Rock ‘n’ roll entails a whole lot of debauchery, and part of the debauchery is violence. After all, when mind-altering substances and big egos are combined, what do you think is going to happen? A peaceful negotiation, likely not, as at some point in a band or a musician’s career there is bound to be one physical outburst. Now, as troubling as this might be to some folks, it has become an inevitable truth. Particularly, when you talk about some more classic, heavy, and metal rock bands.
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As much as this behavior might not be condonable, it happens, people make mistakes, and they move past it. However, when it happens in front of a live audience on stage, that is a different story. That being so, here are three famous rock bands who have fought each other live on stage.
Marilyn Manson
If you are familiar with Marilyn Manson you know he’s pretty far out there and tends to gravitate towards the darker side of humanity. That being so, it’s not that shocking that he has fought one of his band members during a show. The altercation transpired between him and John 5 in 2003 at the Rock Am Ring.
In the altercation, Manson marches on stage and knees his band member square in the head. Subsequently, John 5 throws his guitar to the side and prepares himself to fully square up the Manson. However, the two got a hold of themselves rather quickly and de-escalated the altercation altogether.
Motörhead
In 2011, Lenny Kilmister and Motörhead took the stage at The Bloodstock Festival in the UK. However according to Watch Mojo, Kilmister was so sick that they nearly canceled the show, but they didn’t and Kilmister had a hard time keeping time with the band’s typical swift heavy metal style.
Given his inability to stay on pace, Kilmister wanted drummer, Mikkey Dee, to slow down the tempo. Dee eventually got incredibly pestered by his requests and then started to repeatedly throw different items at Kilmister while on stage. Nonetheless, the two put a lid on their tempers and finished the show.
The Kinks
The altercation between brothers Ray and Dave Davies of The Kinks is one of the most gruesome rock ‘n’ roll fights of all time. It was at the 1965 concert at Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre when Dave incited quite the reaction out of his brother, Ray. Dave kicked Ray’s drum kit for an undisclosed reason and then Ray proceeded to knock him unconscious with his drum symbol.
Consequently, Dave received 16 to 17 stitches and The Kinks were then black-balled from the ongoing rock ‘n’ roll British invasion. The alleged altercation nearly folded the band and deterred viewers given the visceral violence that transpired on stage. However, in the long run, it seemingly did not hurt them whatsoever. Frankly, it probably helped their taboo rock ‘n’ roll character.
Photo by Samir Hussein/Redferns via Getty Images
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