14 Disastrous First Gigs Endured By Some Of The World’s Biggest Artists

Thank god for mom's spaghetti.
14 Disastrous First Gigs Endured By Some Of The World’s Biggest Artists

Some of the world's biggest rock stars came out swingin', starting fights and kicking asses at their first show. Others… straight-up pooped their pants. Here are the humble beginnings of some of your favorite artists, on a scale from Mötley Crüe to Ed Sheeran:

AC/DC CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: Bassist Dave Evans says the venue owner wasn't used to everything rocking and rolling, SO he would literally pull the plug on the band when they got too loud (approximately every 20 minutes).
Guns N' Roses CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: The boys kicked off their inaugural tour by... breaking down, hitchhiking for 40 hours, getting a pay cut for their first gig, and having the rest of their shows straight-up cancelled.
Def Leppard CRACKED FIRST SHOW: Joe Elliot says guitarist Steve Clark forgot to plug in his amp and blew his first badass rockstar moment: He did his windmill arm motion for the big opening chord and nothing happened. Everybody in the audience was laughing.
Motley Crue CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: Vince Neil says they sparked a brawl before they finished their first song: People were yelling, 'Fuck you!' One meathead hocked a loogey on my white leather pants. I leapt off the stage and started pummeling him.
The Velvet Underground GRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: Drummer Angus MacLise made a big deal of quitting the band after their first gig because they sold out by accepting $75 for a cover set in a high school auditorium.
Ed Sheeran CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: Ed may have straight-up spackled his drawers before his first gig. In his defense, he was 11 and it was a school concert: I remember sh*ing myself beforehand, being at home and crying to my dad: 'I don't want to do it!''
The Sex Pistols GRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: They borrowed gear from the headliner they were opening for... and smashed it on stage, causing a big-ass fight.
The Beatles CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: George Harrison was almost booted from the venue for breaking the dress code... the foppish bloke wore jeans.
Kings of Leon CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: The southern garage rock band knew they had to tweak their tone when they saw a ton of cowboy hats at their first gig: I said to the guys, 'You f*cking country it up. Tonight, these songs will be alternative country.
Blur CRACKED FIRST SHOW: Their first gig was at a relative's birthday party... at a train museum. Despite the dull venue, they tore sh* up: We were extremely energetic, pushing the drum kit over and smashing guitars.

Oasis

Oasis CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: Noel Gallagher watched the first Oasis show from the sidelines-- and thought they sucked. But he saw an opportunity to weasel into his brother's project and play some stuff he'd been working on solo.

The Doors

The Doors CRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: Guitarist Robby Krieger says their first gig was as a jazz cover band at their keyboardist's mom's office holiday party: We had to play jazz standards and stuff like that. It was fun!
Muse Matshall GRACKED.COM FIRST SHOW: In 1994, the Rocket Baby Dolls won a battle of the bands by playing a few Nirvana covers. Matt Bellamy got taken out by security for smashing his equipment, but escaped and returned to the stage to keep on smashin'.
Scroll down for the next article
Forgot Password?