Stage diving is the act of leaping from a

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

stage onto the crowd below, which occasionally causes serious injuries. It is often the precursor to crowd surfing. Long before the word was invented, public stagediving took place during the first Dutch concert by The Rolling Stones at the

Kurhaus of Scheveningen The Kurhaus of Scheveningen, The Hague in the Netherlands is a hotel which has been called the Grand Hotel Amrâth Kurhaus The Hague since October 2014. It is located in the main seaside resort area, near the beach. History The Kurhaus was bui ...

on August 8, 1964. Many musicians have made stage diving a part of their stage act. Jim Morrison was an early performer known for having jumped into the crowd at several concerts. Iggy Pop is often credited with popularising stage diving in popular rock music. Initially seen as confrontational and extreme, stage diving has become common at

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pu ...

and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

performances.

Risks and incidents

Stage diving has occasionally caused serious injuries. One example is when Peter Gabriel of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

at the Friars club in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wyco ...

on June 19, 1971 stage dove during the end of their song " The Knife", landing on his foot, thus breaking his ankle. On 20 August 2010, Charles Haddon, the lead singer of English synthpop band Où Est Le Swimming Pool, died after a performance at Pukkelpop, Belgium. He committed suicide by jumping from a telecommunications mast in the backstage artists' parking area. Haddon was reported to have been distressed after he feared he had seriously injured a young girl earlier after a stagedive. In 2012, singer Randy Blythe of American heavy metal band

Lamb of God Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...

was indicted on (and later acquitted of) charges of manslaughter relating to the death of a fan in the Czech Republic after the fan was injured after being pushed off the stage. In February 2014, federal judge

Jan E. DuBois Jan Ely DuBois (born January 17, 1931) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Education and career A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, DuBois graduated from the ...

ruled that Fishbone had to pay $1.4 million to a woman who broke her skull and

collarbone The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the righ ...

during a 2010 concert in Philadelphia when

Angelo Moore Angelo Carmen Christopher Moore (born November 5, 1965) is an American musician, best known for his work as lead singer and saxophonist for the Los Angeles ska and funk metal band Fishbone. Moore also performs and records under the stage name Dr ...

stage-dove and landed on top of her. Another fatal stage diving incident occurred in May 2014 in New York City during a performance of the metalcore band

Miss May I Miss May I is an American metalcore band from Troy, Ohio. Formed in 2007, they signed to Rise Records in 2008 and released their debut album, '' Apologies Are for the Weak'' through the label while the members were still attending high school. ...

. Although the fan was able to walk away after falling from the stage, the concert was cut short after he fainted. He later died in hospital.

References

External links

"Is Jumping on Someone's Head OK? Musicians Weigh In on the Great Stagedive Debate"
at ''Vice'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stage Diving Punk Heavy metal subculture Rock music Syllabus-free dance de:Crowdsurfing#Stagediving

Risks and incidents

See also

References

External links