5 Seconds of Summer guitarist burned by fireworks live on stage
A show by Aussie pop band 5 Seconds of Summer came to a premature end on Saturday after one performer was burned in a pyrotechnic accident.
Videos from the Wembley Arena in London show the moment Michael Clifford accidentally strayed into the path of an explosion which left him with burn injuries to his face.
Clifford can clearly be seen recoiling from the flames and moving quickly to the back of the stage and out of view of the audience.
His band mates, upon learning of the mishap, called off the show and reassured fans the guitarist would recover.
“Michael has hurt himself so we will not be continuing the show right now. He is OK,” drummer Ashwin Irwin told the crowd.
The accident saw fans wishing him well on social media and Clifford tweeting a picture of himself wrapped in bandages giving a thumbs up.
“Sorry I couldn’t finish but a least I look like two face. Thanks for worrying,” he wrote.
Clifford now joins other musical luminaries, including Michael Jackson and Metallica’s James Hetfield to spectacularly burst into flames in front of fans and cameras.
KISS’ Gene Simmons has also felt the pain of pyrotechnics gone bad and even professional wrestlers have earned reality checks thanks to special effects gone bad.
When pop legend Michael Jackson was filming a commercial for Pepsi in 1984 things took a nasty turn. It was not a live performance but the accident took MJ out of circulation for a while courtesy of second and third degree burns to his scalp.
Pyrotechnic accidents and general set breakdowns became a common trope for Metallica in the years that followed James Hetfield's infamous stage accident. This time though burns forced the singer and guitarist to abandon a set in Montreal when the metal gods were opening for Guns 'n' Roses.
The show has entered into rock folklore, partially because of Hetfield's early exit but also because of Axl Rose's decision to take the stage late before making his own early exit because of voice problems.
A riot ensued.
For decades afterwards Metallica used faux-technical problems as a tool to hype the crowd. German shock rockers Rammstein, on the other hand, just use fire to make a point in almost every show they play.
It's not just rock gods who have to be wary of their pyrotechnics though. The veteran WWE performer and legendary professional wrestler known as the Undertaker (or Mark Calaway when he's at home) broke character for just a split second when he caught fire on the way to the ring at a major event in 2010.
Incredibly, Calaway not only made it to the ring but he completed his performance despite obviously feeling the effects of the flames. Dave Grohl would be proud.
Fellow supernatural being Gene Simmons from KISS has felt the heat as well. KISS are famed for their stage show and Gene especially has built a reputation as a fire breathing demon (when he's on stage at least). Not even demons are completely fire proof though.
He didn't catch fire but the Foo Fighters' founder Dave Grohl knows how badly a show can go wrong. This week he made headlines after falling off the stage, badly injuring his leg and then bravely finishing his show.
