Tightening up the unit more, Trapeze continued to release Medusa (1971) and You Are The Music... We Are The Band (1972). The band suffered a setback when Hughes chose to join Deep Purple to be replaced by Rob Kendrick and Pete Wright, making the band a quartet for their fourth album now on 'Warner' titled Hot Wire (1974) to be followed by Trapeze! in 1975. It would be their last for a while, as the group went on hiatus.
When Trapeze returned, the world was a different place for them, for between 1978 and 1981, they released only two albums, Hold On (1979) featuring Paul Goalby on vocals, and Dead Armadillos - Live In Texas with Steve Bray on drums in 1981. Holland had left to join Judas Priest, and Galley would join Whitesnake, while Goalby joined Uriah Heep, basically leaving no members to play music by 1982.
In 1991, Hughes, Galley and Holland reunited Trapeze for a string of tour dates the following year, adding Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes for the shows. The tour resulted in the live album, Welcome to the Real World: Live at the Borderline in 1998.
The trio revived Trapeze again in 1994 with second guitarist Craig Erickson, completing a brief tour early in the year before permanently disbanding. Following the band's breakup, both Galley and Holland remained relatively inactive, while Hughes continued with his solo career and collaborations with various artists. Galley later died of oesophageal cancer on 1 July 2008, and Holland died on 16 January 2018, leaving Hughes the sole surviving member of the classic line-up.