Five terrifying times musicians were attacked on stage
It’s not easy being a rock star, and the fickle nature of fans who are either willing to turn their back on you over the slightest transgressions or mob you at the most inopportune moments can often lead to artists wishing there was someplace to hide away from all of the trappings of fame and stardom.
After the incredible success of her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, has seen her trajectory shoot to ridiculously high levels, Chappell Roan has spoken candidly on social media about how unwanted interactions with fans are giving her a heightened sense of anxiety and has urged her fans to treat her like any other ordinary human being. It’s sad that people need to be reminded of this, but unfortunately, some are so swept up in the moment when surrounded by their idols that they take matters beyond what should be acceptable.
One place where it’s impossible to hide away from both fans and detractors is on stage, and while some artists have an audience that they’re comfortable enough to invite on stage in masses – see Belle and Sebastian, who regularly end their live shows with stage invasions – there are others who aren’t so privileged when it comes to being generous enough to ask supporters on stage. Morrissey recently needed to abandon a show early due to audience members mobbing him during the encore, and there are other occasions where it simply wouldn’t be safe to allow so many people to be on stage at once.
Below are five examples of when things have gotten ugly and things have been unsafe on stage for one or more members of a band.
Five musicians attacked on stage:
Lana Del Rey
As one of the biggest pop stars of the current generation, Lana Del Rey is subject to a lot of attention and scrutiny within the public eye, but storming off-access areas to accost someone is not the way to get whatever message you have for them in front of their eyes. Following a concert in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2018, as the singer was leaving the stage, a fan appeared to leap on top of her from over the barriers, although security was quick to rush her away.
It’s not known what the assailant’s motivations were, but to be jumped on unexpectedly from a great height by anyone is a terrifying ordeal to have to go through. Del Rey was lucky enough to escape the situation unscathed and was in high enough spirits to joke about the situation on Twitter the following day after fans enquired about how she was faring in the aftermath. “Doing great thank you,” she would say in her statement. “I know jiu jitsu and all of my stilettos have blades in the heels.”
David Bowie
Hurling projectiles is an age-old way of expressing disgust at a performance, but bottles, eggs and bodily fluids tend to be the most common missiles of choice. During a performance at the Norwegian Wood Festival in 2004 that was graced with the likes of Wilco, Bonnie Raitt and Bright Eyes, headliner David Bowie was on the receiving end of a more unusual object that was thrown from the crowd, which would briefly bring his set to a standstill.
The offending object was a lollipop, and the landing zone was Bowie’s eye, somehow managing to get lodged beneath his eyelid during only the third song of the set. While the person responsible for throwing sweets at the starman was apprehended swiftly and removed from the crowd, Bowie levelled a few choice words in his direction before proceeding to continue with the rest of his set. He joked after the set when throwing his plectrum into the audience that he hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat incident.
Iggy Pop
The former Stooges frontman Iggy Pop was well known for being incredibly outrageous and chaotic as a bandleader, especially in his younger years. Known for performing various acts of depravity and self-inflicting bodily harm on stage, the godfather of punk rock was never too far away from causing serious damage to himself, but there was one stunt that caused others to be the dealers of pain to the singer.
In 1974, during a show in Warren, Michigan, Pop was in a particularly provocative mood and decided to turn his attention towards a hostile group of bikers who were in attendance. Riling the gang up by playing a cover of Richard Berry’s ‘Louie Louie’ for a full 45 minutes, the colourful insults that were being exchanged between the two parties soon became tired, and the bikers decided to rush the stage to kick Pop into a pulp. Despite finishing the show, he wasn’t quite done sparring with the group, and invited them to come to their next show two days later during a radio interview, although it would end up being the Stooges’ last.
Nat ‘King’ Cole
Being a Black performer in the south of the US during the height of racial segregation in the 1950s was not an easy living to make, but it was a reality for famous jazz singer and pianist Nat ‘King’ Cole. While he is celebrated now for his outstanding achievements in the field, he wasn’t universally loved at the time. Even in the state of Alabama, where he was born and raised, he was still subjected to horrific racial abuse throughout his career. He was refused from shows on multiple occasions due to the enforced colour bars at some venues.
During one show in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1956, a group of three white supremacists stormed into the venue where Cole was playing with the Ted Heath Group and immediately rushed over to attack the musician. While he was toppled from his piano stool and only suffered minor back injuries due to the quick response of law enforcement, it was revealed during later investigation and trial that the plan was to murder Cole, and that originally a mob of over 150 individuals were scheduled to be involved.
Dave Navarro
Nobody said we had to limit this to attacks from members of the public. After 14 years since they had last played together, the original lineup of the acclaimed alternative rock group Jane’s Addiction reunited to perform a string of shows together in 2024, with a view to releasing new music shortly after. However, these plans were swiftly curtailed and all put on hold after an inter-band altercation took place on stage at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston in September ‘24.
With tensions between members already high from previous shows, lead singer Perry Farrell seemingly reached his wit’s end with guitarist Dave Navarro midway through the band’s set and ended up in a fistfight with his bandmate. Farrell would go on to apologise for his “inexcusable” actions and the band would announce another hiatus shortly after the punchup.
