Dave Grohl's broken leg and other rock stars who fell off stage

12 June 2023, 12:50 | Updated: 12 June 2023, 12:55

Remind yourself of some of the most unfortunate on-stage fails in rock. No-one was seriously harmed in the making of this feature.

1. Dave Grohl breaks his leg

   Big Dave Grohl - the stage is his kingdom. But sometimes, it bites back.

   On 12th June 2015, the Foo Fighters frontman hit the headlines when he accidentally fell off stage in Gothenburg, Sweden and got up and returned to finish his set.

   What followed was the news that Grohl had indeed badly broken his leg, and the band were forced to cancel several dates including their headline slot Glastonbury Festival 2015.

   During Grohl's recovery, he famously sat on a a custom made throne, which he subsequently lent to Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, who sustained a foot injury in 2016.

   A month later during a show in Boston, Grohl thanked his doctor for the work he'd done and invited Dr. Lew C. Schon, on stage to perform a solo rendition of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. He was pretty good!

2. Metallica's James Hetfield gets himself into a hole... literally

   Metallica played an unforgettable gig at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome in September 2017, but unfortunately the most memorable part of the set included an epic fall from their frontman.

   But, he didn't just trip or fall off stage. He managed to fall through an open trap door in the middle of the floor. And yet, the metal continued.

3. Eddie Vedder doesn't look before he leaps

   At a show in Italy in 2006, the Pearl Jam frontman attempted to leap over a stack of amps, but misjudged the jump and ended up flat on his face. The incident was preserved for future generations to play over and over again on the Immagine In Cornice live DVD.

4. Steven Tyler - Love In An Elevataaaaaaagh

   The Aerosmith frontman is no stranger to toppling off the edge of the stage. One of the worst incidents was in 2009 at a show in South Dakota, when the singer was hospitalised with neck and head injuries. Nasty - but he was back in action a couple of months later.

   …and it happened again in New Orleans in 2013. Thankfully, Steven bounced back and continued the show.

5. Bono worries health and safety

   For over thirty years now, Bono's eagerness to get closer to his audience has seen him come a cropper… and sometimes climb up the scaffolding, only to get stuck. He's also fallen off stage many, many times. Maybe he shouldn't stand so close to The Edge (ha ha ha).

6. The Edge takes a tumble too

   The U2 guitarist should maybe watch where he's going as he stepped off the...erm...edge of the stage in Vancouver in 2015.

7. Chris Martin gets over-enthusiastic

   The Coldplay singer bruises his ego, if not his bum, while performing onstage in Canada in 2008.

8. Axl Rose is Knockin' On Heaven's Door

   During a Guns N'Roses show in Colombia in 2010, the singer trotted across the huge stage to get a better look at the cheap seats, skidded and landed on his backside. He took it in good humour and - better still - kept his hat on.

9. Pete Doherty gets closer to his audience

   Well, it was bound to happen at some point, wasn't it? The singer takes an impressive tumble during a 2013 show. Nobody breaks his fall.