The tragic moment The Replacements broke up onstage
Not every rock and roll band is necessarily meant to go the distance. For as many great songs as they might be able to play, going on the road with the same person night after night and having to be in their presence is going to get to anyone after a while, especially if you never got along with them, to begin with. Although The Replacements were always a bit rough around the edges, one of their final shows in Chicago spelt disaster before it had even ended.
Then again, The Replacements were anything but professional when they first started. Before they became everyone’s favourite college rock band that no one had ever heard of, they had seured their start in the hardcore punk scene, making songs that were a caustic take on classic rock on albums like Sorry Ma Forgot to Take Out the Trash.
As the band continued to mine different sounds throughout the rest of their career, they slowly started to work melody into their sound. Since Paul Westerberg was already a fan of artists like Tom Petty, the band would begin working on tracks that had a slightly classic rock edge to it, like the sounds of Let It Be and Tim.
Even though the band could make a decent noise in the studio, it was anyone’s guess what they were going to get when they took to the stage. Outside of their amazing performances now and again, the band were one of the biggest batches of drunks that the rock world had ever seen, occasionally going onstage absolutely blitzed before they had even played a note of music.
This would lead to one of their infamous performances on Saturday Night Live, where Westerberg swore on live TV after the band failed to get the song correct at soundcheck. Although he tried to cheekily laugh the mishap off with a subtle wink to the audience, it wouldn’t be the greatest look for them, eventually becoming banned from playing the show ever again.
As the band fumbled their way through the late 1980s, they did eventually get the chance to show their stuff again, getting the chance to open up for Tom Petty during an arena tour. Although the band was slowly beginning to change their sound again on albums like Don’t Tell a Soul, one fateful night in Chicago was when the gloves officially came off.
After making their way through the song ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’, Westerberg and bassist Tommy Stinson were seen exchanging glances before running off stage. Although they managed to get through an encore for the song ‘Hootenanny’ with everyone in a different role. As Stinson took to the microphone, he jokingly screamed into the microphone that it would be the final time that anyone would hear the song before storming offstage yet again.
By the time Westerberg casually said to the audience that no one wanted to hear them play anymore, they got through a meandering version of ‘Someone Take the Wheel’ before disappearing, never to be heard again. Although the band would reunite with various incarnations for reunions, the core members wouldn’t set foot onstage again for years.
That’s not to say that the band didn’t go on to influence millions along the way, with everyone from Green Day to Nirvana crediting them for inspiring their work in the beginning. The Replacements were never meant to be anyone’s favourite band, but sometimes, if you stick around long enough, you go from being hated to being endearingly lovable.
