While part of numerous supergroups, most know Michael Balzary as Flea in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He and singer Anthony Kiedis are the only two members to be featured on every album produced by the band. Outside the studio, Flea appeared in films like Baby Driver, Babylon, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Chase. Having more than enough stories about his time in the entertainment industry, Flea recently recalled how a simple bathroom break turned into blood squirting from his head.
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Appearing on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, fans quickly noticed Flea wearing a bandage on his head. Knowing that his appearance would cause a mountain of comments and rumors, he decided to clear the air, explaining how the injury happened when he stopped a group of thieves mugging an old lady.
Although Flea seemed to be the hero of the story, he admitted it was entirely false. So what really happened, “I was doing a radio show for Apple Music the other day. I was playing a Lee Morgan song, a great song called ‘Stopstart’ with Billy Higgins on drums. There were three minutes left in the song and I said ‘I got to go pee’, so I have three minutes before I introduce the next tune.”
[RELATED: Former Red Hot Chili Peppers Producer Calls Frontman Anthony Kiedis “Tone-Deaf”]
What Really Happened To Flea?
Having enough time to use the bathroom, Flea left the stage in a hurry. “I jump up, I run down the hallway, I pee, I’m coming back. I’m wearing my reading glasses, I yell something to someone, running full sprint down the hallway, and bam! Smack into a glass door, flat on my back, blood spurting out of my head.”
Trying to gain his composure after hitting his head, Flea could only think about Fallon. “I’m laying there going ‘Oh man, I’ve got to do the Fallon Show in a few days.’”
Worried about what he would look like when taking the stage with Fallon, he insisted he thought about lying. “I’ll tell him I got into a fight.”
Deciding to come clean about what really happened to his head, Flea laughed it off. And while the story may not have been as heroic as he first teased, it’s just another wild chapter in the life of a rocker.
(Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for FIREAID)
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