Have you ever had a physical fight while on stage?

rze99

The View has to abandon a gig because they were fighting. 

I’ve never been in a fight on stage.  I’ve looked daggers and shouted at band mates that screwed things up. I once collapsed half-conscious into a bassist while doing a hot gig with the ‘flu and he kind of wrestled me up and propped me up to ensure I didn’t end up on the floor. But fist fight?  No. 

https://news.sky.com/story/the-view-forced-to-abandon-gig-after-bandmates-fight-on-stage-12878965

Lebarque

VimFuego

loads, but then security jump in, kick me out and the band continues with the set.

BillDL

I've always smiled at this one:

Deijavoo

Aye, but not with each other, that only happened in practice room. One gig where this bloke was giving us Zeig Heil right in our faces, or another when people tried to throw other people at us or grabbing our guitars while we play. 

Tannin

No. But avoided it only by a series of miracles.

I was always the worst musician in the band, and the newest member. I just held the bottom end down and knew enough not to try to get fancy. The other lads were more than fair - the drummer and I got an equal share of the takings even though the guitarist and the singer did all the real work. But once in a while we'd play a rough gig and some bogan would want to get up on the stage and have a sing through John's microphone (in his eyes a capital crime ranking somewhere between regicide and setting fire to a naval dockyard) or mess round with the equipment or just get generally stroppy.

For reasons I do not understand to this day, the other three - even the drummer who was a big strong lad - would grab me and push me out to deal with the situation as best I could. I'm of average height and back in those days I had to stand up twice to cast a shadow. Most of those obstropolous drunks I had to deal with could have creamed me without the slightest difficulty. But - again for reasons I am utterly at a loss to explain - I none of them ever quite did. 

As I live and breathe, I'm bloody lucky that I still live and breathe!

Kebabkid

Sort of...a band member's 'friend' used to turn up to gigs, get drunk and make a nuisance of himself and utter snide remarks under his breath that I'd hear when packing down/loading out and just generally annoy people throughout our gigs.

On one occasion, he decided to get on stage and drunkenly dance whilst deliberately and repeatedly knocking into me. Unlike me, I just thumped him and literally threw him off the stage at The Standard, Walthamstow. I think the alcohol he'd consumed softened the blow!

Reverend

Kebabkid said:

Sort of...a band member's 'friend' used to turn up to gigs, get drunk and make a nuisance of himself and utter snide remarks under his breath that I'd hear when packing down/loading out and just generally annoy people throughout our gigs.

On one occasion, he decided to get on stage and drunkenly dance whilst deliberately and repeatedly knocking into me. Unlike me, I just thumped him and literally threw him off the stage at The Standard, Walthamstow. I think the alcohol he'd consumed softened the blow!

The stage wasn't too high there at least. 

Reverend

Many years ago, my band at the time - Evil Knievel -was playing in Birmingham wit Sloth, Sally and Mistress. 
We'd been told that the singer of Mistress was a bit of a nutter and to be fair, during their set, Dave Cunt (yes that was his name) was punching himself in the face whilst singing. He keep asking someone to hit and in the end our 6'4" bassist obliged. He spent the rest of the set holding his jaw to stem the flow of blood. Apparently he had to get stitches

CoffeeAndTV

I used to work in a comedian’s backing band and he’d occasionally piss the audience off, especially hecklers with his comebacks. It could get physical. 

mudslide73

We had a guy get up with us then fell on the drums. I got him off the stage but no punches were thrown. He was so apologetic he got a round in for us all - a massive surprise. 

rze99

@mudslide73 reminds me when I was 16 the band I was in had a drummer who got heavily into glue sniffing. We did a local gig at a hall packed full of school students and the drummer was out of it.

3 tracks in he slowed down then passed out sprawled over the drums. The crowd thought it hilarious but I thought he was dying. no mobiles then so someone when to a nearby house and called 999. When the ambulance came and they stretchered him off - still passed out -  through the crowd. Half way through the hall he gave just lifted of the stretcher a bit and gave a piss take royal wave from the stretcher which got a big cheer.

darthed1981

VimFuego said:

loads, but then security jump in, kick me out and the band continues with the set.

Beat me to it

Blueingreen

Not a physical fight as such, but I've been on stage at a town hall dance when the band was getting attacked by mad bastards and we were holding them at bay with mic stands (as you might imagine, there's a story of how that situation developed).  Fortunately the police had been called and they were brilliant.  They arrived really quickly, within 10 minutes or so, and instantly realised we were the innocent party, probably because some of the instigators were known local troublemakers. Cops stood guard while we loaded our gear on to the van and gave us an escort out of town and for several miles beyond that.

AK99

Lebarque said:

Proper scuffle that!

Am impressed by how the little chap managed to end up standing on top with the big drummer (at least 3-4 weight classes above him) still on the deck. T'aint the size of the dog in the fight / size of the fight in the dog 'nall that

LastMantra

I've had many a non-physical fight. 

Paul_C

I met my youngest's mum after putting my bass down rather than wrap it round one of our backing singer's head (he was sacked and she replaced him) because he was off his nut on lager and cocaine and kept backing into me while dancing, eventually standing on my foot and nearly knocking me over, despite me getting as far back as I could. That's the closest I've ever got to getting in a fight as I'd usually run away

Kebabkid

Reverend said:

Kebabkid said:

Sort of...a band member's 'friend' used to turn up to gigs, get drunk and make a nuisance of himself and utter snide remarks under his breath that I'd hear when packing down/loading out and just generally annoy people throughout our gigs.

On one occasion, he decided to get on stage and drunkenly dance whilst deliberately and repeatedly knocking into me. Unlike me, I just thumped him and literally threw him off the stage at The Standard, Walthamstow. I think the alcohol he'd consumed softened the blow!

The stage wasn't too high there at least.

It's high enough to hurt 

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

I've wanted to lamp a few pissed up punters at gigs when they get a bit overenthusiastic and try and get up on the stage. Would love to go full Keith Richards at times, but wouldn't risk breaking a guitar for it! 

stratman3142

I came pretty close to clocking someone with my guitar. While I was playing at a gig, I saw a bunch of guys bothering my two daughters. In the middle of a song, I stormed into the audience yelling 'back off', ready to swing my Strat. The rest of the band stopped playing, the crowded pub went deathly quiet. The guys looked shocked and fortunately wandered off, as everyone was looking. 

A very surreal moment. I went back in an embarrassing silence and started the next song which was 'Run To You'. But I'd stepped on my multi fx pedal board during my outburst, and selected a bank with one of those weird factory presets which sounded like a fuzz box underwater. My heroic moment turned into comedy. 

After the gig the landlady was fxxking furious and said I shouldn't bring my daughters to gigs if I couldn't put up with the attention they got. We didn't get another gig at that venue. But my daughters thought it was 'cool' and still mention it, which, when you're a parent, is the best you can hope for. 

Open_G

Once played a gig at a mass brawl where a wedding broke out. Also once got threatened with violence by a very drunk best man because we had finished for the night and he wanted to keep dancing. 

Ceilidh bands are a dangerous business.