Crosby, Still & Nash were still a cultural phenomenon and political activists, and had enormous success throughout their decades-long career.

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However, that finally came to an end in 2015 after what would turn out to be the group's final tour, when Graham Nash revealed they'd no longer operate as a musical whole due to his estrangement from David Crosby.

This was the culmination of a years-long feud between the pair, who still referred to themselves as "brothers" despite the bitterness between them.

There was still love between the two duelling artists, and they were on their way to reconciling their differences.

In a new interview, Graham Nash revealed he was "making peace" with David Crosby before he died, but "then he was gone".

As Nash prepares for his upcoming UK tour, the former member of The Hollies and CSN contemplated how his relationship with the late Crosby panned out.

The legendary 81-year-old singer-songwriter said he attempted to reconcile with his old friend before his death on January 18, 2023.

Talking to i News, Nash said: "Trying to deal with David wasn’t easy. I tried not doing any drugs. That didn’t work. I tried doing as many drugs as he did. That didn’t work either."

Nash explained that Crosby remained "one of my best friends" and his death was "insanely sad for me", despite their many differences.

"Quite honestly, I’ll miss David for the rest of my life," Nash admits in a sad revelation, more so because they could never quite bury the hatchet.

Long Time Gone (2005 Remaster)

Nash goes on to explain that his mourning was made worse because they had just begun to reignite their friendship.

"At the end there, we were getting together. We were emailing each other and voicemailing each other."

He reveals they set up a FaceTime call "where we could see each other's faces" to make an apology to one another, but Crosby never showed. "I waited and waited, and he never called. And then he was gone."

When asked about what they said to each other in their final discussions, Nash replied: "That we made a lot of beautiful music. We had a lot of great times. Why don’t we get back to that?'

"I don’t regret anything, actually," he continued. "David and I, our animosity towards each other was very genuine."

"There are reasons that I'll never tell. But he is – sorry, he was – one of the great musicians in the world. Completely unique. I have to admit that."

DAVID CROSBY & GRAHAM NASH - BBC Concert (1970)

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Whilst the pair respected each other and their artistry immensely, it seems as though they just couldn't completely make amends by the time Crosby died.

Talking about his own mortality, Nash confessed: "I think about it every day, really. Particularly when David died. I’m 81, you know?"

"And now that I don’t have David and Stephen or Neil in my life, musically, I know what I want to do. I’m gonna do with my life, however long it is, the very best that I can."

Graham Nash's 2023 UK and European tour starts this weekend. Click here for the full list of tour dates.