Nothing says rock and roll quite like smashing one’s guitar on stage in front of hundreds of screaming fans. It’s quite an iconic act, though it’s fallen out of favor in recent years. Let’s look at four memorable times rock stars destroyed their guitars live on stage!
1. The Who, 1964
The Who were never strangers to being destructive on stage. Remember when they loaded Keith Moon’s drumset with explosives? It’s not exactly surprising that Pete Townshend decided to get a little destructive back in 1964 with his Rickenbacker Rose Morris guitar.
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During one London show, Townshend accidentally cracked part of the guitar’s headstock on a low-hanging ceiling. Once he realized what happened (and that the guitar was more or less donezo), he decided to smash the rest of the instrument in a wild flurry to a shocked audience. Then, he snatched a different Rickenbacker and continued the set as if nothing happened.
2. Rainbow, 1977
Ritchie Blackmore once owned a lovely 1970 Fender Stratocaster. However, the Deep Purple guitarist decided to give it a good smash in 1977 during a Munich show with his other band Rainbow.
It was a wild sight to see; Blackmore absolutely destroyed the instrument by hitting it against the stage floor repeatedly, as if he were trying to carve through it. He ended the debacle by flinging the demolished instrument into the audience.
3. The Clash, 1979
Rock stars destroyed their guitars a lot through the years, but how many of those on-stage meltdowns resulted in a killer album cover?
Paul Simonon of The Clash famously smashed his bass guitar onto the stage floor during a show in the late 1970s. Simonon was allegedly angry that the venue’s bouncers wouldn’t allow the crowd to dance to their music, so he went hog wild with the instrument in a fit of rage. Pennie Smith snapped the famous shot of him going to town on the guitar, which was later used as the album cover for London Calling.
4. Jimi Hendrix, 1967
This has to be one of the most well-known examples of rock stars who destroyed their guitars on stage. The image of Jimi Hendrix lighting his guitar on fire in 1967 is strongly associated with his legacy, even today.
The explosive set occurred at the legendary Monterey Pop Festival when Hendrix gave one of his greatest career performances. During a cover of “Wild Thing” by The Troggs, Hendrix fell to his knees and did a few tricks with his guitar before dumping lighter fluid on it and lighting it up. The burnt remains of the instrument were promptly tossed into the crowd when the song was over.
Photo via London Calling album cover
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