Random Drunkest Musical Performances In History (12 items)

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  (#1) Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong (2012)

  Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong's years of drinking and substance use finally caught up with him in 2012 while his band was performing at the iHeart Music Festival in Las Vegas. When a monitor alerted him mid-song they had one minute left to perform, Armstrong stopped the song and went on an intoxicated tirade against the festival for cutting their set short.

  Armstrong later said of the incident, which led to him entering rehab:

  I remember tiny things. The next morning, I woke up. I asked [my wife] Adrienne, ‘How bad was it?’ She said, ‘It’s bad.’ I called my manager. He said, ‘You’re getting on a plane, going back to Oakland and going into rehab immediately.'
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  (#2) Nirvana's Kurt Cobain (1991)

  While on tour in 1991 prior to the massive success they achieved with "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Nirvana played a sloppy version of the Nevermind cut "In Bloom," complete with plenty of stumbles both literally and musically. At the beginning of a clip of the incident, singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain can be seen swerving around the stage and staggering his way through the performance.

  The tour in question, a double-header that also featured Sonic Youth, was full of drinking and partying - as told by Dave Markey, a friend of Sonic Youth who accompanied the bands and filmed the festivities. That tour also brought Cobain together with Courtney Love, who was dating Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan at the time and attended the Rotterdam show. 
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  (#3) Guns N' Roses' Slash (1991)

  Guns N' Roses arrived on the scene with a reputation for intense debauchery and incredibly sloppy performances. One of those performances happened in 1991 when guitarist Slash struggled to play the intro to the band's hit "Welcome to the Jungle" - seemingly too inebriated to comprehend the notes he was playing. 

  The previous year, the legendary hard rock guitarist made headlines for cursing at the American Music Awards. 

  "I don’t know what I said onstage, but it was short and sweet. I don’t think there were too many 'f*cks' in it," he later said of the event.
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  (#4) Beach Boys' Carl Wilson (1978)

  During a 1978 performance of "Good Vibrations," the Beach Boys' Carl Wilson drunkenly stumbled over lyrics and went extremely off-pitch throughout his signature lead. It was a low point in the band's history, which continued to get lower until the passing of Wilson's brother Dennis in 1983. 

  Carl passed of lung cancer in 1998, decades after the height of the band's commercial success and their landmark release, Pet Sounds. 
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  (#5) Avril Lavigne (2009)

  In 2009, Avril Lavigne appeared as a guest of comedic glam metal band Steel Panther, and fans reported she was seemingly drunk as she performed "I Love Rock 'n Roll" (written by Alan Merrill and made famous by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts). Lavigne's spirited performance was completely off key, and more than a little embarrassing.

  Lavigne has a history with Steel Panther - she reportedly almost had them at her wedding. When the "Complicated" singer married Chad Kroeger, the band was rumored to be their choice for entertainment.

  The band announced on their YouTube page:

  We're going to a wedding. We are going to be playing at 'Chaz' and Avril Lavigne's wedding. We've never been to a wedding before … obviously, nobody in our band has ever gotten married, none of our parents ever got married. I don't even know who my Dad is.
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  (#6) Eddie Van Halen (2004)

  In what became known as a horrible and disastrous chapter in Van Halen history, Eddie Van Halen's problems with alcohol and substance addiction peaked during his 2004 reunion with Sammy Hagar. The tour was plagued by rough performances, particularly one involving Van Halen's guitar becoming unplugged while he played inebriated and his tech struggling to fix the problem.

  Tensions between Hagar and the rest of Van Halen were at an all-time high during the reunion, due in part to the singer's reported insistence that they use co-founder and original bassist Michael Anthony. Eddie and Alex Van Halen were both allegedly angered that Anthony stayed friends with Hagar after the initial split. That, combined with Eddie's alleged drinking, led to a combustible situation.

  The doomed 2004 tour ended after Eddie smashed his guitar on stage, allegedly crying and telling the crowd, "You don't understand."
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  (#7) Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland (2010)

  The late Scott Weiland had a long history of substance issues leading up to his passing in 2015. One of his most notorious incidents took place at a Stone Temple Pilots show in Houston, Texas. In footage of the show, the singer goes on a bizarre rant about "god and friendship," admitting that he'd recently started drinking and noticeably slurring his words.

  The show was made worse by the fact that the set was shortened and they had a late start - furthering the concern over Weiland's drinking. 
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  (#8) The Doors' Jim Morrison (1970)

  By 1970, Jim Morrison's drinking and substance use had reached its peak. In one particularly embarrassing moment, Morrison went on a drunken rant in front of a crowd. "Come out from behind that false mustache, Adolf. I know you're in there," Morrison tells the crowd before keyboardist Ray Manzarek implores him to "knock it off."

  In an alleged event the same year, Morrison drunkenly yelled at a Boston crowd after promoters cut power to everything except his vocal microphone. Manzarek pulled Morrison off stage and the show was over. Their next show was canceled, and the end was in sight. Morrison passed the following year. 
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  (#9) Creed's Scott Stapp (2002)

  A 2002 Creed concert in Chicago was so drunkenly bad, fans collectively sued the group members over their shared experience. The lawsuit claimed that singer Scott Stapp was "so intoxicated and/or medicated" that he was unable to sing.

  "Stapp left the stage on several occasions during songs for long periods of time, rolled around on the floor of the stage in apparent pain or distress, and appeared to pass out while on stage during the performance," the suit alleged. 

  The band subsequently issued a statement apologizing for the performance, in which they attempted to spin it as "the most unique of all Creed shows" and a part of "rock and roll history."
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  (#10) Oasis' Liam Gallagher (1997)

  By 1997, Oasis was riding high on their massive wave of success around the world. The Manchester group had already played their legendary Knebworth shows in front of 250,000 people and were experiencing the thrills of rock stardom. Unfortunately, tensions between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher were mounting and their on- and off-stage debauchery didn't help.

  At a 1997 gig in France, an inebriated Liam sat down on the stage, ran around in a stupor, climbed on top of everything he could, and played the drummer's cymbals with his hands, all in front of thousands of fans.  
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  (#11) The Replacements (1986)

  The Replacements' 1986 appearance on Saturday Night Live got them banned from the show and cemented their legacy as one of the most unpredictable live bands in history. The story goes that the band members, in particular, guitarist Bob Stinson, had been drinking throughout the day and were extremely loosened up by the time they went live.

  During the performance, singer Paul Westerberg stumbled through the vocals and occasionally went off mic to wander around the stage. At one point, he turned to Stinson and said, "Come on, f*cker!" to the outrage of the network. The group were banned from SNL by creator Lorne Michaels. 
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  (#12) Amy Winehouse (2011)

  Addiction issues plagued Amy Winehouse throughout her career. While performing in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2011, the late singer's struggles were on full display. For an hour and a half, the singer struggled her way through her set and became erratic - throwing her microphone to the ground and leaving her band on stage while she wandered off it. Winehouse was booed by fans throughout the performance.

  The tour in question was intended to be a new start for the singer after years of issues. Hotel staff in Belgrade were even ordered to remove alcohol from her room. The efforts to keep her sober were unsuccessful, however, and she passed later that year. 

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