Written by John Mendelsohn
Videos by American Songwriter
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has recently revealed that he almost pursued a career as a professional tennis player instead of a musician, but the rock band Deep Purple helped him make up his mind. Ulrich told Louder Sound that he attended a Deep Purple concert as a young boy and it blew his mind.
Ulrich said, “I was just infatuated. Not just with the music but the event: the people, the volume, the reverberation, the light show, the whole thing.” The iconic drummer also told the outlet that he bought the band’s album Fireball. He added, “I started with that and I didn’t look back.”
When he was older, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a professional tennis player. Ulrich’s father was a tennis player, so he figured this was also his destiny. However, the music bug that hit him as a child wouldn’t let him go.
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Ulrich continued, “I ended up playing tennis every day for six months and that was probably what turned me off. Then we decided to move to a suburb south of LA called Newport Beach, which was pretty f***ing horrible.”
Ulrich stated that he didn’t really fit into the world of tennis. He said, “It was really rich, conservative, pink Lacoste shirts. By the time I’d been there two or three months, it all fell apart. Music became all-encompassing and tennis just went away. I just wanted to play in a band.”
Metallica was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles and has become one of the most beloved rock bands of all time. Together, the band has won nine Grammys and released 11 studio albums, including this year’s 72 Seasons. 72 Seasons debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 when it was released on April 14, and has received mostly positive reviews from critics.
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