there was an incident with the
pyrotechnics unfortunately james
uh is on his way to the hospital right
now welcome to watch mojo
and today we're counting down our picks
for the top 10 times musicians
almost died on stage
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for this list we'll be looking at
near-death experiences or accidents
that reportedly occurred to musicians
while performing on stage
and or while they were on tour know of
any musical close calls we missed
let us know in the comments
number 10 elevator snafu ariana grande
hey we get it having a killer stage
setup is part of the package when you
become a pop icon
bringing an amazing show to the masses
is the job
unfortunately those moving parts can
sometimes malfunction
and result in some potentially deadly
consequences
ariana grande learned this firsthand
during her honeymoon tour in 2015 when
part of a lift
snapped threatening to crush the
diminutive singer against the stage
okay so the wooden thing breaks and goes
like this
and starts and i'm like i'm about to be
crunched
by mechanical like my like metal [ __ ]
and my wooden stuff
thankfully grande's quick thinking
guitarists helped her up in time
and the singer avoided any major injury
but this incident could have easily been
way worse i almost died
number nine set ablaze michael jackson
it's one of the most infamous events
ever to take place on the set of a soda
commercial
the time michael jackson was
accidentally set on fire
okay so the stage in this case was
constructed specifically for the
commercial
shoot but there was an audience full of
extras and an extravagant production
budget to make this pepsi ad feel
just like the real thing unfortunately
the pyrotechnics that were planned
were a little too intense and set the
king of pop's hair ablaze
the damage to jackson's scalp was so
severe that he required
surgery as for the damages won by
jackson in his subsequent lawsuit
against pepsi
they were donated to a medical center
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number eight crushed curtis mayfield
outdoor concerts can often be a
crapshoot with unforeseen delays
resulting in shows having to be moved or
rescheduled at a moment's notice
honestly this is what probably should
have happened with curtis mayfield
and this tragic outdoor gig from 1990
stormy weather was on the horizon and
the show's organizer
senator martin markowitz reportedly
decided to push mayfield's set up early
in hopes of getting at least a couple of
songs in before the wind and rain set
upon the crowd
the soul legends band had barely been
introduced
when part of the lighting rig was torn
down by a wind gust
crushing mayfield in the blink of an eye
although curtis survived the incident
he was left paralyzed below the neck
number 7
smoke on the water deep purple frank
zappa
and the mothers of invention smoke on
the water features one of classic rock's
most
recognizable riffs and one of its most
infamous backstories
deep purple were recording at a casino
in montreux
switzerland and decided to take a break
and check out a gig by frank zappa and
the mothers of invention
over at the casino theater
during the show a member of the audience
fired a flare gun
that set the ballroom ceiling ablaze
destroying the band's gear
and putting nearly everyone's lives at
risk although there were no fatalities
purple now needed a new place to record
it was during these sessions that smoke
on the water was born
detailing all of these crazy events in
the song while becoming an all-time rock
anthem in the process
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number six pyroblast james hetfield of
metallica
metallica guns n roses faith no more
it was a dream bill for hard rock and
metal fans that became a reality back in
1992
but it turned into a nightmare for
metallica front man
james hetfield the band's impressive
pyrotechnic display
was set to go off at certain planned
moments throughout the co-headlining
tour
on the night of august 8th in montreal
however
hetfield became confused as to where his
mark was on the stage
resulting in the guitarist walking
straight into a wall of flame
pyro guy doesn't see me that i've walked
back out there a big colored flame
goes right up under me and instantly i
you know squint and turn
hetfield suffered second and third
degree burns as a result of the incident
and fans rioted when guns and roses
didn't go on any earlier to replace
metallica's departure
and cut their own set short for good
measure there was an incident with
the pyrotechnics unfortunately james
uh is on his way to the hospital right
now and we're sorry but we can't
continue the concert for you guys
tonight
number five glitter cannon fail auto
shimmel panic van der oyer
of delane a stage cannon that shoots
glitter can't possibly hurt anyone right
well not if you're delane bassist otto
schimel panic
who was whacked from behind with a shot
from the cannon so hard
that it damaged his genitals
this heavy metal tough guy soldiered
through the set and an encore
before finally making his way to the
hospital where he sat in the waiting
room in
agony before finally being seen by a
doctor for his ruptured testicle
a few hours later schimel panic was in
surgery
getting some extensive work done on his
gentlemanly parts
honestly we're amazed that he made it
through one song
never mind an entire set so let's throw
a set of devil horns in the name of this
badass
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number four stage electrocution nick
lowe of brinsley schwarz
the next entry on our list is a type of
stage accident that has sadly claimed
the lives of far
too many unsuspecting rock stars
we're talking about electrocution
usually from improperly grounded or wet
wires on microphones or equipment
one such incident proved fatal for stone
the crows guitarist
les harvey in 1972 thankfully
nick lowe survived his encounter with an
electrified mic stand while playing with
english pub rock band brinsley schwarz
lowe can thank his keyboardist for the
save as the band mate kicked low away
from the stand
at just about midnight they decided
to call it a day although bob andrews
was apparently aiming for the mic itself
it proved a lucky move as onlookers
reported that the move
restarted low's heart number three
double heart attacks tiny tim ask any
professional musician
and they'll likely tell you that they
thrive on performing
it's in their blood often times bands
will continue to perform
long into their later years running the
risk of serious injury or even
death due to overexertion sadly this was
the case with tiny tim
who ignored an onstage heart attack
while performing at a massachusetts
ukulele festival in 1996.
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his performing days should have ended
there but tim ignored doctor's advice
and his own medical history of diabetes
and heart trouble
taking the stage again just weeks later
it was during this benefit show that tim
had a second heart attack
this one fatal collapsing shortly after
leaving the stage
number two brain drain bill berry of rem
we imagine that having an accident on
stage has got to be a harrowing
experience
but bill berry of rem didn't just trip
or
fall he had a freaking brain aneurysm
barry played for over an hour while on
tour in 1995 promoting the band's
monster lp
before what was described as an acute
headache led the drummer to collapse
behind the kit
the band was in front of a huge crowd in
switzerland but barry's health issues
resulted in cancelled tour dates while
he recovered from surgery
thankfully there were no major
complications or internal bleeding
but it was a scary moment for one of
alternative rock's most
popular bands before we name our number
one pick
here are some honorable mentions blow up
during my generation
the who an appearance on the smothers
brothers variety show turns legendary
jump for joy and pain watsky
an ill-advised warp tour jump from the
stage
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pyromaniacs ramstein don't you know you
shouldn't play with fire boys
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falling pink an aerial mishap results in
a hospital stay
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hey
number one moon balloon keith moon of
the who
hey did you ever dream about getting on
stage to jam with your favorite band
we bet that you wouldn't want it to be
under these circumstances though
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thomas scott halpin was just a fan
watching the who perform during their
quadrophenia tour
when the legendary keith moon collapsed
behind the drum kit
twice
turns out the classic rock icon and
drummer extraordinaire
indulged in a two-potent mixture putting
him down for the count after a second
attempt by roadies to revive him
failed can anybody play the drums
enter halpin who was drafted from the
audience and ended up finishing up the
set with moon's bandmates
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