WDHA Holidays 2019

8 Crazy Nights In Rock History

Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

December 22nd, 2019 5:00 AM

Tonight (December 22) marks the first night of Hanukkah, and thanks to Adam Sandler referring to the holiday as “Eight Crazy Nights,” we thought we’d look back at eight crazy nights in rock history. Enjoy!

Nikki Sixx OD’s, Inspires “Kickstart My Heart”
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As the story goes, Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx overdoses on heroin while partying with Steven Adler, Slash and Ratt’s Robbin Crosby. He passes out, turns blue, declared dead but is brought back to life thanks to an adrenaline injection from the paramedics. Thus, a rock hit is born.
Ozzy & The Alamo
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Ozzy Osbourne was famously arrested in February 1982 when he was caught urinating on a monument near the historic Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. He would also famously be banned from performing in San Antonio for a decade. Not only would he return and rock San Antonio, but he revisited the Alamo with his son, Jack, in 2015 for their History Channel series 'Ozzy & Jack's World Detour.'
Axl Rose & the Riverport Riot
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On July 2, 1991, Guns N' Roses were playing a show at the Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Mo. when Axl Rose cut the set short after seeing a fan in the crowd with a camera. Cut to the infamous “Well, thanks to the lame-ass security, I’m going home!” line….and cue riot!
The Led Zeppelin Mudshark Incident
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This wild (and alleged) night is still highly debated as to whether it happened or didn't happen and whether Zeppelin and/or Vanilla Fudge were involved, but we all have heard about this story by now. If you haven't, Google it, because I have a good feel if I were to describe it, I might get fired.
Any given night with Keith Moon
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Truth be told, this list alone could have been about eight different crazy stories about Keith Moon, from blowing up hotel room toilets or his infamous 21st birthday party at a Holiday Inn in Flint, Mich. Just pick any night! As Alice Cooper once said in an interview with Fretlight Guitar, "I always tell people 30 percent of what you've heard about me is true, [but] everything you've heard about Keith Moon is true."
R.E.M’s Peter Buck Loses It On An Airplane
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It’s not uncommon for rock stars to engage in questionable behavior high up in the sky, but when news broke that R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck went on what was called a “drunken rampage” during a 2002 British Airways flight, needless to say many were taken aback. He supposedly drank about 15 glasses of wine on a trans-Atlantic flight on British Airways. He would later be acquitted on assault charges from the incident.
Police Raid Keith Richards’ Home
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Richards' home in Sussex was infamously raided by police in 1967. Various drug possession charges were levied against Richards, Mick Jagger and then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull, who was reportedly only wearing a fur rug at the time of the bust. Not sure how one could wear a rug, but that and the alleged Mars Bar were also part of the legend. (Once again, Google it. I don't want to get fired.)
Jim Morrison arrested for allegedly exposing himself.
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Probably one of the Lizard King’s most infamous moments, Morrison was arrested in March 1969 for apparently dropping his pants during a concert in Florida, even though no photographic evidence was found. In 2010, Florida's clemency board would pardon Morrison posthumously of the charges.