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While we can all value the time, effort and craft that goes into earning musical instruments, you will find a thing oddly cathartic about viewing a rockstar smash up their guitar into a thousand tiny items.
You’d be shocked at the number of musicians that have wrecked their machines about the many years, from guitars, to drum kits and even pianos. Irrespective of whether it’s to make a assertion, rile up an audience or increase a rebellious edge to a music online video, trashing our gear has develop into anything of a tradition in the rock planet.
Listed here, we list ten of the most well-known examples of musicians with an hunger for instrument destruction. A word of caution: really do not test this at home, except if you are in a rock band.
1. Pete Townshend
The Who’s Pete Townshend claims to have smashed his 1st guitar aged just 13, but the earliest guitar smash we can verifiably attribute to him is from a 1964 gig at the Railway Tavern in Harrow. However, it was not a deliberate part of the general performance Townshend accidentally strike the neck of his 360 Rickenbacker in opposition to the venue’s small ceiling. Discouraged at the reaction from some art college students in the group, he went on to lead to even much more injury.
Pete was later on photographed in front of a wall lined with his broken Rickenbackers, but he went on to smash a assortment of brand names and designs, from Gibson Les Pauls to Danelectro Coral Hornets. Although The Who’s drummer, Keith Moon, was also known for his damaging habits, Pete is the frontrunner in this article for his early adoption and decades-extended commitment to destruction, earning him a characteristic in Rolling Stone’s checklist of 50 times that modified the heritage of rock and roll.
In 2020, Townshend told Radio 2: “I am well prepared to smash a guitar for charity.” His fragmented guitars pop up every several yrs at auction – really do not hope much improve from £6,000 if you want to get just one.
2. Jimi Hendrix
For Hendrix, there was a thing ritualistic about burning a Fender Stratocaster. He’d tried using it once at a London gig, but factors didn’t go as well well. A second endeavor, at the Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967, was a lot much more thriving, but Hendrix switched his beloved black Strat for a earlier fixed product at the previous minute, holding the favourite intact. The annihilated variation experienced a white complete, entire with floral artwork that Hendrix added himself working with nail polish.
James Wright, who worked at Hendrix’s label, explained to The Moments that Hendrix “wanted to outdo” Pete Townshend, who was also taking part in the competition, and it worked. A picture of Jimi kneeling in front of the flaming guitar then appeared on the include of the Rolling Stone, assisting to mature his reputation worldwide. This was the Summer months of Enjoy and a key time for groundbreaking songs and counterculture fittingly, Hendrix’s very last music of the set was a go over of Wild Point by the Troggs.
The stunt has inadvertently led to some weird pieces of rock goods, like a Hendrix incense burner, which involves putting your incense stick on top rated of a replica guitar. Additional conventional tributes involve Fender’s confined-edition Jimi Hendrix Monterey Stratocaster.
3. Paul Simonon
In potentially the luckiest minute in music photography, Pennie Smith caught the minute Paul Simonon’s Fender Precision bass was lifted towards the stage floor, and the legendary album protect art for London Contacting was born. It was further lucky, as tour photographer Smith experienced been owing to skip the Clash gig and meet up with buddies alternatively, but she altered her brain.
Annoyed with a fewer-than-enthusiastic group response and overzealous safety, Simonon caught their awareness by brutally splintering his bass in a spontaneous rage. Decades later on, Simonon explained to Fender, “Unfortunately you are inclined to ruin the items you appreciate.”
The guitar is now on extended-expression personal loan to the Museum of London due to a museum site go, it’s not now on display screen, but you are going to find it in the museum’s new house of Smithfield from 2026.
4. Wendy O. Williams
Williams is remembered for her jaw-dropping punk outfits and performances on phase with the Plasmatics – a band that was not frightened to smash up a Television or blow up a motor vehicle. She took a chainsaw to numerous Les Paul guitars in the 80s, like all through a dwell Television set broadcast on the relatives show Good Gold.
A Plasmatics gig critique from Appears journal in July 1981 notes that ‘when the guitar’s been chainsawed and the rest of the stage destroyed, you’re not likely to get 5 encores.’
Robin Eisgrau, songs journalist and author of Eve of Destruction: The Wild Daily life of Wendy O. Williams, points out how the band sourced their resources:
“When they had been on tour, the Plasmatics would obtain objects to wipe out – guitars, automobiles and Television sets, in the cities they have been participating in in… Wendy typically claimed that the purpose why they ruined these objects was to say to their viewers: ‘These are just issues – never worship them.’”
We requested Eisgrau for her consider on the guitar sawing. “I interpreted that as a retort against guitar hero worship,“ she informed us. “When The Plasmatics emerged, specified rock guitarists like Jimmy Web page, Pete Townshend and Keith Richards were being like deities. They acquired all the radio airplay they offered out arenas. To see Wendy – a lady major a quite underground band, sawing a guitar in 50 % and seeking like she’s having so a great deal satisfaction out of it – was incredibly subversive.”
5. Nirvana
How about a little bit of tactical destruction? In October 1991, Nirvana collectively smashed drummer Dave Grohl’s package on phase since they were unwell of ready for their tour supervisor to get him some new machines. The gig, in front of 1,100 folks at Cabaret Metro in Chicago, was aspect of the Nevermind tour.
Although frontman Kurt Cobain was currently known as a prolific guitar-breaker, we felt responsibility-bound to include this band-large vandalism. A long time afterwards, Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic spoke about the incident throughout a 2014 interview with Jimmy Fallon.
Grohl described: “I mentioned to Kurt, ‘Hey guy, at the stop of the gig we have to smash my drum kit to splinters’. We put in half an hour breaking individuals drums… then the next working day the drum put was shut.” No video clip footage survives from the gig, but you can take pleasure in the audio recording embedded above, if you fancy making use of your creativity.
6. Jamie Cullum
You’d be forgiven for imagining a jazz musician doesn’t belong on this checklist, but Jamie Cullum attained his stripes by obliterating a Yamaha C3 piano in the video for his deal with of Rihanna’s hit, Please Really do not Quit the New music. We broke down the piano explosion for readers in 2009, for the reason that it is not the type of point you see every day on the jazz scene.
Indeed, Jerry Lee Lewis may possibly have reportedly burned a handful of pianos in his time lengthy prior to Cullum was about, but Cullum will get the nod below for scheduling a entire-on explosion. It took four replica pianos, furthermore just one surplus C3 from Yamaha, to make the video clip a image from the shoot was afterwards employed as cover artwork for his album, The Pursuit.
Jamie Cullum is the internet’s ideal wager to choose above from Jools Holland when he prospects his closing Hootenanny present for New Year’s Eve, so we have got our fingers crossed for an exploding piano as Big Ben strikes 12.
7. Matt Bellamy
Muse frontman Matt Bellamy attained a Guinness Entire world Report for destroying the most guitars on tour, proving there truly is a world document for all the things. He smashed 140 guitars through the Absolution tour, back again in 2004.
Even so, the guy himself isn’t certain by his individual document-breaking stats. Bellamy told Radio.com, ”My guitars are specially made wherever they’re in two pieces, so if the neck breaks, I just place a new neck on. The physique not often breaks… it appears like I may have trashed hundreds of guitars, but it’s almost certainly about 4 and about 20 necks or something.”
Bellamy plays personalized-made devices supplied by Manson Guitar Is effective you can purchase the brand’s MB-1 signature model to emulate him, but we really do not advocate smashing it, as it doesn’t come affordable.
If you are wanting to know regardless of whether anyone may steal the title for most guitars smashed, really do not worry. Guinness Globe Documents tweeted again in 2021 that they “no more time observe this report title due to guitar welfare”. Amazingly, that was not a joke – Guinness Earth Records advised us that they “would not condone the wilful destruction of devices.” Situations are modifying…
8. Josh Dun
20 A person Pilots drummer Josh Dun performed a flaming drum package in the video for Heavydirtysoul: a music that incorporates the lyrics “I hope they choke on smoke ‘cause I’m cigarette smoking them out the basement”.
Dun has also been recognized to open up gigs by holding a flaming torch and – in a shift not a million miles absent from Plasmatics’ stunts – the band has set fire to a auto on phase – in point, the exact same automobile that also went up in flames for this audio video, which we could technically call recycling.
More than the decades, Dun has grow to be recognised for making use of custom made SJC drums, but he selected not to obliterate a entire SJC kit for Heavydirtysoul – in its place telling the web page New music Makes You Assume: “We acquired just one at a applied drum retail outlet for $100, but a actual SJC drum head was established on fire.” The band’s appreciate of fire indicates they need to meet up with Till Lindemann, vocalist of Rammstein who also happens to be a experienced pyrotechnician.
9. Phoebe Bridgers
Solo artist and just one-3rd of the band Boygenius, Bridgers intentionally broke her Danelectro 56 versus an amp in the course of a are living functionality on SNL. As we noted at the time, Bridgers experienced warned Danelectro about the stunt beforehand. The response was divisive, but the biggest criticism arrived from David Crosby, of Crosby, Stills and Nash, who identified as her actions ‘pathetic’ in a tweet.
Bridgers responded by contacting him a ‘little bitch’ Crosby went on to label Phoebe’s antics as ‘childish stage drama’ and ‘pointless’. Some musicians, like Flea from the Purple Hot Chili Peppers, known as out Crosby’s hypocrisy. On Instagram, Bridgers doubled down and wrote, ‘Next time I’ll just burn it and it will be additional expensive.’
You simply cannot knock Bridgers for her article-present gesture, both: she auctioned the damaged guitar to elevate revenue for the LGBTQ+ charity GLAAD, and it sold for $101,500. Likewise, Vic Fuentes from Pierce the Veil auctioned a terribly-destroyed Epiphone Les Paul Particular II in support of Teenage Most cancers Belief in 2016. Somewhat than decide for an on-phase smash, however, Fuentes threw the Les Paul about a cliff.
10. Jake Kiszka
Greta Van Fleet fans will know that the band’s lyrics are packed with references to the elements (earth, air, fire and h2o), so Kiszka’s crispy guitar from songs video for The Falling Sky fits the topic. Chicago Tunes Exchange provided the Large SG that was sacrificed in the video, and this a single arrived whole circle. Kiszka despatched the charred remnants back again to the store (presumably he was not on the lookout for a refund), who then highlighted it in a TikTok publish.
Gus Black, who directed the new music video clip, reported: “We had fun burning the guitar. It was all Jake’s strategy, and we facilitated his wish to make it come about.” Troy Jackson, who acted as submit-generation pyrotechnic, applied 50ft strips of rope soaked in tiki torch fluid.
“There was only a person guitar, and a single probability to get it suitable,” he reported. “We used gasoline to get the entirety of rope burning, minus a small section for Jake to stroll into… but this designed a vortex of flames and heat. Jake ripped on his guitar as strips of flames and smoke licked at him each so often. We ended up going for walks a slender line among rock and roll and complete risk the good thing is, we kept it protected.”
A trick of the trade is to loosen the guitar strings before burning, to prevent “a mini explosion the strings would pop and the steel or wooden from the guitar would act like shrapnel.” We requested Jackson why some musicians like Hendrix, Dun and Kiszka are tempted by fire. His concept: “Fire is synonymous with rock n roll. It is chaotic. It really is loud. It can be out of control. It can be lovely.”
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