3 Famous Musicians Who Admitted They Hate Being on Stage

Being a performer is not for everyone. There are many musicians out there, in fact, who are great at their respective instruments or songwriting, but simply don’t vibe well in front of hundreds of people. I can certainly understand that. Let’s take a look at a few famous musicians who really hate (or hated) being on stage and performing live!

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Andy Partridge of XTC

Andy Partridge was the co-founder of the legendary English rock band XTC. He’s an accomplished songwriter and an impressive record producer, as well as a solid guitarist. However, life in a famous rock band that needed to tour and perform live to survive wasn’t in the cards for him. 

From the start, Partridge suffered from terrible stage fright and anxiety. In 1982, he suffered a full-on nervous breakdown while performing. As a result, XTC became a studio-only band. It was a heartbreaking ordeal, but I’m glad Partridge didn’t give up and continued to make music.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was known for putting on legendary live performances. So, it’s pretty surprising to learn that he was terrified virtually every time he got on stage.

“I’ve never gotten over what they call stage fright,” the King once said in the early 1970s. “I go through it every show. I’m pretty concerned, I’m pretty much thinking about the show. I never get completely comfortable with it.”

This stage fright had been something that Presley had dealt with since childhood, according to musician and radio host Mississippi Slim. Despite being afraid of performing and being on stage, Presley continued to perform live until the very end of his life in 1977.

Meg White of The White Stripes

Meg White was an iconic drummer in the early aughts. And she’s probably one of the most well-known musicians who hate being on stage. Though, she doesn’t have to worry much about that anymore. White has since retired from music entirely after The White Stripes called it quits in 2011.

White has always been known as quiet and introverted. She put on a heck of a show during The White Stripes’ heyday and was a killer live drummer. However, she was apparently completely sick of performing live and making music by the time the band had ended.

Photo by Jason Merritt/FilmMagic for Superfly Presents