
{"id":1185,"date":"2011-07-05T14:27:43","date_gmt":"2011-07-05T18:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/?p=1185"},"modified":"2012-07-15T19:57:06","modified_gmt":"2012-07-15T23:57:06","slug":"ouch-notable-onstage-injuries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/ouch-notable-onstage-injuries\/","title":{"rendered":"Ouch!: Notable Onstage Injuries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty-two years ago today, on July 5, 1989, Rod Stewart accidentally hit his head during a live performance, knocking himself out. In honor of him and countless other artists who have met misfortune before a live audience, we take today to pay tribute to the most remarkable instances of onstage injury in music.<\/p>\n<p>February 19, 1972: Trumpeter Lee Morgan is shot by his common-law wife while performing at Slugs\u2019 in NYC\u2019s East Village. The shooting followed an argument between the two.<\/p>\n<p>May 3, 1972: Les Harvey of Stone the Crows touches an unearthed microphone during a sound check with wet hands, electrocuting him to death at 26 years old.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1189\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1189\" style=\"width: 215px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/jackson_hair1_280_846462a.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1189\" style=\"margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;\" title=\"jackson_hair1_280_846462a\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/jackson_hair1_280_846462a-215x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"215\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/jackson_hair1_280_846462a-215x300.jpg 215w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/jackson_hair1_280_846462a.jpg 280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 215px) 100vw, 215px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1189\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jackson being walked offstage after his hair was extinguished.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>January 27, 1984: Michael Jackson\u2019s hair catches on fire during the middle of filming a Pepsi commercial in Los Angeles. The incident allegedly sparked his decline in health and subsequent addiction to cosmetic surgery.<\/p>\n<p>July 5, 1989: Rod Stewart hits himself on the head onstage and knocks himself out.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1191\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1191\" style=\"width: 278px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/panonski.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1191\" style=\"margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;\" title=\"panonski\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/panonski-278x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"278\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/panonski-278x300.jpg 278w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/panonski.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 278px) 100vw, 278px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1191\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The cover of Panonski&#39;s eponymous album<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>1989: Yugoslavian rocker Satan Panonski, born Ivica \u010culjak, performs covered in blood. A photo snapped of the event would grace the front cover of his album a year later. He died in 1992, ironically not from injuries sustained during live shows, but rather as a soldier in war.<\/p>\n<p>August 1992: Guitarist James Hetfield of Metallica steps backwards into a pyrotechnic rig. He experienced second and third degree burns on his arms and hands, though his double-necked guitar protected him from further injury. His recovery time was epically short, putting him back onstage after just a seventeen-day hiatus. But what else would we expect from a rock god?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1188\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1188\" style=\"width: 186px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/gg14.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1188\" style=\"margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;\" title=\"gg14\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/gg14-186x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"186\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/gg14-186x300.jpg 186w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/gg14.jpg 282w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 186px) 100vw, 186px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1188\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guess what&#39;s in his hand here. We dare you.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>June 1993: GG Allin, born Jesus Christ Allin, dies of a heroin overdose shortly following a show, despite his many promises to commit suicide onstage. He did not meet his end onstage, but this list would not be complete without acknowledging the punk rocker\u2019s violent onstage legacy. His lyrics, although they broached subjects such as racism, misogyny, and pedophilia, paled in comparison to his much volatile performance antics. He was infamous for his self-mutilation, the consumption of feces, and brutal assault of audience members. In one instance, he broke a woman\u2019s nose. He often took laxatives before shows to ensure that he could carry through with his coprophagous designs during his performances. Though he was usually naked by the end of a performance, he would always begin wearing a leather jacket and a jockstrap\u2014what else? Because he rarely bathed, he usually smelled like a sickening combination of body odor, feces, and whiskey. Sadly, his career\u2019s nauseating features were better than the alternative: he proclaimed that were he not a violent musician and performance artist, he would have chosen the life of a serial killer or mass murderer. In 1988, he declared his intent to commit suicide onstage on Halloween 1989. Unfortunately for him, those plans were foiled by his being incarcerated at said time. He was imprisoned again in December 1989 for the rape and torture of a woman, though he insisted that their sexual activities, as well as the cutting, burning, and drinking of the blood of his partner, were consensual. He was released in 1991. His life came to an anticlimactic end when he died of a heroin overdose after escaping from a show at the Gas Station Club in New York.<\/p>\n<p>November 8, 1995: Country Dick Montana, lead singer and drummer of the country punk band The Beat Farmers dies of a heart attack three songs into a performance in Whistler, British Columbia. The Beat Farmers disbanded three days later.<\/p>\n<p>May 17, 1996: Blues and funk guitarist Johnny \u201cGuitar\u201d Watson, the Godfather of Funk, dies during a performance of \u201cAin\u2019t That a Bitch\u201d in Yokohama, Japan. \u201cAin\u2019t that a bitch\u201d were his last words. Not only did Watson influence artists such as Frank Zappa, he pioneered the 1960s flamboyant, pimp style that Austin Powers movies parody today.<\/p>\n<p>March 13, 1998: Reggae and ska artist Judge Dread, born Alexander Minto Hughes, collapses from a heart attack while walking off stage after a performance at the Penny Theatre in Canterbury. Though he was only 42 at the time of his death, his songs were considered so \u201crude\u201d that he still holds the record for the most banned songs of all time. He is also the first white artist to win the honor of a reggae hit in Jamaica.<\/p>\n<p>July 3, 1999: Mark Sandman, lead singer and slide bass player of Morphine, collapses onstage during a performance near Rome due to a heart attack at 46. Almost immediately after he was pronounced dead, Morphine dissolved the band.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1187\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1187\" style=\"width: 223px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/bowie.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1187\" style=\"margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;\" title=\"bowie\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/bowie-223x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"223\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/bowie-223x300.jpg 223w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/bowie.jpg 284w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1187\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">That doesn&#39;t look pleasant. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>June 2004: During a performance in Oslo, an audience member throws a lollipop at David Bowie. It became stuck in his eye and caused him to pause the concert\u2014for a full ten minutes. He lightheartedly threw a guitar pick back into the audience.<\/p>\n<p>December 8, 2004: Pantera founder \u201cDimebag\u201d Darrell Abbot is shot three times by Nathan Gale while performing with Damageplan. The third shot was fatal. Gale had paranoid schizophrenia and believed that the band was stealing his thoughts and laughing at him.<\/p>\n<p>July 30, 2005: Till Lindemann of Rammstein suffers a knee injury during a performance in Gothenburg, Sweden. The cause? Fellow band member Flake ran into him with a Segway during a performance of \u201cAmerika,\u201d of course. The group was compelled to cancel their Asian tour.<\/p>\n<p>August 16, 2005: Singer Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs tears the ligaments in his ankle after a poorly executed high jump during a performance in Portugal. &#8220;When we were supporting the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl was watching and I thought I can&#8217;t let him down so I leaped and landed funny on the mic stand. But apparently Dave liked the show,\u201d he said of the incident. The band did not cancel any following gigs, though Wilson had to play the rest of the V Festival on crutches.<\/p>\n<p>September 16, 2005: Singer Vince Neil of Motley Crue tears his calf muscle during a fall from the stage during a performance at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. He refused to admit that he fell off the stage, protesting that he \u201cjust felt something snap in [his] leg.\u201d He did not allow his torn muscle to stop him from putting on the next shows.<\/p>\n<p>September 17, 2005: While promoting his solo album, Paul McCartney falls into a trapdoor in the stage during a performance at the Tampa St. Pete Times Forum, much to the alarm of his screaming fans. The trapdoor was intended to unveil his grand piano. His arm and back were only slightly injured. He provided droll, classically British commentary on the event, saying \u201cThink we ought to put a picket fence around it? A little picket fence! It will look nice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>September 18, 2005: Just as he was about to bend a steel bar in half using just his arms and teeth, Thor \u201cThe Mighty Rock Warrior\u201d was struck by lightning at a show in Portland\u2014some say by the will of the gods. While he finished the set, he canceled the remaining dates on his tour.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1192\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1192\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/sixnationstate.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1192 \" style=\"margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;\" title=\"sixnationstate\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/sixnationstate-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/sixnationstate-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/sixnationstate.jpg 444w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rule #1 of live performance: no wine glasses onstage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fall 2007: Bassist John Maskell of indie rock band Six Nation State lands on a broken wine glass while finishing a round of crowdsurfing, severing multiple tendons in his left foot.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1186\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1186\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/wentz.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1186 \" style=\"margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;\" title=\"wentz\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/wentz-300x287.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"287\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/wentz-300x287.jpg 300w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/wentz.jpg 444w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1186\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thanks, Pete.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>October 2007: Pete Wentz breaks his foot while idiotically jumping around at a show in New Orleans. He was kind enough to post a picture of his swollen foot on his blog.<\/p>\n<p>July 9, 2008: DJ Sid Wilson of Slipknot jumps from a riser onstage, breaking both heels. Not to be kept from his rocking, he reportedly continued to perform, and bruised his forehead every night by headbanging it into his wheelchair.<\/p>\n<p>August 2008: Marilyn Manson injures his knee onstage. Despite his past tendencies to self-injure onstage, his backstage reaction to the injury was less than graceful. \u201cYou guys had a good time waiting to figure out what I was f***ing saying\u2026I need painkillers and butterfly stitches\u2026This isn\u2019t a game. I\u2019ll f***ing bleed on you and I hope you die,\u201d he complained to his crew.<\/p>\n<p>October 7, 2008: While performing in Iowa City, Jim James of My Morning Jacket \u201cmisjudges\u201d the stagefront during a dark interlude between songs and falls off of it. The performance was cut short and the next several shows were canceled while James recovered.<\/p>\n<p>May 10, 2009: Perry Farrell of Jane\u2019s Addiction tears his calf muscle in the first song. He was rushed to the hospital immediately after they bravely finished the set.<\/p>\n<p>June 7, 2009: Bret Michaels slams his head on a stage prop while performing with Poison during the 63<sup>rd<\/sup> Annual Tony Awards, suffering a fractured nose and a split lip which required three stitches. This marked the start of a decline in his health over the next year and a half, including a brain hemorrhage. On March 25, 2011, he filed a lawsuit against CBS and the Tony Awards, blaming them for his deteriorating health.<\/p>\n<p>July 28, 2009: Ricky Wilson (again!) breaks a rib while energetically opening for Green Day at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n<p>July 31, 2009: Drake collapses onstage during a Camden, New Jersey performance on the America\u2019s Most Wanted Tour. He had torn his ACL several weeks earlier but risked the performance anyways. He later tweeted, \u201cWe straight. Just to show that this ACL sh\u2014ain\u2019t a joke. Thanks for the support, and we\u2019ll be back\u2026Young moola.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1190\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1190\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/madonna.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1190 \" style=\"margin-top: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px;\" title=\"madonna\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/madonna-300x261.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/madonna-300x261.jpg 300w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/madonna.jpg 444w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1190\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smooth recovery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>July 2009: Madonna injures her ankle during a show at the Paris Bercy, causing her to fall to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>December 2009: Justin Bieber is hit with a water bottle by a fan during a concert. He was a good sport. \u201cOw, that didn\u2019t feel good! I don\u2019t know why she just threw that at me, but I love you guys.\u201d Neither the Biebs nor his hair sustained any real injury (here&#8217;s the original\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=0e50vqY7Szo\">footage<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>July 15, 2010: P!nk falls from a harness that suspended her above the stage onto a steel barricade during a Nuremburg, Germany concert.<\/p>\n<p>January 25, 2011: Jimmy Buffet falls off the stage in Sydney, Australia after finishing the last song of his set. He was rushed to the hospital with a gash to the head, for which he received several stitches, according to his Sirius XM channel Radio Margaritaville.<\/p>\n<p>March 2011: Bert McCracken falls into the photographers\u2019 pit in the middle of \u201cThe Taste of Ink.\u201d He finished the set but later tweeted that he had broken his left hand and shattered his right elbow. We\u2019ll bet he didn\u2019t \u201csavor every moment of this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>June 27, 2011: Elliot Turton of Waxeater shocks himself onstage.<\/p>\n<p>From this history lesson, we can draw a few conclusions. First, while 2009 was the most dangerous year to be a musician, September 2005 was by far the most perilous month. Second, wearing shoes onstage is a must. Third, to be a healthy musician, it seems that a little training in gymnastics and spatial awareness might be in order. Not mutilating yourself for sport might help, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty-two years ago today, on July 5, 1989, Rod Stewart accidentally hit his head during a live performance, knocking himself out. In honor of him and countless other artists who have met misfortune before a live audience, we take today to pay tribute to the most remarkable instances of onstage injury in music. February 19, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[162,165,163,164],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1185"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3018,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185\/revisions\/3018"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}