10 Most Notorious Hell-Raiser Rock Bands
Many bands took things too far - but who took things too furthest?
Rock ‘n’ roll, as a rule, is not built for the faint of heart. You can be a sensitive soul with a message to get across in your emotionally wrought lyrics, sure, but if you’re looking to live that life, you’ve got to be prepared for a little rough and tumble.
The travel, the expectations, the screaming fans - it can become pretty gruelling. And in such circumstances, it’s no surprise that some - most - rockers decide to kick back and party.
There’s indulging in a little carefree leisure time, though - and then there’s the extremes to which some of rock’s most legendary hell-raisers take things. The music industry is filled with tales of excess and wild behaviour, some of them funny, some of them impressive, some of them downright sinister.
The age of the degenerate, uncontrollable, pure id rockstar seems to be fading away - which may be for the best, given some of the legacies left behind - but with a century of hard hitting, fast living cowboys behind us, there’ll always be the stories to revel in, to be wowed by, and often appalled by.
10. Happy Mondays
Few bands have caused so much chaos with such good nature as the Happy Mondays. As part of the Madchester scene of the ‘80s and ‘90s, hedonism was naturally on the cards, and the band embraced the chemicals as much as any raver. And then, they took things that little bit further.
The Mondays’ drug habit was such that they would burn through their record label’s money at an astonishing pace, a lifestyle which has led to several members of the band declaring bankruptcy post-heyday. The uber-mellow ecstasy scene of the band’s early period led to some great psychedelic throwback records.
Things got sinister when the hard stuff set in during the early ‘90s. In an attempt to wean the band off heroin, 1992 album Yes Please was recorded in Barbados, where Shaun Ryder successfully kicked his habit by transitioning onto crack. The sheer excess of this excursion led to the ruination of Factory Records.
Hearteningly, the majority of the Mondays seem to have come out the other side, and while one might argue that the modern mannerisms of Ryder and Bez show remnants of former drug use, the fact that they’re still in one piece, and still intermittently performing, is impressive indeed.