The Velvet Underground fell out again during the reunion tour

A number of other bands have found that the lure of filthy lucre can overcome arguments that caused them to split up decades before.

The Velvet Underground originally imploded in 1970 after a rift between Lou Reed and John Cale - but by the early 1990s, a new generation of fans made them cool again and lifted their popularity levels higher than ever.

The original line-up embarked on a European tour in 1993 - but Reed and Cale fell out again before the band could even start the United States leg and the reunion fell apart.

But thousands of fans got to see the band before guitarist Sterling Morrison died two years later.

Guitar-smashing rockers The Who were one of the biggest bands of the 1960s and 70s, and have held a number of reunions since.

Blondie performed at the Glastonbury festival in 1999

The group fell apart after wild drummer Keith Moon died in 1978, but burst back onto the stage with a 25th anniversary tour in 1989.

That tour alienated some fans who thought the motive behind it was money.

They continued to get back together for shows - Live Aid and Roger Daltrey's 50th birthday among them - and two recently announced charity gigs at London's Royal Albert Hall.

In early 2001, Roxy Music went on tour 18 years after they split up - but without founding member Brian Eno, who criticised his former colleagues.

"It's obvious why it's being done. Why does anyone have a reunion?" he said.

Plus a glut of pop idols, including Adam and the Ants and Spandau Ballet, have suddenly reappeared on arena tours, cashing in on nostalgia for all things 80s under the Here and Now banner.

In 1995, the remaining Beatles recorded new songs

Blondie, who have stood the time as one of the more credible bands to emerge from the 1980s, got back together to record a new album and do a tour in 1999.

And Boy George fits in Culture Club tours in between his stints as a club DJ.

One band who hardly needed the money was The Beatles, and John Lennon's death in 1980 scotched any chances of a reunion.

But the three remaining members still managed to record some new songs in 1995.

McCartney, Harrison and Starr added the music to vocals Lennon sang into a tape recorder in 1977, and Free as a Bird was the result.

The single narrowly failed to reach the number one spot on both sides of the Atlantic, while Real Love was another new hit the following year.

Abba: Turned down a $1bn offer

The original members of Lennon's first band The Quarrymen did not become quite so successful as The Beatles - but Pete Shotton, Len Gary, Rod Davies, Eric Griffiths and Colin Hanton got back together for a show in 1997.

There was little fanfare, though - it was for a school fete.

One band has resisted the a considerable temptation to get back together, though - Abba turned down a reported $1bn (�690m) offer to tour.

"It is a hell of a lot of money to say no to, but we decided it wasn't for us," Benny Andersson told a Swedish newspaper in 2000.

"We have never made a comeback. Almost everyone else has."