Top 10 Times Band Members Fought Each Other Live On Stage
#10: The View
Top 20 Band Mates Who HATE Each Other
The View know how to energize a crowd with their uniquely hot-tempered indie rock. In May of 2023, tempers got too hot at a show in Manchester. A purported dispute culminated in bassist Kieren Webster kicking frontman Kyle Falconer’s mic stand. Audience footage shows Falconer shoving Webster, then discarding his guitar to throw in some punches and kicks. The band walking off the stage effectively ended the gig, as well as a stop in London for their eventually salvaged tour. 2023 wound up being a violent year for disgruntled groups, including the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The View’s clash set the proper tone with true “shock horror”.
#9: Motörhead
Top 10 Motörhead Songs
For all the wild stories about Lemmy Kilmister, his professional commitment led to Motörhead’s most public meltdown. In 2011, the bassist and frontman was so sick that the band considered canceling their appearance at the music festival Bloodstock. Lemmy insisted on powering through the outdoor show. As he struggled to keep up with the speed metal fury, he repeatedly ordered drummer Mikkey Dee to slow down. Dee eventually got fed up and started throwing stuff at Lemmy. After the pair had time to cool down, the band played on. Dee now remembers it as the worst show he ever did with Motörhead. Lemmy’s stubbornness was still better than no show at all for Bloodstock metalheads.
#8: Babyshambles
Pete Doherty built quite the reputation for mischief, and more, with The Libertines. And then there was his project Babyshambles in action during a 2005 gig at London’s Brixton Academy. Doherty was already out on bail with charges of robbery and blackmail. He had to negotiate an extended curfew to attend a show so massive that audience members were crushing each other. As the band struggled to contain the frenzy, Doherty accidentally unplugged Patrick Walden’s guitar. The pressure finally exploded in a skirmish between the bandmates. Thankfully, bouncers were quickly able to get the show back on track before Doherty got in more trouble with the law. The incident still says a lot about his hotheadedness.
#7: The Who
Top 10 Secret Weapon Band Members
It took The Who many hostile years to get their early concerts’ intensity under control. Bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon were in no condition to keep a 1966 Berkshire set civilized. The pair showed up late after drinking and jamming with The Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston all afternoon. They even jumped in mid-song after discovering that the band went on with a substitute rhythm section. By the time guitarist Pete Townshend took collateral damage during the show’s explosive closer, a melee broke out. Entwistle and Moon decided that they had enough with the band, but thankfully changed their minds. The Who’s unplanned blowout in Berkshire was still a wake-up call to get their chaotic act together.
#6: Poison
The hard-partying Poison are notorious for both their chemistry and their scrapes. Bret Michaels and C.C. DeVille’s volatile friendship has especially gathered attention since a backstage brawl at the ‘91 Video Music Awards. But the violence that an Atlanta audience caught in 2006 was between Michaels and Bobby Dall. As the band prepared for an encore, things started to go haywire and the two exchanged words and a shove before Dall swung his bass. Roadies were able to break up the fight before it got too carried away. Dall has since claimed to not remember what instigated the incident. It was reportedly bad enough for Michaels to announce that the concert may have been Poison’s last. But by all accounts, the band has survived worse.
#5: The Jesus and Mary Chain
Top 10 Boy Band Members That Made it Big Solo
Noise pop pioneers — and brothers — The Jesus and Mary Chain are also known for their noisy conflicts. This culminated in 1998, when Jim Reid came drunk to a show in L.A.’s House of Blues. As he grew more belligerent and knocked over equipment, William Reid tried to put him in his place. The brothers’ violent quarrel ended the performance after just 15 minutes, and prompted William to drop out of the tour altogether. The incident would be the catalyst for the band’s formal split the following year. The Reid brothers eventually reconciled in 2007, and The Jesus and Mary Chain have been going strong ever since. Though they’ve thankfully been able to forgive, fans can’t forget their legendary falling-out.
#4: The Beatles
Top 10 Live Music Performances That Didn't Have to Go THAT Hard
The international brand of some boys from Liverpool truly began with their residency in Hamburg, Germany. But it was also infamously the end of their musical relationship with bassist Stuart Sutcliffe. He got engaged to local Astrid Kirchherr after a two-month courtship. The couple didn’t even speak a common language. The band teased Sutcliffe for his relationship and other things, especially Paul McCartney. This supposedly led to the onstage altercation that had been a long time coming for him and Sutcliffe. The fight factored into Sutfcliffe’s decision to leave The Beatles to focus on his art career. With McCartney on bass, the band went on to become one of the biggest acts in music history. Meanwhile, Sutcliffe tragically died of a brain hemorrhage in 1962, still engaged to Kircherr.
#3: Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson Biography: Life and Career of the Antichrist Superstar
As shocking as Marilyn Manson’s concerts and behavior are, his 2003 appearance at Rock Am Ring took a turn which surprised everyone. Professional footage shows Manson marching along the stage, until he accidentally kicks John 5 in the head. The ensuing frenzy nearly came to blows when John tossed his guitar aside. Though the two quickly got their bearings, fans would spend 20 years referencing the fight in rumors that John left Manson’s band with bad blood. In a 2022 interview, the guitar virtuoso finally revealed that he had recently learned of his sister’s sudden passing, and took full responsibility for what he did in his state of grief. Given the circumstances, nobody is holding his meltdown against him.
#2: The Kinks
Top 10 Surprise Guests During Live Music Performances
The feud between brothers Ray and Dave Davies is legendary. But while they were able to stay civil onstage, Mick Avory led The Kinks’ most consequential fight. Dave had been on his case leading up to and during a 1965 gig at Cardiff’s Capitol Theatre. When Davies kicked Avory’s drum kit, Avory knocked him unconscious with the hi-hat stand. He then fled from what he thought was a murder scene while Davies was rushed to the infirmary. When word of this and other incidents reached the United States, The Kinks were banned just in time for the British Invasion. The band’s popularity and influence thankfully secured them independent stardom. But they were nearly undone by the kind of hostility witnessed at the Capitol Theatre.
#1: Eagles
Top 10 Eagles Songs
The Eagles were one of the biggest rock bands of the 1970s. This pressure escalated the group’s artistic and personal conflicts into a lengthy recording session for “The Long Run”. The album's title took on an ironic meaning after its 1980 promotional tour detoured to a charity gig at Long Beach. Don Felder and Glenn Frey exchanged threats and swipes throughout the set, sometimes deliberately into the microphone. As soon as the show ended, Felder smashed his guitar backstage and quit on the spot. The rest of the band soon followed. After a long hiatus, the Eagles would spend the following decades reuniting and breaking up. Still, their very public first breakup ranks among the most devastating ever witnessed.
What are your favorite band battles? Let us know in the comments.
