On August 8, 1992, Metallica, Faith No More and Guns N’ Roses gave a show at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. A show that has gone down in history, but not for musical reasons. Back to the events.
Posted at 7:33 a.m.
Updated at 7:35 a.m.
The protagonists
The groups Metallica, Guns N’ Roses and Faith No More were to hold what many called the show of the century. After pyrotechnic elements undergo a configuration change, Metallica singer James Hetfield suffers an accident on stage. He suffered severe burns to his arms and face. The band’s show is interrupted. Known for their touring antics, Axl Rose and his band kept fans waiting for… two hours before finally hitting the stage for a show lasting just 55 minutes, telling the 57,000 fans to get to reimburse.
the riot
Of course, fans who paid for their tickets said they didn’t get their money’s worth. The event promoter also said fans will not be reimbursed. Tempers flared. Sweaters were burned on the floor. Broken toilets. Burned-out advertising cars. The police were not prepared. For good reason: they expected the show to end later. Thus, once the rioters were outside, police cars, streetlights, post boxes were vandalized.
The balance sheet
Ten civilians were injured. There are also eight injured police officers. A dozen arrests were made and damage was assessed at nearly half a million dollars. To quote an article by Marie-Christine Blais published on Saturday August 15, 1992:
Last Saturday, the admirers of Guns N’ Roses understood that their idol did not like them. That the title of the band’s latest album, Use Your Illusionmay not translate as “use your illusions”, but as “we take advantage of your illusions”.
Marie-Christine Blais