Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About Us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • Purdie on the Purdie shuffle
  • Type beats
  • 86000+ free music samples
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • Three-chord trick

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. News

10 classic onstage injuries

By Total Guitar
published 27 September 2011

From the plain-stupid to the hard-as-nails

Lou Reed, 1973, New York
Fancy a nibble?
(Image credit: Jean Louis Atlan/Sygma/Corbis)

Lou Reed, 1973, New York

Audience displeasure works on a sliding scale. Most fans will settle for a refund. Some will opt for booing. A handful will throw bottles of piss.

In March 1973, one punter in Buffalo expressed his displeasure at Reed’s set in surreal fashion, by leaping up onto the stage, shouting “leather!” and biting the former Velvet Underground star on his era-defining arse.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Keith Moon & Pete Townshend, 1967, USA
Insert 'explosive ending' pun here.
(Image credit: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS)

Keith Moon & Pete Townshend, 1967, USA

Proof that drummers have always been fools came with The Who’s riotous 1967 performance of My Generation on US TV, when Keith Moon’s stunt of detonating his kit with a treble dose of flash powder ignited Uncle Pete’s hair and permanently damaged his hearing. Nice one, Keith.

You can watch the whole incident on YouTube.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Noel Gallagher, 2008, Toronto
Well if he is going to stand like that...
(Image credit: Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis)

Noel Gallagher, 2008, Toronto

The Oasis guvnor was halfway through Morning Glory when Daniel Sullivan sprinted in from behind, shoving Noel onto the monitor and cracking three ribs.

Naturally, we can’t condone this behaviour… if you had that opportunity, surely you’d push Liam?

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Matt Bellamy, 2004, Atlanta
Place foot on monitor, pull rock face and... *smack*
(Image credit: Martin Philbey/ZUMA/Corbis)

Matt Bellamy, 2004, Atlanta

If aliens do walk among us, as Matt Bellamy insists, they’d presumably have written off the concept of intelligent life on earth after watching the Muse man head-butt his own headstock during the intro to Citizen Erased.

His expert medical diagnosis from the stage: “I’ve f***ed my face up real bad…”

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Keith Richards, 1965, Sacramento
In those early years The Rolling Stones were known for their electrifying performances. (sorry!)
(Image credit: Bettmann/CORBIS)

Keith Richards, 1965, Sacramento

The indestructible Stone doubled as a lightning rod when his Tele brushed against a live mic. The fact he was playing The Last Time seemed a grim irony, but Keef was apparently saved by his rubber soles.

“I woke up in the hospital an hour later,” he recalls. “The doctor said electrocution victims come around or they don’t.”

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Frank Zappa, 1971, London
If a man with a 'tache that good is looking at your girlfriend, it's understandable to feel threatened.
(Image credit: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS)

Frank Zappa, 1971, London

Zappa splashed down in the concrete orchestra pit of the Rainbow Theatre, shoved by a fan for the offence of ‘making eyes’ at his girlfriend.

The damage? Multiple fractures, a crushed larynx, head trauma and months in a wheelchair.

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
Krist Novoselic, 1992, Los Angeles
Gravity: the nemesis of the over-enthusiastic bassist.
(Image credit: Steve Jennings/CORBIS)

Krist Novoselic, 1992, Los Angeles

Launching his bass skywards at the MTV Awards, Novoselic reminded us that musicians can’t catch: “Maybe I was a little nervous, but it popped me on the head. Kurt didn’t know what happened. He kicked me in the ass as I went offstage!”

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Pete Townshend, 1989, Washington
If you mess-up your signature stage move, you've only yourself to blame.
(Image credit: Neal Preston/CORBIS)

Pete Townshend, 1989, Washington

Townshend’s second trip to A&E occurred when his trademark windmilling during Won’t Get Fooled Again was soured by the whammy impaling his strumming hand between the fourth and fifth fingers.

“I looked down,” recalls the Who man, “and I thought, ‘shit’.” Well, quite.

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Ryan Adams, 2004, Liverpool
Always remember the first rule of stage diving: look before you jump.
(Image credit: Bob King/Corbis)

Ryan Adams, 2004, Liverpool

There’s a difference between stage diving and plummeting, as Adams discovered to his cost when he dropped six feet onto his wrist at the Royal Court Theatre.

“The sound of it breaking off my arm was loud,” Adams noted. “Some people couldn’t look.”

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
James Hetfield, 1992, Montreal
There's a lesson here: long haired men should not hang out near pyrotechnics.
(Image credit: CORBIS)

James Hetfield, 1992, Montreal

Never play with fireworks: solid advice to schoolboys that went spectacularly unheeded by the Metallica man when he stepped onto a white-hot magnesium flash during Fade To Black.

“So I’m burnt all up my arm,” he remembers. “My hand completely down to the bone, the side of my face… my hair gone! I look down and just watch the skin just rising…”

A month after his run-in with a rogue pyro, Hetfield was back onstage: “That’s the Metallica way”.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Total Guitar
Total Guitar
Social Links Navigation

Total Guitar is Europe's best-selling guitar magazine.

Every month we feature interviews with the biggest names and hottest new acts in guitar land, plus Guest Lessons from the stars.

Finally, our Rocked & Rated section is the place to go for reviews, round-ups and help setting up your guitars and gear.

Subscribe: http://bit.ly/totalguitar

More about guitars
Wampler Tweed '57 and Black '65

Wampler brings back its Fender-inspired Tweed ’57 and Black ’65 amp-in-a-box drive pedals – for a limited time only

Laney Ironheart Foundry DualTop

“All the ferocious growl and bite of an Ironheart you know and love”: Laney adds two compact, affordable and feature-stacked 60W amps to the Ironheart Foundry series

Latest
Nirvana In Utero cover

Nirvana session cellist Kera Schaley talks about playing on In Utero: "The funny thing about All Apologies is Steve kept trying to talk Kurt out of putting cello on it"

See more latest ►
Most Popular
“It makes it exciting and dangerous and fun”: Yngwie Malmsteen says he doesn’t need to rehearse anymore and explains why he mostly ignores the setlist

By Jonathan Horsley22 September 2023

9 tips for buying second-hand music gear without getting scammed

By Andy Jones22 September 2023

Pro Tools Sketch: industry-standard DAW gets Ableton Live-style clip launching and a free iPad app, but will it convince you to switch?

By Si Truss22 September 2023

Elon Musk allegedly turned up at the studio with a gun while Grimes was recording dialogue for Cyberpunk 2077: "The studio guys were sweating"

By Matt Mullen22 September 2023

Electro Harmonix unveils the 9 mini Pico effects pedals for its NYC DSP Series – with reworked old favourites and new designs

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

DAW not doing it for you? Cantor is a free “music playground” for looping, sampling and sound design

By Ben Rogerson21 September 2023

Watch bluegrass guitarist Ian Ly become the 2023 US National Flat-picking Champion

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

Audiomovers launches Off The Record interview series with first episode featuring Dire Straits producer Chuck Ainlay

By Matt Mullen21 September 2023

“I thought, ‘have I done something heinous?’”: James Blake reminds Brian Eno that he once accused him of using ‘the arsehole chord’ and demands to know what it actually is

By Ben Rogerson21 September 2023

The Vai, Bonamassa, Di Meola and Abasi-backed guitar virtuoso Matteo Mancuso dazzles again on new song Silk Road

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

DAACI is the AI-powered 'meta-composition' software that writes music like a human: "It's interpreting what comes from a composer’s brain, rather than trying to imitate something that’s already been made"

By Andy Price21 September 2023

  1. Marty Friedman
    1
    Marty Friedman’s guitar teacher told him to take a bong hit every time he played an exercise correctly, but the ex-Megadeth guitarist has better advice for students
  2. 2
    "It's become so elitist" – Joe Bonamassa weighs in on players being priced out of the vintage guitar and amp market
  3. 3
    “Sometimes Jimi Hendrix’s girlfriend would go and buy us breakfast because we had no money”: Rod Stewart says early days of the Jeff Beck Group were no picnic
  4. 4
    16 famous musicians who almost joined very famous bands
  5. 5
    Cindy Blackman Santana tackles the iconic In The Air Tonight drum fill as she joins Chris Stapleton and Snoop Dogg on a new version of the song for ESPN’s Monday Night Football
  1. Cindy Blackman Santana
    1
    Cindy Blackman Santana tackles the iconic In The Air Tonight drum fill as she joins Chris Stapleton and Snoop Dogg on a new version of the song for ESPN’s Monday Night Football
  2. 2
    “He doesn’t do Zoom”: Mick Jagger reflects on how his songwriting partnership with Keith Richards has changed and discusses Paul McCartney’s bass playing on new Rolling Stones album Hackney Diamonds
  3. 3
    UK synth company Modal Electronics declared insolvent and goes into administration
  4. 4
    Hania Rani on bringing synths and drum machines into contemporary classical: “I spent 20 years playing one instrument, but I’m still interested in investigating others”
  5. 5
    The Vai, Bonamassa, Di Meola and Abasi-backed guitar virtuoso Matteo Mancuso dazzles again on new song Silk Road

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.