Who were the drunkest performers you saw on stage?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by spencer1, Sep 26, 2019.

  1. stillrockin

    stillrockin Forum Resident

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Rory Gallagher at the Fleadh in Glasgow in May 1992. Rory was giving it a lot more rolling than rocking. And it was in the afternoon.
     
  2. nodeerforamonth

    nodeerforamonth Consistently misunderstood

    Location:
    San Diego,CA USA
    Uhh... that's part of DLR's "act". He did this bit throughout the 1984 tour, picking a different band each time.
     
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  3. pool_of_tears

    pool_of_tears Searching For Simplicity

    Location:
    Midwest
    And, Gregg cleaned up his act, in 1995/96. Dickey didn’t get it together. And, he wasn’t fired. He quit. That’s his problem.
     
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  4. bRETT

    bRETT Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Dickey was at least suspended from a tour. Though the official plan was that he would come back later, I would bet both parties knew that wouldn't happen.
     
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  5. PJayBe

    PJayBe Forum Resident

    Leaping to mind are :

    Michael Schenker with UFO at the "famous" Night of Madness gig at Manchester Apollo back in 2000. Schenker had had an argument with Spike from the Quireboys the previous night in Newcastle that ended when Spike apparently nutted him. Cue a full o bender from our guitar hero, and an unusual show the following night. As the intro tape finished the rest of the band were ready, but no sign. Suddenly he appeared and almost seemed to be playing the same song as the rest of them. between each song he vanished behind the amps where we could see him polish off a full drink each time. The night got progressively sillier with Pete way being forced to act as a peacekeeper between Schenker and Mogg. At one pint, just before guitar solo he detuned his axe, and walked around the stage trying to give it to Phil! Eventually he got to a mike and announced that Mogg sucked, but that it was okay because he sucked too. The set closing Rock Bottom was an absolute disaster, and the band left the stage with no sign of anybody wanting an encore. The following night was cancelled due to Mogg's laryngitis!! Bizarrely Schenker was about to come out to the merch table to "meet is fans" when it was pointed out it wouldn't be too good an idea.

    Keith Christopher with Dan Baird in his drinking days. Saw them in a club in 2009 when Dan tapped him on the shoulder and spoke to him, he jumped round so quick he took himself, his guitar and his mike stand off the stage and into a tangled heap on the floor. he might have got sorted quicker if he hadn't insisted on keeping playing!

    Ian Mcnabb as the Icicle Works on his infamous 2007 Christmas tour. The previous night he had been featured by the BBC on a news documentary and gave an appallingly drunk performance in Liverpool. The next night was Manchester, so after allegedly downing a bottle of brandy he took to the stage. What a night. Arguments with the crowd, attempts to play Manchester songs that only stopped when the band threatened to walk off he started playing Barclay James Harvest, passing his guitar to my 13 year old daughter at the front of the stage whilst he took his jacket off and going past curfew whilst singing from the middle of the audience. Thank God he has got himself sorted out thses days!!
     
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  6. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Never saw Dicky 10% as disfunctional as Gregg on stage. They basically became the Allmann Covers Band when they gave him the boot.
     
  7. ascot

    ascot Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Elton John, 1988 or 1989. He was drinking whatever during the show and slurring words by the end. Still a good show but not a great time in his life, I guess.
     
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  8. TheDailyBuzzherd

    TheDailyBuzzherd Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast USA

    Odd to know that Brian was one of Denny's "coke" buddies for awhile.
    Brian wasn't quite as sedentary as we've come to know, he was still out
    there composing though the band wouldn't finish his stuff. But Brian in
    a fairly recent interview remains peed O over his brother's death, going
    so far as to call Denny an "a-hole" over Denny's behavior. It seem hard
    for many artists to resist all that alcohol playing in clubs for years.

    Pills are bad but alcohol is the worst.
     
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  9. spinyn

    spinyn Senior Member

    Location:
    New Orleans
    Shane McGowen headling the Fleadh with the Pogues in Finsbury Park in '91. Totally incapacitated.

    Saw Rickie Lee Jones slug from a bottle of Jack Daniels she had on her piano at Berkeley Community Theater in 1982 til it was gone. It tore me up to watch her disintegrate onstage like she did. I wasn't the same for a couple weeks after that. It was like seeing Judy Garland.

    Once saw Stan Getz at the Keystone Korner in the mid-70's way too drunk to play.

    Sad occurances all.
     
  10. DME1061

    DME1061 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Trenton, NJ
    Easy one for me. The Replacements....early 1986 at Trenton's City Gardens. A mess of a show. If I'm remembering correctly, before they even played their first song Paul shouted out "Yes indeed we are intoxicated!"
     
  11. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I saw him once at a half-empty Village Vanguard. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked a little out of it, but he played beautifully. At one point, after he played his solo, he stepped off the bandstand and walked over to the bar. He got a rocks glass of whisky neat. He sat at a table and drank it, while he watched the band members take their solos. Then he got back on stage and picked up his horn on time, and started to play without missing a beat.

    I thought it was a little strange, but also super cool. The band was playing to an empty room so he sat back and gave them an audience. Of course they were stellar musicians.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2019
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  12. micktanner

    micktanner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    The entire Faces lineup in 73-74 at the University of MD's, Cole Field House
     
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  13. AlienRendel

    AlienRendel Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, il
    The show I saw in 1991 he was swigging from a bottle of red wine all night. He didn't ever appear to be drunk, and I can't say the show was loose (they were deeply synched up to their light and video effects) but he did call a local place from the stage and order a whole bunch of pizzas for the audience.
     
  14. Anton D

    Anton D Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chico CA
    I can't remember.

    :shrug:
     
  15. Spin Doctor

    Spin Doctor Forum Resident

    The One Step Down in DC? I miss that place...
     
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  16. Devin

    Devin Time's Up

    It's been fairly well documented that Dean was faking it about 90% of the time. Part of his stage image which for some reason he wished to maintain. I guess it was considered super cool to be a hip and sophisticated lush in those days. A "man's man" I suppose.
     
  17. AlienRendel

    AlienRendel Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, il
    I saw the Replacements 3 times and I think they were on the wagon for all 3 - sober but irreverent.

    Saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the tail end of 1991 and Frusciante was so ****ed up (probably not on alcohol) that he seemingly couldn't open his eyes. The other guys were visibly pissed. He looked like death.

    I've seen GBV a bunch of times and while they always drink there was only one time were a Nate couldn't seem to find the guitar that was strapped to him and Bob had to be helped off stage at the end.
     
  18. Kassonica

    Kassonica Forum Resident

    dean martin has one of the best quotes to do with drinking.... You know you're drunk when you have to hang onto the floor :D
     
  19. Benn Kempster

    Benn Kempster Who else?

    Location:
    Tring, UK
    Dave Hemmingway of The Beautiful South at Hammersmith Odeon - he literally couldn't stand up and sang the entire show with (as it appeared) his eyes shut.
     
  20. Devin

    Devin Time's Up

    I believe he nicked that line from Foster Brooks. Now that guy could fake being drunk like no one else. Or perhaps he actually was perpetually smashed. Either way a very funny guy.
     
  21. Doug Sclar

    Doug Sclar Forum Legend

    Location:
    The OC
    They were all furious with him after that show, but they all seemed to be pissed off at each other as well. It definitely seemed like a low point for them. The only happy people I saw backstage were the Captain and Tennille.
     
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  22. Kassonica

    Kassonica Forum Resident

    I don't know who foster brooks is... But Ole dean is an underrated performer IMHO
     
  23. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Bob Pollard circa early 2000s. He overshot a bit, did the last three tunes slumped over the monitor at the front of the stage, didn't miss a word. Came back on for two encores after. Probably right at 70 tunes delivered, multiple bottles of Joe the Crow downed/shared, and a number of beers.
     
  24. Devin

    Devin Time's Up

    Foster Brooks was a comedian who was a frequent guest on Dean's TV show back in the day. Check out some of his clips with Dean on YouTube. The guy was hilarious. During some of the routines Dino couldn't even keep a straight face.
     
  25. ruben lopez

    ruben lopez Nunc Est Bibendum

    Location:
    Barcelona Spain
    Ryan Adams in 2003 in Barcelona,started drinking red wine early on the show...
    the show was great though.3 hours!
     
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