Rock stars are famous for their wild life and extreme gestures: sex, drugs and rock’n’roll is the slogan that has accompanied the life of legendary musicians such as Slash, Keith Richards, Ozzy Osbourne and many others for decades. In addition to their musical prowess and composing historical songs, many of these artists are famous for their behavior in life. Who is not familiar with the famous story about Ozzy Osbourne and the bat? Well… there are many others. Enjoy the reading!
Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne is one of the most unruly musicians there is. In addition to decapitating a bat on stage (although he thought it was a plastic object), the prince of darkness snorted ants from the floor and consumed alcohol and drugs in quantities that would kill any man. Despite everything, however, he is still alive .. and still touring! Several doctors have conducted tests on his blood, discovering alterations in the DNA due to decades of alcohol and drug use, unable to explain how it is possible that Ozzy is still alive. Long live the Prince of Darkness!
Keith Moon
The late drummer of “The Who” left us in 1978 following an overdose of Heminevrin, a drug prescribed to calm alcohol withdrawal. During his short and intense life, Moon showed off his drumming skills as much as his irrepressible desire to smash everything what passed through his hands. After an altercation with the public in 1967 and taking a couple of well-aimed punches in the face, Keith passed out and was hospitalized. In revenge, the band decided to completely destroy the hotel they were staying in, even going so far as to throw the piano into the pool. For the damage caused, The Who were forced to pay a whopping $ 24,000 (about $ 171,000 if calculated today). Also memorable was a 1973 concert during which, following a mix of alcohol and horse sedatives, Moon passed out on stage. The great thing was that the set was concluded by a 19 year old boy from the audience who played the drums for all the other songs.
Slash
Slash has been sober for years now – more specifically since he saw death in the face at the age of 35. Before containing and reducing his drug use, Slash used to “smoke” his advances and buy huge quantities of cocaine and heroin. At some point in the early 1990s Slash took a particularly high dose of drugs and began claiming to be chased by a Predator-like alien.(yes, that of the film of the same name), arrived on earth to kill him. Determined to save his life, Slash began running naked around the resort he was staying in, smashing a glass door and using a maid as a shield to avoid being killed by the alien hunter. And if that still is not enough, try to imagine Slash who buys an exemplary lion of the mountain and keep it as a pet in the hotel room. Curtis (the lion) managed to destroy the cage he was in one day and devastated the hotel room before being sedated. Classic Slash.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers now play alternative rock, have families and seem like good people. But the Chilis were well known for their recklessness during their debut years. One of the most memorable moments probably happened during the concert at the Kit Kat Club in 1983 and saw the band show up on stage completely without clothes except for a sock on the….
This particular and colorful custom has become a symbol of the band having performed the same way several more times before calming down and buying a pair of clothes. Excerpts of the concerts in question can be easily viewed online.
Keith Richards
All the members of the Rolling Stones are famous for their adventures with drugs, groupies and alcohol. Even considering everything that is said about Mick Jagger, the primacy remains with Keith Richards. From the urban legends that depict him in the act of undergoing a total blood transfusion to the (probably true) historical story according to which Keith, by his own admission, would have sniffed his father’s funeral ashes , one thing is certain: Keith has he’s been through a lot, maybe too many, but he’s still alive and kicking and ready to rock on stage!
Iggy Pop
The Lizard Man is a music icon: just name him to imagine him shirtless on a stage, twisted in on himself. Iggy, credited as the unofficial inventor of stage diving, has always been a provocateur and self-defeating. From rolling around in pieces of glass to jumping offstage like an animal, Iggy has always faced the audience with ferocity and boldness. During a concert, after yet another insult aimed at a gang of bikers , poor Iggy Pop took a good turn. After learning his lesson, he sadly returned to the stage, continuing to sing. A legend!
Mötley Crue
The very famous “ Kickstart my Heart ” was inspired by Nikki Six’s very personal journey into the afterlife. It was 1987 and Nikki snorted one dose too many, overdosed and was declared legally dead for 2 minutes aboard the ambulance that was taking him to the hospital. The two paramedics present tried the impossible with two injections of adrenaline. It worked and Nikki woke up, escaping from the ambulance, finding a passage to her house where she took another dose and passed out again. It is no mystery that very few rockers in the world managed to hold up a drinking and snorting contest with Nikki.
Zakk Wylde
Popular belief says that if you celebrate like a rock star you will die young. For Zakk Wylde this is not true. In 2009 the historian of Black Label Society leader was hospitalized and was diagnosed with three lumps of blood in the leg. Apparently, Zakk has always suffered from clots to the point that the 3 lumps found in his leg also passed through his heart and lungs without killing him. How is it possible? Simple, due to the exaggerated doses of alcohol that Zakk has always swallowed , his blood has thinned to the point of allowing the clots to pass without settling and causing much more serious problems. But how much is it METAL this thing?
Izzy Stradlin
The rhythm guitarist of Guns’N’Roses certainly could not compete with his partner Slash in terms of the quantity of drugs and alcohol he consumed, but he certainly did not go lightly either. During a tour in Japan, the Guns were advised by their manager to beware of customs officers, who are known to be very strict with rockstars traveling with drugs. There had already been cases of incarceration ( Paul McCartney, among others) and Izzy certainly didn’t want to spend the time in Japan behind bars. So, to hide it, he decided to hide it .. in his stomach! The result? Almost 100 hours of coma for Izzy who, fortunately, eventually woke up. The guitarist has always had a special relationship with airports and airplanes, so much so that during a crossing, tired of waiting for the on-board bathroom to become free, he decided to urinate directly into the runner next to the passengers.
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper has made a name for herself for his wacky shows, lyrics, music and… the incident with the chickens. Legend has it that a fan threw a live chicken onto the stage, Cooper threw it in turn in the audience who proceeded to dismember the poor animal and throw the remains on stage. In fact, as bassist Dennis Dunaway explained, the band traveled with the two chickens (named Larry and Pecker) treating them as pets. The incident was in no way planned and the band did not actually kill the poor animal, but the story helped the band’s fame and career a lot.