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I like Bret Michaels. Not compete-on-Rock-of-Love like, but like in the sense that I think he would be a fun guy to have a beer with. I think he has a pretty good sense of humor about himself. Which is probably why I can’t stop laughing every time I see the video of him getting his feet swept right out from under him when he got floored by the scenery at the Tony Awards on Sunday night – you know he probably had a pretty good laugh about it himself once he got over the embarrassment (and the pain). But Bret is far from the only person to get injured at a show – here are 10 names you know who have hurt or otherwise humiliated themselves in front of a captive audience of thousands. And although it says my name in the byline, pretty much all of the writers and researchers here at the _floss threw in a story or two! Thanks for the quick research, guys!
1. Ginger Fish, Marilyn Manson’s drummer, gets hurt at shows all of the time. It seems to be an unusual show if he doesn’t get hurt. But on September 24, 2004, the band was playing at the Comet awards show in Cologne, Germany, when he took a double spill: first off of his drum riser, which was already pretty high, and then off of the stage totally. He fractured his skull and his wrist and was bleeding profusely. Supposedly, when he came to at the hospital, the band had left the country and he had already been replaced by another drummer for the remainder of the tour.
2. Sid Wilson of Slipknot (who, incidentally, lives down the street from me) is kind of the same way – if he’s not doing something to potentially injure or kill himself at a concert, you’re probably at a boring show. After years of crazy stunts and setting himself on fire on stage, Sid declared that he was done with all of that because he had experienced too many close calls. He apparently forgot he said that, because in 2008, just five songs into a show, he leapt off of some equipment and landed hard, shattering both heels. He finished the show before he went to the hospital and DJed the rest of the tour from a wheelchair. Here he is talking about it, if you’re interested:
3. It’s not just the rockers that hurt themselves on stage – in 2007, Beyonce was giving a concert in Orlando and was walking down some stairs when her heel got caught in the long coat she was wearing. She pitched head-first down 12 stairs, then jumped right up and continued the song like nothing had happened. She joked with her audience not to put it on YouTube, but you know they did:
4. In 1978, poor Meat Loaf fell off of a stage in Canada and broke his leg. Between that and his injured vocal cords – he had been touring far too much – he was unable to work for a while after that. He fell into a deep depression, getting heavily into cocaine and threatening to kill himself by jumping off of a building in New York. Let this be a cautionary tale, Bret…
5. In the ‘80s, sultry singer Peggy Lee, then in her late 60s, fell onstage while performing at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. She fractured her pelvis.
6. Even the young kids have mishaps – last year, Demi Lovato fell on stage and later chipped a tooth on her microphone. “This singing stuff is dangerous!” she Tweeted. Here’s the video of her falling, but you’re probably going to want to watch it on mute – the screaming teens (tweens?) are deafening.
7. At the beginning of his tour last year, Kenny Chesney got his foot caught between the stage and the lift that was supposed to bring him up to it. While he struggled, the band played an extended introduction of the song he was coming out to. He pried himself loose and continued the show, even though he was limping around the stage and holding his knee. By the time they got to the hospital post-show, his boot had to be cut off.
8. At the end of Nirvana’s “Lithium” during their 1992 VMAs performance, bassist Krist Novoselic threw his bass up in the air, then caught it… with his face. It’s been speculated that maybe he exaggerated the aftereffects a little bit – he staggered off of the stage in an apparent daze – but the paramedics were called and he did have to be bandaged up. But he was more interested in a different type of doctoring: In an interview with Rolling Stone last year, he told them that Brian May from Queen was standing behind the paramedics with a glass of champagne. “I signed the release just to get the medics away from me so I could take a sip of Mr. May’s wonderful medicine,” he said. Here’s the bass toss – it’s around 3:57.
9. Through no real fault of his own, Frank Zappa was thrown off stage during a London concert in 1971 at the Rainbow Theater. He doesn’t remember what happened, but apparently a disgruntled man from the audience had rushed the stage and thrown Frank down into the orchestra pit 15 feet below the stage. His band thought he was dead from the strange angle his neck was bent at. He ended up with a crushed larynx, head trauma, pretty serious head and neck injuries, a broken leg and a fractured rib.
10. Finally, since this whole post started at the Tony Awards, it’s fitting that we end with a Broadway show. In 2005, Idina Menzel was playing the role of Elphaba in Wicked – in fact, she had been for 16 months and this particular performance was scheduled to be one of her last. During one scene, a trap door is supposed to open and then an elevator should have lowered her beneath the floor, except when the door opened, the elevator had already descended, sending her crashing down and fracturing her rib. The show was stopped to explain to theater-goers what happened and Menzel’s understudy stepped in to finish up the show.
And, of course, there’s the video that started with this post. Nothing but a good time indeed…
Comments (36)
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you forgot about the person who was probably injured the most on Stage…GG ALLIN!!…although his was mostly self inflicting, like rolling around on broken glass, cutting himself with razorblades and glass, bashing the microphone over his head until it was split open and bleeing all over the place…among other crazy things.
Also, Mark Sandman from Morphine had a heart-attack while onstage, which he actually died from
posted by andy on 6-10-2009 at 4:12 pm
What about poor Curtis Mayfield, permanently paralyzed from the neck down when lighting equipment fell on him?
posted by Craig on 6-10-2009 at 4:22 pm
When Sharon Stone was awarded the coveted “Most Desirable Female” box of gilded popcorn from the MTV Movie Awards in 1993, she fumbled the statue (I think Christian Slater was presenting her), retrieved her newly won prize, and then gave one of the lamest acceptance speeches in the history of lame awards. Instead of cracking wise about her graceless gaff, she coyly asked,”You desire me? You reallllly desire me?,” and then walked off stage. I guess leaving the audience wanting more? The whole thing came off strange to me. Strange enough for me to remember it sixteen years later anyway.
Not really a total gravity induced disaster, or anything as slapstick as that clip of Bret Michaels getting hit in the head by the stage on his own way down, but I’ve never forgotten it.
posted by Weirdbeard on 6-10-2009 at 4:30 pm
What about James Hetfield of Metallica being burned by the stage pyro?
“Gimme fuel, gimme FIRE, gimme that which I desire” – James Hetfield
posted by Fuseliter on 6-10-2009 at 4:47 pm
How can this list leave off Michael Jackson who was started on fire while filming a pepsi commercial?
posted by bayoubadger on 6-10-2009 at 5:16 pm
Kyo, the singer for the Japanese metal band Dir en Grey is pretty well known for injuring himself on stage. He’s passed out several times, he did something to one of his ears, and has hearing difficulties now. Oh, and there was the surgery due to massive strain of his vocal chords.
The concert I went to was pretty tame, but I’ve seen some of his self inflicted injuries on DVD.
posted by KaeleaMajere on 6-10-2009 at 5:42 pm
James Hetfield of Metallica was severely burned after a pyrotechnic accident on stage (he stepped into a chemical flare) while playing in Montreal in 1992. Although the injuries from this horrific accident led to a long addiction to pain killers (and alcohol – but that was already an existing issue), James has been able to move on with his life, continue to perform, and crank out some of the greatest music my ears have ever heard. There was a little induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, as well. Can’t wait to see him and the other boys in the band again in November (4th row! woo hoo!)
posted by Lori on 6-10-2009 at 6:47 pm
Ann Margaret took a nasty spill on a Las Vegas stage many years ago–had to have her face rebuilt.
posted by plantlady on 6-10-2009 at 6:49 pm
Can’t forget about Ben Folds, who fell off the stage at a show in Hiroshima, Japan a couple years ago and cracked his skull open. He wrote a song about it called “Hiroshima (B-B-B-Benny Hit His Head)” and it was the lead single off his last album, “Way To Normal”.
posted by swilson160 on 6-10-2009 at 7:04 pm
I remember Sid’s drop, being part of the tour. It was a but incredible, first show of the tour and halfway through The Knot’s set I hear there’s an ambulance waiting over the radio.
I jumped off that set later on on the tour, its a nasty way down.
posted by Iggy on 6-10-2009 at 7:33 pm
Hetfield never again recorded a single note of music worth a darn after that. And the “RnR HOF” is very, very lame in every way.
posted by Dude on 6-10-2009 at 9:24 pm
I’ll second the comment that I can’t believe you didn’t include Michael Jackson’s pyro mishap. Maybe it was just too obvious so you didn’t bother?
I also can’t believe a writer for The Floss would want to have a beer with Bret Michaels. He’s a total douche!
posted by AJ on 6-10-2009 at 9:40 pm
How about Bono…he hurt himself twice on the Joshua Tree tour (well, one time was actually before the tour tecnically)!
While in Arizona rehearsing for the opening night of The Joshua Tree tour, Bono fell backwards off the stage while holding a small spotlight. The spotlight hit Bono in the chin, forcing him to get stitches at a local hospital.
Later in the tour he dislocated his colduring a concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC on September 20, 1987. The accident happened when Bono slipped on the wet stage during “Exit.” He was taken to a hospital immediately after the show and ended up performing with his arm in a sling for the next 12 concerts — though he ignored doctor’ orders by playing guitar on several occasions when he wasn’t supposed to!
You can actually see Bono’s dislocated arm in a sling on the “Rattle and Hum” movie, during “I Still Haven’t Found” and “Freedom For My People.”
He also seems to make it a habit to fall off the stage at least once a tour!
posted by #1 U2 Fan on 6-11-2009 at 3:31 am
I’m with the Dude on this one– but Metallica had already started sucking by the time Hetfield was injured.
This list is incomplete without Donny Wahlberg from New Kids On the Block breaking his leg when he fell through the stage. That’s like the defining “on-stage-accident” for Stacy and I’s generation!
Oh, and does Fergie peeing herself on stage count?
posted by Joel on 6-11-2009 at 8:47 am
@AJ – I know, it’s my secret shame. Except it’s not so secret anymore :)
posted by stacy on 6-11-2009 at 9:25 am
Patti Smith took a dive off the stage at a concert in Florida, late 70’s. She was dancing during one of their songs and took a little twirl off the stage. Broke some vertebrae & caused her to be laid up for awhile. If I recall correctly she spent that time writing what would become Easter.
posted by AnotherEngine on 6-11-2009 at 10:05 am
Iggy Pop used to routinely cut himself up on stage, but that was on purpose.
posted by Brian on 6-11-2009 at 10:08 am
How about the Joe Jonas mishap? I feel bad that my first reaction was a bursting laughter instead of concern. There was broken glass everywhere!
posted by ken2ts on 6-11-2009 at 10:10 am
I once witnessed MeatLoaf fall off the stage during a performance at Wolftrap Park in DC back in 2004. He got back up, complained for a minute and then went right back to singing. One thing was for sure, he wasn’t lip syncing.
posted by Don on 6-11-2009 at 10:46 am
I was eyewitness to an obscure onstage injury: I believe it was 1987, Billy Idol was performing at an outdoor venue near Oklahoma City. Some idiot threw a beer bottle towards the stage and it hit Billy on the forehead. The show was stopped for about 20 minutes while he got the bleeding under control. Billy — being the trooper that he is — came back onstage with a big bandage on his forehead and made an announcement I’ll never forget:
“We just want to get this ****in’ gig over with, so we can get the **** out of here.”
Mad respect for Billy ever since that day.
posted by Steve C. on 6-11-2009 at 11:55 am
I don’t think Michael Jackson’s flaming hair should count as an injury on stage. He was filming a Pepsi commercial, not a concert performance.
posted by Mamamo on 6-11-2009 at 11:55 am
He might not be a musician and technically he was on a soundstage, but Stephen Colbert broke his wrist while warming up a crowd before a show. And started raising money for charity with his Wrist Strong bracelets, too.
posted by Keeker on 6-11-2009 at 12:12 pm
What about Kelsey Grammer falling off the stage during a Disney presentation (I think that is what is was)? You can hear him say “Oh Dear”, before he goes down for the count.
posted by SammyJ on 6-11-2009 at 12:14 pm
I totally thought that Roy (or was it Sigfreid?) getting mauled by a tiger would have been on this list. Sad stuff, that was.
posted by Reese on 6-11-2009 at 12:41 pm
What about that guy from Oasis who got smacked head first into his monitor by a fan who found a way to get backstage during a concert in Toronto?
posted by Adam on 6-11-2009 at 12:41 pm
Didn’t Pete Townshend of The Who impale his hand on his guitar at a concert in 1989?
posted by Beau on 6-11-2009 at 3:11 pm
You live down the street from Sid(from Slipknot)?!? That’s so cool!
posted by Krystal on 6-11-2009 at 3:34 pm
@Krystal – yes, and if he still lives there when I have kids someday, I’m so making them trick-or-treat at his house. :)
posted by stacy on 6-11-2009 at 4:08 pm
Remember the early days of SNL? Chevy Chase was always doing pratfalls as he immitated President Ford. I have recently read that he suffers back pain from all of those falls. Another early SNL regular, Buck Henry was cut by John Belushi’s sword during a skit called Samari Taylor. In the next scene Buck is wearing a large band-aide on his forehead
posted by Tex on 6-11-2009 at 4:42 pm
Iggy pop: did it first before GG allin (the glass, the rolling around in various things, picking fights w/fans (or people who HATED him, getting the shit kicked out of him and then still doing the show)).
Patti Smith: during Gloria, spun on the stage during part of the song (only done live, you dont’ hear this part on the record so i dont know the lyrics). and fell off the stage, cracking one of the vetebrae in her neck. She was in a neck brace for a long time after that.
posted by Tron on 6-12-2009 at 11:37 pm
Jesse James of My Morning Jacket. Deep split between speaker and stage.
posted by nt4thbook on 6-13-2009 at 12:37 pm
I don’t think any of them ever got seriously injured, but members of the Unicorns (mostly Nick Diamonds and Alden Ginger) often fought physically with each other during their shows. It was actually sort of a routine thing…it would have been surprising had they not fought with each other. I never actually went to see any of their concerts…I didn’t know about them when the band was still together, and I probably would have been ten or eleven years old when they broke up…not old enough to go to a rock concert, especially not a band like the Unicorns. But I did hear that once, during the song “Child Star” (which features a part towards the end in which Nick and Alden sing “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you” at each other) Alden actually knocked Nick down and hit him in the face with a microphone. Ouch.
Of course, there’s some incidents that weren’t so funny or intentional…I think Courtney Love once leapt off the stage into the audience, and a lot of the men started tearing her clothes off and tried to rape her. She got back on the stage, nearly naked and crying. And Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon has been harrassed by fans frequently. Someone in Switzerland came on the stage, knocked her microphone in her face and actually bit her. That’s what I heard. She also had drum sticks thrown at her.
And there’s also that thing with the Who, when Keith Moon blew up his drums and (I believe) almost set Roger Daltrey’s hair on fire…or was it Pete Townshend? I can’t recall…
posted by Pippin on 6-13-2009 at 6:48 pm
And to go the teeny-bopper route, I remember reading the Tiger Beat article when Rick Springfield was electrocuted on-stage in the early ’70s. That was back when he used to wear a loincloth while performing.
posted by North on 6-17-2009 at 10:42 am
Gene Simmons once accidentally caught his hair on fire while doing the fire spitting trick during a show. A stange hand hand to put it out.
Paul Stanley has had to get 3 hip replacements due to all the jumping around he does onstage.
posted by Lisa on 6-25-2009 at 12:54 pm
This isn’t really a famous fall, but Hawk Nelson’s lead singer jumped off the stage, trying to surf the crowd. Unfortunately, the majority of people at the concert were teenage girls, so no one caught him and he just kind of fell to the floor. I was at this concert, and he didn’t get up for a couple minutes. We thought he was dead! It happened during the Revolve tour, a Christian thingie for teenage girls.
posted by Carly on 8-10-2009 at 8:48 pm
OMG Dem Lovato fell! She is my all time favorite singer and actress! How did I not know?
posted by Rebecca on 11-2-2009 at 12:43 am