The tale of Chicago’s insane onstage ‘Snortatorium’
Since ancient tribespeople figured out how to whack out a rhythm with whatever objects they could wield, music and consciousness alteration have been like peaches and cream. In prehistory, various rituals and celebrations were sometimes accompanied by the ingestion of naturally occurring psychedelic compounds. By the 1960s, this indulgence was modernised by the rampant use of synthetic LSD. When the 1970s arrived, the use of such drugs was eclipsed by cocaine, courtesy of cartel leaders like Pablo Escobar. Among the many customers was the soft rock band Chicago.
Half a century on, drug use, including that of cocaine, is still rife in Western society, with usage of opiates and stimulants still prevalent among show business figures. However, the colossal quantities of high-grade cocaine fresh from Latin America, coupled with the glamourisation of the drug in music, television and the media, created the perfect storm for widespread consumption. Everyone from David Bowie and Elton John to John Belushi and Carrie Fisher took a deep dive into the snow.
The effects of cocaine are akin to several cups of coffee, often inciting heart palpitations, extreme focus, increased self-confidence and the urge to talk to anyone who might or might not want to listen. Consequently, the stars enjoyed a few lines at social engagements to keep the banter flowing into the wee small hours and sometimes right through to the big, scary ones. Over time, the drug’s addictive qualities left most abusers in a sorry state of depression after all-night binges, wishing they hadn’t blown a small fortune up their snouts.
Besides social lubrication, some discovered the performance-enhancing effects of cocaine. For those with stage fright, the drug can blow the butterflies away, and for others, it can make the experience a little more intense and riotous. Some of the 1970s’ most iconic performances were fuelled by cocaine, from the Fleetwood Mac Rumours tour to the stage of Martin Scorsese and The Band’s The Last Waltz concert. During the latter, Scorsese famously had to painstakingly edit every frame of Neil Young’s performance to remove a blob of cocaine from the end of his nose.
Similarly, most heyday Chicago performances were propelled by copious quantities of Columbian marching powder. The band’s habit became so out of hand that they decided to build a private cocaine consumption unit into their elaborate stage design. “Through the years, we kept building stage sets,” trumpeter Lee Loughnane once reflected. “We came up with the street scene and we had the brilliant idea to put a phone booth on the stage that was called the Snortatorium.”
The Snortatorium was no doubt a little suspect, given that the band members would sequentially disappear into it and emerge with wide eyes and clenched jaw, wielding their instruments like wayward chainsaws. “Once you went through to the booth, nobody could see you from the audience – you’d just disappear,” Loughnane continued. “We had cocaine inside of it, and we would go in and take a hit of cocaine.”
From the relative sanity of his advanced years, the trumpeter realised the danger involved with their degree of consumption before, during and after shows. “It’s completely insane, getting your heart going like a Maserati coming around a turn, and you just lay into it. And you could die just like that [clicks fingers],” Loughnane said. Drummer Danny Seraphine added, “We spent more money on blow and mansions during the Hot Streets album than we did on the recording.”
In January 1978, just a few months before Chicago recorded Hot Streets, guitarist Terry Kath accidentally shot himself while playing with a gun under the influence at a roadie’s house. The band considered calling it quits but decided to persevere. For several more years, members of the band grappled with addiction issues before seeing sense in sobriety.
Fortunately, Loughnane managed to overcome his cocaine addiction in the 1980s, opting to spend more time with his newborn son. He remains an active member of Chicago to this day. “I was always spinning out of control,” he finally reflected. “For some reason, with drugs, you tell yourself that it’s not that bad – I’m not as bad as other people. I just remember being in a room by myself snorting cocaine, and it never being enough. And I remember taking a snort and timing to see how fast my heart was going. That’s insane because I could have snuffed myself out at any moment.”
