In 1964 a new generation of instrument destruction was born. Out of frustration and possibly embarrassment, Pete Townshend began to smash his Rickenbacker to bits, only for the neck to snap on the ceiling of the Railway Tavern in Harrow
“So I smashed this guitar and jumped all over the bits and then picked up the 12-string and carried on as though nothing had happened,“and the next day the place was packed.” Townshend broke more than 35 guitars in 1967 alone. September 1967. Keith Moon filled his drum kit with explosions, which when exploded at the end of the show caused Bette Davis to faint and caused the onset of Pete Townshend’s tinnitus.
Word of Townshend’s antics spread quickly, and soon afterwards they had inspired a scene in Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 filmBlow Up. While the role in question had been inspired by Townshend, Eric Burden had been asked to play it, but when he declined, the role went to now-legendary guitarist Jeff Beck.
Some, like Kurt Cobain, made an artform out of guitar destruction. Cobain was a notable user of cheap guitars of all sorts, and he left a trail of busted amps that went back for miles.
Perhaps the most famous guitar the Nirvana frontman destroyed was a Fender Stratocaster built in Japan, which he smashed while in the studio recording “Endless, Nameless” on Nevermind.
The guitar was eventually repaired, but around the time Nevermind was released, he smashed the guitar again
Monterey : The Who on the final Sunday of the festival having already blown audiences away with their guitar smashing, Hendrix knew he needed something special – something beyond just smashing another poor guitar – and it was here that his infamous guitar-burning incident took place.The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar,” Hendrix is quoted as saying.
Jimi Hendrix doesn't destroy his guitar with reckless abandon; Jimi Hendrix destroys his guitar with passion. He basically makes love to the thing before finally finishing it off. If you ever wondering if there was an art to the guitar smash, look no futher than Jimi the god.
the Sex Pistols. “Actually we’re not into music. We’re into chaos,” proclaimed guitarist Steve Jones in their first ever interview, which appeared in NME in early 1976 following a support slot for Eddie & The Hot Rods at the London’s Marquee Club, during which they smashed up the headliners’ gear.
Billie Joe was playing with his Green Day bros in Las Vegas when he was told he had one minute left. "One minute!? One minute!?" he screamed over and over in a confusing, fake half-British accent. Then he threatened to show them what one minute was and he smashed his guitar,
KISS' Paul Stanley does it in dramatic fashion, with pyrotechnics to add a litlte flare to the guitar smashing process.
Ritchie Blackmore. He slammed it, swung it by its strings, and didn't stop until that guitar was in pieces.
Jack White instead of going with the obvious guitar vs. ground smash, Jack White holds his instrument up as if declaring a sacrifice about to take place, then he jabs it into the drums for a while before end.
