...Gary Thrain, bass player for Uriah Heep, got electrocuted during a gig at SMU's Moody Coliseum. According to this Web site, here's how it went down...
...bassist Gary Thain, ordinarily very calm and even subdued, suddenly started seemingly dancing and jiggling around wildly on the right side of the stage where he was playing.The band members didn't immediately realize what was happening, and continued playing until he hit the floor perhaps after only five seconds later. The crowd had been totally rocking out; then a weird silence descended, and then people started to talk, but in an almost hushed tone. After a quick medic exam, two guys carried him out, and man, he was stiff as a board. They only had to grasp his shoulders and his feet. It was obvious he had sustained a terrible electric shock through his bass guitar.
C'mon, that's a little funny, right? He didn't die--although, actually, he did. But that came a year later and was due to a heroine overdose...
The good news is that, apparently, the band came back to SMU later to play a free show to make up for the ordeal. So, everybody won! Well, except for Thrain, but, y'know... --Pete Freedman