When you think of rockstars, you picture wild solos, screaming crowds, and chaotic energy, but sometimes, that chaos hits back. Performing live is a high-risk job when you're leaping off amps, smashing guitars, or putting on a show in general.
Over the decades, countless legends have shed blood, broken bones, or passed out mid-set, all in the name of rock and roll. Whether it was a mistimed jump, a slippery stage, pure adrenaline, and even sometimes scary incidents, these onstage injuries became part of their allure.
From stage dives gone wrong to stunts that backfired, literally, here are 15 moments that will make you relive the brutal, bizarre, and unforgettable moments when rockstars paid the price for their performance.
1
Meat Loaf
On his 1983 tour, he tore muscles and bruised ribs but insisted on finishing shows through the pain.
2
Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters)
In 2015, Grohl fell off the stage in Sweden and broke his lef mid-set, but he didn't cancel the show, he returned with a cast and finished it.
3
Matt Bellamy (Muse)
The frontman broke his foot in 2004 after leaping during a live show but he powered through the rest of the gig.
4
Slash (Guns N' Roses)
His wild stage presence led to frequent tumbles but once he fell into the crowed and was knocked unconscious, only to continue playing when he woke up.
5
Alice Cooper
During his tour in 1975, his elaborate stage guillotine nearly took his head off because of a mechanical failure.
6
Frank Zappa
In 1971 a fan pushed Zappa off the stage in London, making him fall into the pit and crushing his larynx, breaking his leg and back. His voice was never the same.
7
Liam Gallagher (Oasis)
In 2008, he was attacked mid-show in Toronto when a crasher shoved him, injuring his ribs.
8
Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)
In 2009, Tyler took a hard fall off stage, cracking his head, breaking his shoulder. In result the tour was canceled shortly after.
9
Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age)
In 2008, at a festival Homme was crushed by stage equipment making him suffer chronic pain and inspiring some of his songwriting.
10
Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)
His aggressive performances have left trails of blood but in the 90s he gashed his hand wide open on a broken keyboard but finishing the set anyway.
11
Rob Halford (Judas Priest)
In 1991, Halford made his dramatic entrance on a motorcycle but ended up colliding with a drum rise, getting a concussion and blacking out .
12
Pete Townshend (The Who)
Smashing guitars all the time came at a cost, during a 1989 concert he slashed his hand and severed his tendons, leaving him with chronic injuries.
13
Paul Stanley (KISS)
Stanley suffered a serious injury in 2007 when he tore a tendon in his arm mid-performance but he soldiered through with some strain.
14
Iggy Pop
He was constantly bloodied and bruised from all the throwing himself into the crowd but in 1970 he leapt into the audience and dropped face first onto the floor.
15
Gene Simmons (KISS)
His fiery stunts weren't without consequence. During a 1970s show his hair caught on fire, leaving him with burns that time and many times after too.
