Guns 'N Roses frontman Axl Rose created a media firestorm last week when he turned down his induction into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. While his refusal to attend surely upset the group's hardcore fans, Rose's move was nothing out of the ordinary. The notoriously egocentric singer, who broke up his band, reformed it (several times) and subsequently spent more time producing Chinese Democracy than it took for NASA to land a dude on the effing moon, has spent his entire career creating unnecessary drama.
During a 1991 performance in St. Louis, Rose leaped into the audience mid-set, stole a banned camera from a fan, came back on stage and announced "I'm going home." The thousands in the crowd eventually went home too, but not before 2,500 of them decided to riot. And that's only scratching the surface.
Despite his antics over the years, Rose remains just one of a number of lead singers who have created drama within their bands.
Caleb Followill - Kings of Leon
Rock stars are expected to be gritty. We expect the best of them to handle bad weather, unruly fans, broken limbs, and wicked hangovers. So when Kings of Leon canceled a St. Louis show because birds were pooping on them, many fans felt the band wussed out. Because true rock legends wouldn't let flying feces get in the way of their act. Right?
When Kings of Leon got pelted with bird poop, they cut the show short. But when the extreme Texas heat got to them in July 2011, the band ended up cancelling the entire tour! To be fair, we later learned there was much more going on with the band than poor temperature regulation. But try telling that to the fans who shelled out good money to see them play.
Nevertheless, Kings of Leon still get their songs played on rock stations around the world, while Followill can say he's married to one of the most beautiful women in the world, Victoria's Secret Angel Lily Aldridge. So clearly the drama hasn't hurt their popularity.