These days there’s no escaping the celebrity pap-shot. Flick through the gossip pages and you’ll spy Miley Cyrus or Rihanna, their eyes half-closed, stumbling drunk, or carried, out of some hip club that thinks neon lights equal class. But they’ve got nothing on these legendary musical hellraisers. Here are our musical hellraisers, starting with:
The Rat Pack
Deano, Sammy and Frank. Just say those names and you’ll have an image of a tuxedo’d guy with his neck tie undone, glass of whiskey in one hand, cigarette in the other. The Rat Pack has had a number of members over the years, including actors Peter Lawford, David Niven, Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall and original pack leader Humphrey Bogart. But it always comes back to singers Martin, Davis Jr. and Sinatra, the kings of cool during the 1950’s and 60’s.
Ozzy Osbourne
The Godfather of Heavy Metal, Ozzy Osbourne spent much of his career strung out on dope and booze and was, according to his bandmates, always the last one standing. He even recorded a track called ‘Hellraisers’, which should tell you something. In later life, he found a new fan-base with the MTV reality show The Osbournes. But his domesticated existence pales in comparison with the mythical status of some of Ozzy’s supposed antics biting the heads off of bats, anyone? But true or not, people don’t care: it just fits with their idea of the Black Sabbath singer.
The Rolling Stones
Back in the day, if there was a party, it would usually have Mick, Keith and more than one bottle at the centre of it. The legendary singer and lead guitarist of The Stones have openly admitted to dabbling in pretty much every vice from drink and drugs to Marianne Faithful and a Mars Bar if you believe the rumours. Jokes abound about how they’re still alive after so much partying, and even Keith Richards wryly expressed disappointment when he was dropped from a list of celebrities most likely to die after ten years at the top spot.
The Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols didn’t last very long, but man, did they ever leave an imprint on music. Whether you dig on rancorous lyrics shouted at you by a maniacal front-man or not, it’s undeniable that the Pistols tapped into a certain 70’s psyche. Led by the rebellious Johnny Rotten and bassist Sid Vicious, the Sex Pistols sung about anarchy, Britain’s apparently foolish deference to the Queen, and swore on early evening live TV, provoking a maelstrom of indignation from the sort of people who the Sex Pistols hated anyway. Even 30 years after their formation, when inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they declined the invitation, calling the museum a ‘p*** stain’. That’s punk, right there!
Amy Winehouse
Back in the early years of the 21st century you couldn’t open a tabloid without seeing the beehive barnetted Amy Winehouse groggily stumbling out of some hip London bar with all the elegance of a cat on stilts. She was described as a ‘filthy-mouthed, down-to-earth diva’ and ‘a perfect storm of sex kitten, raw talent and poor impulse control.’ It didn’t end well for the soul singer though, who died in 2011. Unless you’re Keith Richards, drink and drug cocktails rarely work out in the long run. She binged her way through copious amounts of vodka and straight into the infamous 27 Club. Just before she overdosed, she was well on her way down,missing engagements and rambling lyricless through tracks like ‘Valerie’.
Keith Moon
If you’re looking for a true musical hellraiser, look no further than Keith Moon of The Who. You could pretty much write a whole book on Moon’s misdemeanours alone. Moon pretty much created and defined what a rock and roll hellraiser should be. The British drummer had a penchant for blowing up toilets with dynamite, throwing TVs out the windows of hotel rooms, and he drank and drugged himself up to the eyeballs. As a consequence, he was banned from every hotel he ever attempted to check into. One memorable encounter with a hotel manager saw the man ask Moon to turn down his music as it was too loud. Moon excused himself, popped an explosive down the toilet and returned. After the loo was blown to smithereens, Moon said: ‘Now that, dear boy, is noise.’ On another occasion, he loaded his drum-kit with gunpowder set to ignite at the climax of The Who’s anthem, ‘My Generation.’ The blast deafened the band, singed Pete Townshend’s hair, and lodged shrapnel in Moon’s arm. Rock on!
If you want to get your party on, here at London Speaker Hire we can help. Contact us for high-quality party equipment for hire, and try out our new Jagermeister Machine for the full hellraiser effect. As ever though, please drink responsibly,remember, you’re not Keith Richards.