On Friday, Sept. 13 — auspicious, I know — Jane’s Addiction was 11 songs deep into their set at the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston when singer Perry Farrell apparently snapped.
He began screaming at guitarist Dave Navarro, getting right into his face before giving him a forearm shot to the chest. Roadies and security appeared onstage and dragged Perry away. The fight apparently continued backstage with Perry punching Dave in the face.
The initial story was that Perry was frustrated with the onstage monitor mix and couldn’t hear his vocals, a struggle exacerbated by his tinnitus. Within 36 hours, the rest of this reunion tour was cancelled, refunds were issued, and apologies and mea culpas appeared on social media.
Perry was off to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist as well as a neurologist. If I had to guess, I’d say that Jane’s Addiction is done.
Onstage bust-ups and break-ups like this are as old as rock ‘n’ roll itself. And what the audience saw in Boston earlier this month is nothing when compared with other conflagrations.
The Kinks
The Kinks were extraordinarily volatile right from the beginning. Not only was there constant tension between brothers Ray and Dave Davies, but other parts of the band were known to melt down on too many occasions.
The first notable brawl happened at the Capital Theatre in Cardiff, Wales, on a night in 1965. Drummer Mick Avory was seething at Dave Davies over insults laid upon him the night before regarding his drinking. Avory wanted to exact revenge.
After two songs, Davies turned to Avory and insulted his playing, suggesting that he’d sound better if he used a particular part of his anatomy instead of drumsticks. That did it. Avory leapt out from behind his kick and knocked Davies cold with a single punch. (Other accounts have Avory braining Davies with his hi-hat stand). Convinced that he’d killed his bandmate, Avory beat a retreat and tried to hide. Police soon flushed him out. He denied having done anything, but when the cops reminded him that there were hundreds of witnesses, he went quietly.
Meanwhile, Davies was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary where it took 16 stitches to mend him back together. Davies was encouraged to file an assault charge, but he declined, putting the band’s future ahead of his aching head. He might have had second thoughts when the American Federation of Musicians learned about the incident and banned The Kinks from touring America for the next four years because they were too violent. Given that this was the height of the British Invasion, we can only speculate how much damage that one punch (or smack with a hi-hat stand) did to The Kinks’ career.
And this wasn’t the only time Dave Davies and Mick Avory mixed it up. In May 1977, the band, once again enjoying an upswing in popularity, was playing at Washington, D.C.’s Constitution Hall in front of about 3,000 people on their Go ‘Til You Drop tour. A verse into the encore, Davies walked over to Avory and started batting around his cymbals. Ray Davies came over and led his brother away. Seconds later, though, he was back. Halfway through a guitar solo, Davies gave Avory a big hawk tuah to the face. Avory spat back, threw his drumsticks at him, and stalked off the stage. The gig abruptly ended, but not before Davies knocked over Avory’s kit.
Yet The Kinks endured. A press spokesman summed things up at the time: “The band that fights together, stays together.” Avory stayed with the band until 1984. Dave Davies was there until the end in 1997.
Oasis
Oasis had a reputation as brawlers from the start. When they weren’t fighting in pubs, cocktail lounges, and on ferries to the continent, they were fighting each other, especially brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher. Over the years, the two would scrap over everything.
The first incident happened on the group’s first-ever tour of America in 1994. Oasis was exhausted and Noel (and perhaps a few other members of the band), asked opening act The Brian Jonestown Massacre if they had any pick-me-up powder. What they got was crystal meth. Noel was particularly strung out and unable to sleep for days.
When the band pulled into Los Angeles for an important showcase gig at the Whisky A Go Go, everyone was in bad shape and their performance that night wasn’t sharp. At one point, Liam walked over to Noel and gave him a shot to the head with his tambourine. After the gig, Noel disappeared, taking some of the band’s money with him. He made his way up to San Francisco where he was taken in by a new hardcore fan named Melissa Lim. According to lore, she sat up with Noel, talking him through everything.
Nine dates were cancelled, but in that time, everyone got some sleep, things calmed down, and within a fortnight, Oasis was back together. But there were plenty of other brawls and sniping over the next 15 years. There was an infamous occasion in 1995 when Noel was so upset that Liam had returned to the studio with some rowdy friends from the pub that he took after him with a cricket bat. That bat later sold at auction for a sizeable amount.
The end finally came on Aug. 28, 2009, minutes before Oasis was to headline the Rock En Seine Festival in Paris. Noel and Liam started jawing over an ad in the festival program that promoted Liam’s Pretty Green clothing line. Then there was an exchange between Liam and Bonehead over a leather jacket, something that greatly annoyed Noel. Things continued to escalate when Liam picked up a plum from a fruit bowl and flung it at Noel. As he watched the splatter slide down the wall, Liam returned with one of Noel’s prized guitars wielding it “like an axe” at Noel’s head. He’d later say “he nearly took my face off with it.”
That was it. Noel left the dressing room, got into a car and ordered the driver to take him far away. A statement was issued later that night: “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
Another statement came a few days later.
“The details are not important and of too great a number to list. But I feel you have the right to know that the level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends, and comrades has become intolerable. And the lack of support and understanding from my management and bandmates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new.”
That estrangement lasted 14 years and 364 days. Noel and Liam are about to embark on one of the most lucrative reunion tours ever staged. The question is, will they be able to hold it together?
One person gave me this definition: “An optimist is anyone who bought tickets to the second Oasis reunion show.”
Fair point. But hey, that’s rock’n’roll, right?
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Alan Cross is a broadcaster and podcaster with Q107 and 102.1 the Edge and a commentator for Global News.
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