![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/The-White-Stripes-Hotel-Yorba-2001-Far-Out-Magazine-F-1140x855.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still)<\/p>\n
Thu 12 February 2026 19:32, UK <\/p>\n
They were a lot of things to a lot of people, but by and large, The White Stripes<\/a> were a ball of raging flame when they burst onto the scene in the early 2000s.\u00a0<\/p>\n With Jack White\u2019s fire-breathing guitar snorting balls of burning fuzz at every opportunity and Meg White\u2019s war-bringing drums, the group were the heaviest around. It\u2019s more of a truism than a clich\u00e9, the duo verifiably revived rock \u2018n\u2019 roll.<\/p>\n Yet, what will go down as their final performance, is altogether a little more reserved. It came about as part of Conan O\u2019Brien\u2019s final show and saw the duo take on their 2001<\/a> song, \u2018We Are Going To Be Friends\u2019. In many ways, it couldn\u2019t be more fitting or touching. Above all, the band thrived on the unique chemistry of its firecracker constituents. And it formed an equally fitting farewell to Conan\u2019s first run of shows.<\/p>\n He\u2019d had a plethora of icons on the show over the years. So, you might imagine that a lot of deliberation went into crafting the perfect finale. But that wasn\u2019t the case. O\u2019Brien knew exactly who he wanted: the evermore reclusive red and white troubadours, The White Stripes. <\/p>\n Back in 2009, when the final show aired, the band had been in relative hiding. Jack White was concentrating on his side projects, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather, meanwhile, Meg hadn\u2019t been seen since her anxiety issues had prematurely ended their 2007 tour. If it was for anybody else the band would\u2019ve likely passed on the opportunity. But it was Conan, a host the band had always loved, so they worked hard to make it happen.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we were trying to decide out which musical act to feature on the last show after so many years there was one band that was always on the top of my list,\u201d O\u2019Brien said, introducing the band. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure this could happen. I am personally very thrilled this could happen this evening. Please welcome our good friends for many years, the White Stripes.\u201d <\/p>\n With the introduction ringing out across the airwaves the audience in the studio and at home were expecting the band\u2019s devilish double act to tear their faces off with distortion and bass drums. Instead, the group entered the stage in a curious set up. Meg was on guitar. Jack wasn\u2019t jiving around as he\u2019d just stubbed his toe. And a hush replaced the usual raucous hubbub that had followed them around throughout the decade.<\/p>\n Instead, beauty and humility abounded. Here was a song about the rarest thing of all: making friends for life, a topic almost too sincere for the typically grubby mitts of pop. \u201cThat meant the world to me,\u201d Conan told them as the final notes finished. O\u2019Brien looked genuinely touched to not only have the band perform but to also have them change so radically for him. \u201cThe White Stripes everyone!\u201d he finished, his cheeks perhaps a touch damper than they had been a few moments ago. <\/p>\n It would be the final performance the band ever gave. While Jack White was continuing to tell the press that the duo were working on new material, the fact was that he was far more concerned with his side projects and Meg\u2019s anxiety was only worsening. Nearly two years to the day after the O\u2019Brien performance, The White Stripes announced their disbandment. They\u2019d revived rock \u2018n\u2019 roll for a legion of fans, and that was enough.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is for a myriad of reasons, but mostly to preserve what is beautiful and special about the band and have it stay that way,\u201d read a statement. \u201cBoth Meg and Jack hope this decision isn\u2019t met with sorrow by their fans but that it is seen as a positive move done out of respect for the music that the band has created.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a statement that felt apt. And while they might not have intended for this sojourn on Conan to be their last, the performance felt apt too when you peek beneath its unassuming surface. Not only does the simple statement \u2013 \u201cI can tell that we are going to be friends\u201d \u2013 ring true for the performing pair, and the buddy whose show they were on, but also for fans who still feel like The White Stripes are a friendly presence in their life.<\/p>\n Hopes of a reunion still linger, but with Jack White coming about as close as you can to being a rock music mogul and Meg\u2019s mental health issues still keeping her from the spotlight, the likelihood is very low. So, let\u2019s just enjoy The White Stripes leaving the stage as they entered it<\/a>, by shocking us all.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still) Thu 12 February 2026 19:32, UK They were a lot of things…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,42226,128,42227,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-423178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-jack-white","tag-music","tag-the-white-stripes","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/The-White-Stripes-Elephant-2003-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a>(Credits: Far Out \/ The White Stripes \/ Third Man Records)<\/p>\n