Live performances often epitomize glitter and luxury, yet backstage, the truth can be incredibly harsh. Just inquire with these opening acts.
Picture this: stepping onto the stage and giving it your all when you're merely an opening act for countless spectators who have gathered primarily to watch someone else.
Earlier this month, a The singer-songwriter disclosed the 'catastrophic' conclusion to what was supposed to be the most memorable night of her life. Supporting Coldplay during their global tour.
Sadly, the singer – Indian artist Jasleen Royal, who faced boos and jeers when she was forced offstage – isn’t the sole supporting act to receive a harsh reception from an unsympathetic audience.
Has anyone ever hurled bottles of urine at you, made you cry in front of massive crowds, or attempted to throw an ax at your head? These individuals have experienced such incidents.
Below are some of the absolute worst accounts of tough nights experienced as an opening act, featuring stories from all tiers of the live music scene.
Jasleen Royal
Jasleen Royal, aged 33, is an Indian singer-songwriter with slightly more than ten years of experience in the industry. She received her biggest break ever when she was invited to open for Coldplay during their global tour starting in January 2025.
However, everything began poorly and deteriorated further, as Jasleen’s performance was marred by audio glitches and technical difficulties that disrupted the entire event.
In the documentary titled "Dare To Dream," Jasleen shared that her in-ear monitors failed, causing her to lose hearing of herself during the performance.
Jasleen, who performs in multiple Indian languages and was introduced as Coldplay’s ‘surprise guest,’ unfortunately had her performance overshadowed by jeers from the audience.
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"There's immense pressure. I feel like I might collapse. Honestly, I believe I could crumble under this stress. There's so much information to digest. It's overwhelming," she explained further. "We don't want anyone thinking that she didn't belong here or questioning why she is present at all; some folks simply wanted Coldplay," she continued.
Later that evening, Jasleen was invited back onto the stage by Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin, and they sang a duet together. This choice left many fans puzzled even after the show ended.
Prince
In April 2016, Prince passed away, leaving behind an ongoing sense of loss within the pop music community. He was a renowned singer-songwriter and producer who stood out as one of the most impactful and commercially successful figures in popular music history.
However, in 1981, prior to achieving any top 40 successes in the UK, he faced severe mistreatment from devoted followers of The Rolling Stones when opening for the rock band during their Tattoo You tour.
You may ponder why a pop artist who incorporated funk and dance into his music ended up backing 'Dad rock' like that of Mick Jagger & company—apparently, even the audience shared this confusion.
Individuals started throwing edibles at the stage, which was quickly followed by bottles and cans. On that particular evening, Prince's bassist, Mark Brown, recounted: "A bag of fried chicken struck me on the shoulder; subsequently, a big grapefruit collided with the tuning pegs of my guitar, causing it to go out of tune."
Bill Graham, the gig promoter, stepped onto the stage intending to ease tensions, but his efforts were unsuccessful. The opening act was cut short after just four songs, and Prince supposedly left the premises in tears.
Prince pledged to combat the pessimism during the Stones' upcoming performance two days hence, yet met with comparable outcomes and subsequently withdrew his support.
Texas
So far, Scottish pop-rock band Texas has achieved 13 top-10 hits in the UK charts along with three chart-topping albums. However, there was a time when they were merely another emerging group striving for recognition.
Following the unexpected triumph of their first album, particularly with the hit single "I Don’t Want a Lover," Southside was catapulted into fame and subsequently asked to open for Scottish rock group Simple Minds during their 1989 tour.
However, things did not go smoothly, as the band allegedly had plastic bottles filled with urine thrown at them—not only during a performance in Cardiff but also at Wembley Stadium.
Lead singer Sharleen Spiteri stood boldly on stage, allegedly addressing the audience with: "Do you think it's acceptable to toss bottles at a young girl performing up here?"
After one of the bottles seemingly struck Sharleen on her head, additional projectiles continued to be tossed. This escalated as more items were hurled at the stage until eventually, the band decided to depart.
Following that tour, it was an additional eight years before Texas could replicate the success of "I Don’t Want a Lover." However, they ultimately emerged victorious, turning into one of the most successful British acts throughout the 2000s.
Jimi Hendrix
In the 1960s, both Jimi Hendrix and The Monkees were among the most prominent figures globally; however, their musical worlds could not have been more distinct from one another—this difference cannot be overstated.
For some reason, these two performances were scheduled as part of a tour in 1967. To this day, the real organizer behind the concerts remains unknown... and they were short-lived at that.
Hendrix, who passed away in 1970 at the age of 27 and was famous for his frenzied and erratic performances, seemed to be performing for crowds consisting mainly of 'parents and young children'.
Although the initial performances were satisfactory, the concerts later turned into what many recall as farcical events. It seemed that Hendrix started feeling restless due to the unsupportive audiences — ultimately, he chose to leave the tour before it concluded.
Shortly after, Hendrix was cited by the NME as stating: "A few parents accompanied by their small children felt that our performance was crude. We concluded it was simply the incorrect crowd. I believe they're substituting me with Mickey Mouse."
Ween
WEEN's unconventional methodology attracted numerous devotees, such as the prominent hardcore punk leader Henry Rollins, yet simultaneously alienated a significant number of others.
In 1990, after leaving his band Black Flag, Henry embarked on a solo tour across America, and he asked Ween to open for him for several evenings, as he had long been an admirer of their work.
However, once Ween performed several songs, the audience started to lose interest – this compelled Henry to act swiftly before his own performance began.
He emerged to address the 'varied response,' saying: '[Ween] originated from an absolute void in music, emerging from complete obscurity.' one a beam of light, and here we have Ween. For those of you who aren't fond of Ween—I recommend giving them another chance starting right now.
'[Someday], you can say you witnessed their rise before their launch into fame. There will always be critics, there will always be those who dismiss genuine talent.'
To an extent, Henry was correct. Although Ween didn’t exactly launch into superstardom via a “rocket,” they achieved modest chart performance on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Suicide
By the late 1970s, The Clash had become one of the leading bands in the nation, enjoying great success following their second album, "Give 'Em Enough Rope."
In order to commemorate the occasion, the iconic punk group opted to feature some newly found talents during their 1978 United Kingdom tour, highlighting musicians whose sounds they genuinely enjoyed.
The group selected for the support position included the influential electro-punk pair Suicide, who gained recognition with their independently issued eponymous first album in 1977, which had remained relatively unnoticed.
One could safely state that Glasgow's punk scene wasn't particularly receptive to Suicide's unfiltered electronic sound; during their performance, audience members weren't shy about expressing their disapproval, with one person even hurling an axe towards the band.
They told The Guardian In 2008: 'Each performance back then felt as intense as being in World War III. Every evening, I believed I might not make it out alive. As time wore on, I kept thinking, "The chances are high that this could be the end for me".'
'I suppose we were too rebellious even for the punk scene. They despised us. I provoked them by saying, "You'll have to go through us to reach the main act." That's when an ax swung dangerously close to my head, barely missing me.'
Bring Me the Horizon
In today’s scene, Bring Me the Horizon has emerged as one of the leading rock acts globally, performing their blend of alternative metal for audiences across large venues worldwide.
However, two decades back, during the time their first album "Count Your Blessings" was released, they were just a group of teenage boys sporting floppy emo hairstyles and wearing skinny jeans—and let’s be clear, they were not your typical metal fans. hated them.
When they supported the American heavy metal band Killswitch Engage during their 2007 European tour, they received a taste of just how much they were despised.
The guitarist of Bring Me the Horizon, Lee Malia, stated Metal Injection In 2022: There was gatekeeping – people claimed we didn’t belong or that we were attempting to be part of the metal scene without justification.
When we used to perform support tours, about 80% of the audience would dislike us," he added that they were "jeered and pelted with bottles" multiple times during the late 2000s.
He went on: "When we initially began as a band, we faced strong opposition from metal enthusiasts who despised us and constantly gave us a hard time, but that’s how things were."
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