10 shocking times musicians were attacked by fans
Since the days of the rock ‘n’ roll explosion, a time when Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley galvanised listeners with their high-octane, sexually-charged sounds, fandom has taken many forms. From the absurdity of Beatlemania to the invention of the official fan club, it is a well-known fact that fans are one of the pivotal cogs in the music industry. Without their demand, artists, as we know them, would not exist.
Although fans play a vital role in the music industry, some have taken it too far. Whether it be hounding the artist to the point where it becomes an issue for law enforcement or to supporters excitedly clambering on stage mid-set, much to the chagrin of the performer, the instances of this are numerous.
Things aren’t always so lighthearted, either. In 2004, it was clear that a much more serious view had to be taken of artist security when a deranged fan ran on stage and killed former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others. Undoubtedly this is the most heinous instance of them all, as even the killer of John Lennon, Mark David Chapman, was fuelled by his hatred of his target. Ultimately, Dimebag’s murder showed just how criminally insane fans can be and that their mania isn’t always a loving one.
Outside of this bloodthirsty extreme, there have been many other instances of fans attacking musicians. Ranging from the humorous to the outright shocking, it’s a trend as old as time.
Join us, then, as we list ten times musicians were attacked by fans.
10 times musicians were attacked by fans:
Frank Zappa
In December 1971, Frank Zappa suffered greatly at the hands of a maniacal assailant. When performing with The Mothers of Invention at the Rainbow Theatre in London, 24-year-old audience member Trevor Howell rushed at Zappa, punching him, which sent the frontman crashing onto the concrete floor of the orchestra pit 15 feet below.
The fleeing Howell was captured by a group of enraged Zappa fans backstage, where he was held until the police arrived. Meanwhile, the rumours of Zappa’s death spread, and chaos ensued outside the venue. Howell was charged with assault and malicious intent to cause bodily harm. The most remarkable aspect of the debacle was his reasons for the attack. Howell told the court in March 1972: “I did it because my girlfriend said she loved Frank.”
Later Zappa wrote in his 1989 memoir The Real Frank Zappa Book: “He (Howell) gave two stories to the press. One of them was that I had been making eyes at his girlfriend. That wasn’t true since the orchestra pit was not only fifteen feet deep but was also twice as wide, and the spotlight was in my face. I can’t even see the audience in those situations—it’s like looking into a black hole. I never even saw the guy coming at me.”
“Then he told another newspaper that he was pissed off because he felt we hadn’t given him value for the money,” The Mothers of Invention man continued. “Choose your favourite story. After he punched me, he tried to escape into the audience, but a couple of guys in the road crew caught him and took him backstage to hold for the police. While I was recuperating at the Harley Street Clinic, Howell was released on bail, so I had a twenty-four-hour bodyguard outside my room because we didn’t know how insane he was.”
Recalling the severe impact of the attack, Zappa said: “The band thought I was dead…My head was over on my shoulder, and my neck was bent like it was broken. I had a gash in my chin, a hole in the back of my head, a broken rib, and a fractured leg. One arm was paralysed.”
The fall also crushed Zappa’s larynx, which would affect the rest of his career. This changed his vocals for good and made them huskier than ever before. Howell was sentenced to a year in jail for the crime.
Joe Strummer
1980 was a tough time for The Clash. It was always going to be a Herculean feat to follow up the previous year’s London Calling with something as brilliant. Although its successor, Sandinista!, is hailed as one of their better bodies of work, at the time of release, it was maligned by punk purists who saw it as a manifestation of the band selling out.
Things reached boiling point during The Clash’s tour of Germany in May of that year. The run is most notorious for frontman Joe Strummer’s arrest in Hamburg for hitting an audience member with his guitar. However, this resulted from the band’s pent-up anger from being heavily criticised by fans for their new album.
Later that year, Strummer recalled to the NME: “But in Hamburg, these kids attacked us, going ‘You’ve sold out, you’ve sold out’. But I figured that they hadn’t come to that conclusion; it was rather a trendy supposition that they thought, ‘Oh, we’ll follow that’. I don’t think they worked it out using their own brains. A tough year. I mean, it’s changed my mind a lot. That Hamburg thing was kind of a watershed, y’know?”
He continued: “It was like nothing you’ve ever seen. They were all down the front, and if they could grab hold of a microphone lead, they’d pull, and it was a tug of war. And then it started getting really violent—and that was my fault, in a way. How much can a man take, y’know? I was playing, and I saw this guy, sort of using the guy in front of him as a punch-bag, trying to be all tough. So I rapped him on the head with a Telecaster, I just lost my temper.”
Strummer concluded: “And there was blood gushing down in front of his face. It wasn’t much of a cut, but it looked real horrorshow. And the howl out of the audience—you shoulda heard it. From then on, it was jump in and punch.”
Lou Reed
One of the strangest entries on the list, this one shows just how deviant some fans can be. When former Velvet Underground mastermind Lou Reed was performing at the Century Theatre in Buffalo, New York, a fan assaulted him with possessed fervour.
As Reed and the band were tearing through The Velvet Underground classic ‘Waiting for The Man’, a male crowd member surprised everyone. The unflappable Lou Reed was the only person in the venue left unperturbed. Per a fan account, the man, who has always remained anonymous, screamed “leather!” as loud as he could, ran past security, and bit Reed straight on the bottom.
The security intervened as the fan was going wild on Reed, with them eventually expelled from the site. Reed continued with his set without a word on the disturbing assault. Later reflecting on it, he said: “America seems to breed real animals.”
Josh Homme
Queens of the Stone Age creative director, Josh Homme, is no stranger to a kerfuffle. In 2008, he was embroiled in one of his most infamous, with his opposite number coming in the form of a teenage festival goer. When playing at the Norweigan Wood Festival in Oslo, Norway, Homme launched into an expletive-laden tirade after being hit in the head with a bottle thrown by the youthful upstart.
To get his revenge, as security removed the teen from the crowd, Homme bottled him back. “Do me one favour,” Homme said to the crowd. “Don’t throw any shit at me. If you throw something at me, I’m not so sick that I can’t go down there and beat the fucking shit out of you. I may have a fucking 102 temperature, and I’ve been puking for two days, but I’ll still butt-fuck you in front of your friends.”
Although Homme might have felt vindicated, this was not his finest moment. The fan did him over here.
Angus Young
Angus Young might be one of the most fun-loving men in rock, but this is not to be taken for granted. In 2000, when AC/DC were playing a show in Phoenix, Arizona, he was provoked not once but twice by a fan who was really trying their luck.
When the guitarist was halfway through the breakdown of ‘Badboy Boogie’, the fan threw a glass of beer at him. Remaining calm, Young pointed them out to security. Another drink then drenched him, which prompted him to remove his guitar in anger and go down to greet the fan.
Rather than attacking, Young let his words do the work whilst pinching the assailant’s nose. The fan was then escorted out by security.
Shit Disco
We’re using a bit of leeway on this one, but it is simply too good not to share. It’s hard to call this altercation a confrontation between fan and band, as we’re betting the man throwing a headbutt isn’t much of a supporter of 2000s indie group Shit Disco. The incident occurred when the group continuously asked for the guitar to be turned up on the drummer’s monitor. A relatively simple request for most, but for this sound engineer, it was clearly crossing the line.
He entered the stage and had an argument with the guitarist before throwing a misjudged headbutt that not only ended with the drummer swinging his cymbals at his head but a member of the crowd jumping the barrier to throw a clean pair of fists at the one-half of the duelling pair. The gig stops, and the lights come up without much further incident, but we’d love to know just why a sound engineer was so angry about having to do their job.
Oasis
If you think you can simply walk onto the stage of a rock and roll band and throw a few fists without being clocked around the head with an instrument, then hopefully, this list will show you your misgivings. However, if you’re stupid enough to think you can approach any of the members of Oasis with so much as a nasty thought in your head and not receive the same punishment, then we can’t help you. In Canada, a simple fan found out that Manchester lads don’t mess around.
There have been several instances where the Gallagher brothers have gained a few bruises – and a Johnny Marr guitar – because of their antics. But on this occasion, they were completely blameless as a fan rushes the stage only to bowl Noel Gallagher over. What ensues is a scuffle of comedic proportions as Liam Gallagher swings ferociously at the would-be attacker without landing a single punch.
Robbie Williams
From one loudmouth icon of the 1990s to another. Robbie Williams found fame as a young man in the boyband Take That. The group were quickly touted as the next Beatles, and although they rarely produced anything of note, their album sales were astronomical. Williams, thanks to his cheeky chappy nature, was quickly labelled the bad boy of the group, something that was exacerbated when he quit the band to pursue his own career.
His solo career accelerated faster than most imagined as he managed to shake off the clean-cut image of a boyband to be every football fan’s favourite crooner. He’s often used such a platform to throw out the odd bar at his contemporaries and even offer Liam Gallagher a fight or two. But, in Germany in 2001, he clearly wasn’t ready for his attacker as a fan rushed the stage and launched him off the stage and to the floor below. Ugly scenes.
Leona Lewis
Some fan attacks are pure rushes of blood to the head when excitement meets tension and has no place to explode than through the fists and feet of those who can’t contain their emotions. However, sometimes, like with Leona Lewis, they are disgusting premeditated attacks.
In 2011, X Factor winner Leona Lewis was viciously attacked when signing copies of her autobiography. The assailant queued for five hours to meet Lewis before landing a fearsome punch square in her face. The 6’5″ attacker left Lewis crying and sent the singer to the hospital in brutal scenes.
AKB48
Popular dance group AKB48 were subjected to the most heinous attack on our list. A 24-year-old man evaded the searches of security to find himself in the vicinity of the group wielding a large saw. He rushed to the stage and attacked the band, injuring two members severely while a horrified audience looked on.
As the girls were lining up to complete their meet and greet, the man approached the group with a 50-centimetre saw. “Members Anna Iriyama, Rina Kawaei and a venue staff member were assaulted with an edged weapon that caused injury to their hands,” read the statement from the band’s manager. Thankfully, things didn’t turn out worse.
