There are some volatile bands out there, and we know some of their antics by name. For instance, Oasis’ final breakup in 2009, or the entirety of a little album called Rumours. There are also some moments that stick with you, like onstage fights. Here are some of the most iconic and crazy onstage fights between band members, from the Kinks to Oasis and everything in between.
Videos by American Songwriter
1965: The Kinks’ Guitarist Dave Davies is Knocked Out by Drummer Mick Avory
In 1965, The Kinks were playing a show in Cardiff, Wales, when guitarist Dave Davies made a snide comment to drummer Mick Avory. In 2010, lead vocalist and Dave’s brother, Ray Davies, told the story to Wales Online. Apparently, Dave told Avory, “Why don’t you get your c–k out and play the snare with it? It’ll probably sound better.” Avory didn’t take kindly to this, naturally. He took Dave by surprise and knocked him out with one punch. According to Ray, Avory fled the venue when he saw that Dave was unconscious.
“Yeah, the police wanted to do Mick for attempted murder,” said Ray. “When they finally caught up with and arrested him, Mick tried to deny it all. But the cops turned round and said ‘Mr Avory, we’ve got 5,000 witnesses!” Dave eventually dropped charges against Avory, but Ray is convinced the scandal caused The Kinks to miss out on what would have been their best years as a band. They were banned from touring in the U.S. after news of the incident spread. “The odds were against us,” said Ray. “We had to punch a hole through that to succeed.”
1980: Lindsey Buckingham Allegedly Throws His Guitar at Stevie Nicks During One-Sided Onstage Fight
There are rumours (see what I did there) about an onstage fight between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks during the New Zealand stop on the Tusk Tour. According to multiple reports, Fleetwood Mac forums, an interview with Stevie Nicks, and a compilation of quotes from a fan on Tumblr, Buckingham apparently got drunk before a show, mocked Nicks’ performing style, kicked her, and threw his guitar at her in a fit of drunken rage.
“We were on the last song of the set, and Lindsey threw his Les Paul guitar at me,” Nicks allegedly said in 2005, “I ducked so it didn’t hit me, but I was so mad that he had endangered my life. He then stormed off the stage—and we all stormed off the stage after him.” Nicks said that security had to physically separate all the band members from each other and they didn’t perform an encore. Additionally, Christine McVie tracked Buckingham down and let him have a piece of her mind.
“He was mad at me probably because he … it was okay for me to be the performer that I was when we were a couple, but when we broke up, he hated that fact that I was such a lead singer,” said Nicks. “And I’m sure when we left New Zealand, we were not even on the same plane.”
1980: Glenn Frey Told Don Felder He Would Beat Him Up After the Eagles’ Last Show
During an infamous show that became known as Long Night At Wrong Beach and heralded the end of the Eagles, Glenn Frey and Don Felder got into a heated argument onstage that was mostly picked up by their recording equipment, according to a retrospective from Loudersound. Allegedly, things came to a head because of politics—Frey was getting the band involved in supporting Democratic State Senator Alan Cranston. However, Felder didn’t want to be involved in politics, and he made his opinions known.
Before what would become the Eagles’ last show, Felder was unwillingly introduced to Cranston’s wife, Norma Weintraub. He made an offhand remark that Frey heard, which sent Frey into a tailspin. As he said in the documentary History of the Eagles, “[I] got more mad, and more mad, and by the time we went onstage I was seething. I wanted to kill Felder.”
Onstage, Frey came over to Felder and antagonized him, muttering “I’m gonna kick your a– when we get off the stage.” They exchanged barbs back and forth. As Felder described in his memoirHeaven and Hell: My Life in the Eagles, “[W]e focused our unhappiness that night on each other. I started drinking Jack Daniel’s and was soon drunker than I’d been in a while. As the night progressed, we both grew angrier and began hissing at each other under our breaths.”
The frazzled night came to an end after the muttered onstage fight when Felder smashed his guitar, left the venue, and essentially called an end to the Eagles. As Frey recalled in the documentary, “And that was it. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
1994: Liam Gallagher Smashes a Tambourine Over His Brother’s Head in Onstage Fight in Los Angeles
The Oasis boys are known for their volatile nature with each other, so there are plenty of onstage fights between the brothers to choose from. Now, with the pair heading back out on the road, it’s interesting to look back at some of their messier moments and wonder: can the Gallaghers keep it together for another tour?
For example, in 1994, Oasis was playing their first U.S. tour after the release of Definitely Maybe that August. They were playing the iconic Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles (a show that was already a disaster due to the exhausting tour, the wrong setlist, and drug use, according to Rolling Stone) when Liam Gallagher decided he wanted to change some lyrics to “Live Forever.” He used to opportunity to poke at Noel, singing “Maybe, I don’t really want to know, why you pick your nose” instead of the original lyrics. Then, Liam smashed his tambourine over Noel’s head, mocked the audience, and left the stage before the set was over.
Allegedly, Noel quit the band the next day, but, as we know, returned soon after. The Gallagher brothers would go on to torment each other for years until they officially broke up in 2009. Will we see more onstage antics during the coming tour? Or have the Gallaghers learned their lesson? We’ll have to wait and see.
Featured Image by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.