By nature, musicians are a rowdy bunch. When tempers run high, as they often do with this hot-blooded bunch, stuff gets broken. And by "stuff," we mean musicians themselves.
When musicians fight, it's often very public, very bloody, and the source of national news.
Such was the case this week when Nicki Minaj got into an altercation at Dallas' Palomar Hotel on Monday night. Although Nicki appears to have survived her ordeal with nary a scratch on her, other musicians have not fared so well. If you think Nicki's hotel snafu is a big deal, click on the jump for ten musician fights that make Nickigate look tame.
All we've gotta say about it is this: You kids better cut it out before someone gets hurt.
10. Pete Wentz v. Albuquerque bouncer, 2007. When Fall Out Boy invited a bunch of fans onstage during a show, an altercation ensued between FOB's personal security guard and one of the club's bouncers. Pete leapt to his guard's defense, and the ensuing brawl found Pete and the bouncer toppling offstage and continuing to trade blows in the audience. Those emo kids sure do like blood.
9. Kid Rock v. Tommy Lee, 2007. Pamela Anderson sure knows how to pick 'em. We're not sure exactly why Kid Rock punched Tommy Lee at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards -- and post-fight interviews with the astonishingly eloquent Kid and Tommy don't give many clues, either. Being firm believers in Darwinism, we think the security should've let 'em duke it out.
8. Lamb of God v. each other, 2008. Bands probably duke it out plenty in the privacy of their tour buses from time to time. But this one is notable because someone with a video camera got the dubious honor of recording these metalheads having a drunken spat. The best line in the video, clearly, is the one directed at highly intoxicated singer Randy Blythe, who has inexplicably acquired an Irish accent during the course of the brawl: "Dude! Randy! You're American!"
7. Leona Lewis v. a fan, 2009. Lewis was signing copies of her autobiography at a book store when a deranged fan punched her out of the blue, apparently because he auditioned for X Factor and didn't get in. The lesson to be learned here: Reality show rejects are not to be messed with.
6. Axl Rose v. fans, ongoing. We tried to pick just one of the substantial list of Axl fights for this list. It wasn't easy. We eventually settled on this particular one because, a) there's clear video of it, and b) it reads much the same as other Axl fight against a fan. It's an oldie but goodie: Fan pisses Axl off, Axl dives in and tries to fight them, hijinks ensue. That's our Axl!
5. Glenn Danzig v. Danny Marianiho, 2004. Apparently, North Side Kings singer Marianiho got a little peeved by Danzig's diva 'tude, and knocked him out with one punch. We're on Danzig's side on this one, though. For two reasons. One, Danzig's barely over five feet tall. Two, if you aren't aware of Danzig's massive ego, you have no right to call yourself a metalhead. Expect the Napoleon complex, dammit, and just let him get it out of his teeny tiny system. No need to punch him.
4. Anton Newcombe v. the rest of Brian Jonestown Massacre, 1996. Brian Jonestown Massacre finally got some record executives to come to their show and hear them play -- and what does singer Anton Newcombe do? He starts punching out everyone in sight. GODDAMMIT.
3. Chuck Berry v. Keith Richards, 1981. Keef went backstage to say hi to Berry. When he tapped Berry on the shoulder, Berry, thinking it was an annoying fan asking for his autograph, whirled around and clocked poor Keef. Richards had this to say about Berry after the scuffle: "I love his work, but I couldn't warm to him even if I was cremated next to him."
2. Kurt Cobain v. Turner Van Blarcum, 1991. According to one of the sound guys working at Dallas' Own Trees that night, Kurt clocked Turner in the head with his guitar, and Turner let him have it. Rumor has it that the fight continued after the show. Whether or not you believe the one about Turner punching out a cab window to get at Kurt is up to you. We just know that we wouldn't mess with a big dude with skulls tattooed on his head, even if we were a grunge superstar.
1. Rihanna v. Chris Brown, 2009. The domestic disturbance heard 'round the world. Brown's career has never quite recovered; the thrashing he received by the public was just desserts for the incident. Rihanna, on the other hand, has healed nicely, and has taken over the charts in the process.
