Instrument destruction

The destruction of musical instruments, a tradition in pop and rock music, is normally carried out by band members during a live performance, particularly at the end of the gig.

Early years

Jerry Lee Lewis may be the first rock artist to destroy his equipment on stage, with several, possibly erroneous, stories of him destroying and burning pianos in the 1950s. [ [http://oldies.about.com/od/rockabill1/f/jerryleepiano.htm About.com] ]

In the mid 1960s, guitarist Pete Townshend of The Who was the first guitar smashing rock artist. Rolling Stone magazine included his smashing of a Rickenbacker guitar at the Railway Hotel in September 1964 [ [http://www.thewho.net/articles/townshen/friedlan.htm Rock and Roll: A Social History] ] [ [http://www.themarqueeclub.net/the-who The Marquee Club] ] in their list of the "50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock & Roll". [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6085455/the_moments The Moments] ] A student of Gustav Metzger, Townshend saw his guitar smashing as a kind of auto-destructive art.

Keith Moon, The Who's drummer, was also known for destroying his drum set. The most spectacular episode of this occurred during The Who's debut on U.S. television on the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" in 1967. Moon overloaded his bass drum with explosive charges which were detonated during the finale of the song, "My Generation." The explosion caused guest Bette Davis to faint, set Pete Townshend's hair on fire and, according to legend, contributed to his later partial deafness and tinnitus. Moon was also injured in the explosion when shrapnel from the cymbals cut his arm. [ [http://www.ready-steady-go.org.uk/who_tv1.htm The Who, Smothers Brothers, 1967] ] VH1 later placed this event in the top ten of their list of the 100 Greatest Rock and Roll Moments on Television. [ [http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/the_greatest/62183/episode.jhtml VH1] ]

Jeff Beck, then a member of the Yardbirds, reluctantly destroyed a guitar in the 1966 film "Blowup" after being told to emulate The Who by director Michelangelo Antonioni. [ [http://books.google.com/books?id=e1a1C_somjIC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=michaelangelo+antonioni+%22the+who%22&source=web&ots=l3g-Z7iaS1&sig=a9ZMUrba-QsFrPqUTHBSMLvv3CM#PPA67,M1 Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who] ] Jimi Hendrix is also famous for burning two guitars at three shows, most notably the Monterey Pop Festival. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2219161.stm Hendrix's burnt guitar for sale] ] He also would drive the guitar like a lance through the grill cloth of his amp's speaker cabinets, but this was replaced after the show and did not actually destroy the amp.

Later instrument destruction

Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple and Rainbow smashed guitars in performance through the seventies. [ [http://www.parade.com/celebrity/slideshows/guitar-smashing/04.html Parade] ]

Paul Simonon of The Clash famously destroyed his bass on stage, with a photograph of the event becoming the iconic cover to their "London Calling" album. [ [http://www.parade.com/celebrity/slideshows/guitar-smashing/06.html Parade] ]

Kurt Cobain would frequently smash guitars at the end of Nirvana shows, but they were often cheap Stratocasters that were brought on stage simply for the purpose of destruction.Fact|date=July 2008 Cobain and his band mainly shocked people with instrument destruction in their early career, as they came from poor town Aberdeen, Washington and could barely afford to replace them.fact

Marilyn Manson have been known to frequently destroy their instruments at the end of shows. They have often done so in such an aggressive manner that they have injured themselves, most famously when drummer Ginger Fish suffered a fractured skull. This destruction has been captured in their music videos as well in live recordings such as Guns, God and Government.Fact|date=May 2008

Trent Reznor, lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, was known for smashing his guitar out of frustration in the early years of his band. Later on, his band mates destroyed their guitars for the end of a show. Throughout the years, the band has been known for destroying most of their equipment, notably keyboards; this destructive rampage was chronicled on the VHS "Closure".Fact|date=May 2008

Die Sektor frequently smashes their custom keyboards called "beasts" at the end of their performances.Fact|date=June 2008

Win Butler of Arcade Fire destroyed an acoustic guitar at the end of a live performance on Saturday Night Live, after a string had broke during the performance [ [http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/win_butler_of_arcade_fire A.V. Club Interview of Win Butler] ]

Craig Nicholls of The Vines destroyed his Fender Stratocaster at a show at The Corner Hotel In Melbourne in 2006.fact

Matt Bellamy, singer and guitarist of British rock band Muse, has smashed various Ibanez, Gretsch and Gibson models of electrics throughout the band's career. He recently smashed two of his famous custom Hugh Manson guitars, before repairing one. The other was beyond repair after being thrown by Bellamy at a strobe light, and the pieces now reside at Manson's Devon workshop. [http://www.musewiki.com/
]

Say Anything's music video Baby Girl, I'm a Blur shows the band destroying the instrument towards the end of the video.

ee also

*Leo Gallagher
*Shock rock

Notes