Axl Rose caused quite a stir when Guns N’ Roses performed at the Riverport Amphitheater in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1991. Rock and roll has no shortage of riots, but Guns N’ Roses dealt with a particularly dangerous one at the Missouri venue that’s now one of the most famous riots in the history of the genre.
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One could argue that the origin story begins in the security line of the venue, as security allegedly failed to check people’s bags for cameras, which were not allowed in the venue unless they got permission from the artists. Guns N’ Roses was in the middle of a performance of one of their signature hits, “Rocket Queen,” when frontman Rose spotted a concert-goer, Bill Stephenson, taking a video on his camera.
“Take that now, get that guy and take that!” Rose shouted into the microphone. When security didn’t act as quickly as he wanted, Rose took matters into his own hands. “I’ll take it, goddamnit,” he yelled as he leaped into the crowd.
Rose can be seen diving head first toward the fan as an intense scuffle ensues, the singer punching the man in the face as security drags him away. When he returned to the stage, he said, “Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I’m going home!” and smashed the microphone to the ground before storming off the stage. That’s when all hell broke loose, with audience members rushing the stage and destroying the band’s instruments and equipment, along with parts of the venue. The riot resulted in multiple injuries and thousands of dollars of damages.
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In the aftermath, Rose blamed “inexperienced” security for doing a “really poor job,” alleging that guards allowed people to bring in prohibited items like knives, bottles and cameras. “I felt completely uncomfortable with the way the [security staff] was responding,” he told the Los Angeles Times after the incident in July 1991. “There was no respect for the band. I didn’t plan on jumping off the stage to grab a biker and his camera. I didn’t plan on having the security turn on me. The security guys in the front knew exactly what was happening and they were doing everything they could to let that guy go–which fueled my fire to make sure that didn’t happen.”
The singer added that it was about 15 minutes after the band left the stage that the riot ensued, watching as police officers attempted to stop the riot, but to no avail. That’s when the band decided to return to the stage to contain the crowd. “We felt a responsibility to the public because we didn’t want people to get hurt,” he recalled. “By the time we went out there . . . the drums were damaged and we were told by our crew that we couldn’t play and then the police and the promoter [ordered] us to leave the building…I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
In 1992, Stephenson sued Rose for $210,000 as retribution for his injuries. They reached an agreement wherein the rock star paid him $160,000.
Photo by Marc S Canter/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
