Egregious Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ozzy Osborne

During a concert at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1982, Ozzy bit the head off a bat. A 17-year-old fan had thrown it onto the stage, and Ozzy, thinking it was a rubber toy, picked it up and bit into it. Yikes! He was immediately rushed to the hospital for rabies shots. The incident became one of the most egregious moments in Rock history!

Ozzy's legacy is pure chaos: besides the bat incident, he also snorted a line of ants on tour and once urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph, a 60-foot monument in San Antonio, Texas, while wearing his wife's dress. He was arrested shortly after. The city banned him from performing in San Antonio for a decade.

Despite it all, he became the godfather of heavy metal. Sadly he passed away on July 22, 2025, at the age of 76.

Answer: Axl Rose

On July 2, 1991, during a Guns N' Roses show at the Riverport Amphitheater near St. Louis, Axl spotted a fan taking photos during the song 'Rocket Queen'. Cameras weren't allowed, and security wasn't acting quickly enough, so he shouted, 'I'll take it, goddamn it!' He then jumped into the crowd, tackled the fan, and tried to grab the camera himself.

After being pulled back on stage, the volatile Mr. Rose slammed the mic down and walked off, ending the show abruptly. The crowd erupted, rioting, looting, and fighting broke out. Dozens were injured, the venue was trashed, and the band fled the scene. Axl was later arrested and charged with inciting a riot. It became known as the 'Rocket Queen Riot'.

Now onto 2025, and a Guns N' Roses concert at Estadio Huracán in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on October 18. During the opening song 'Welcome to the Jungle', Axl, visibly frustrated, threw his microphone at the drum kit, kicked the bass drum, tore off his jacket, and stormed off stage. His outburst was due to a technical issue with his in-ear monitor. He returned to the stage shortly after this and the show went ahead as planned.

Axl has been one of my favourites for many years. Has his level of egregiousness diminished? I shall leave you to judge for yourselves.
: )

Answer: Steven Tyler

In the mid-1970s, Steven Tyler, began a relationship with Julia Holcomb when she was just 16 years old and he was 25. He convinced her parents to sign over legal guardianship, allowing him to take her on tour and live with him. Within months, Julia became pregnant. Tyler later claimed in his memoir that they were in love. Julia has publicly stated she felt manipulated and abandoned, especially after a traumatic house fire and he pressured her to have an abortion that ended their relationship.

The story resurfaced in 2023 when Julia, now known as Julia Misley, filed a lawsuit accusing Tyler of sexual assault, sexual battery, and emotional distress, citing his own memoir as evidence. Tyler's legal defence argued that he had qualified immunity as her guardian and claimed the relationship was consensual, a stance widely condemned by legal experts as 'repugnant' and 'gaslighting'.

The trial was originally scheduled for October 2025, but has now been postponed until 2026.

Answer: Kid Rock

On October 21, 2007, after performing at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Kid Rock and his entourage stopped at a Waffle House around 5 a.m. Inside, they got into a heated argument with another customer, Harlen Akins, who had exchanged words with a woman in Kid Rock's group. Things escalated fast with fists flying and cell phones being smashed. Kid Rock was arrested along with five members of his crew.

He spent 12 hours in jail, later pleaded no contest to assault, and was sentenced to a year of probation, 80 hours of community service, and anger management classes. In 2010, a jury awarded Akins $40,000 in damages, with Kid Rock personally responsible for $6,000. All over a breakfast brawl. Egregious? I think so.

Answer: Keith Moon

Keith Moon's most egregious moment? Hmmm, that's a tough call, as the man was a nonstop chaos machine. But one story stands out above the rest: The Exploding Toilet Incident. On his 21st birthday, Moon checked into a Flint, Michigan, hotel and threw a wild party that ended with him blowing up a toilet using cherry bombs.

The explosion caused thousands in damages, and Moon fled the scene by driving a Lincoln Continental into the hotel pool. The Who was banned from every Holiday Inn in the U.S. after that. Moon later said, 'I don't do drugs. I do explosives'. That single night combined destruction, danger, and egregious excess, and it's still the stuff of rock legend.

Answer: Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison's most egregious scandal unfolded on March 1, 1969, during a Doors concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, Florida. The venue was packed with 10,000 fans, when he, visibly intoxicated, launched into a chaotic, profanity-laced performance. He ranted, taunted the crowd, and allegedly exposed himself on stage, though whether he actually did remains disputed.

The fallout was huge. Morrison was charged with indecent exposure, open profanity, and public drunkenness, facing up to three years in jail. The trial dragged on for over a year, and though he was convicted, he appealed the decision. He died in Paris before the case was resolved.

Answer: Paul Stanley

In April 2023, Paul Stanley, co-founder of KISS, ignited a firestorm by posting a statement on social media calling gender-affirming care for minors a 'sad and dangerous fad'. He criticised parents who support their children's gender transitions, suggesting they were making irreversible decisions too early in life.

The backlash was swift and fierce. Fans, fellow musicians (including The Offspring's guitarist), and LGBTQ+ advocates condemned the remarks as transphobic and misinformed. Stanley later walked back his comments, saying, 'While my thoughts were clear, my words clearly were not', but he didn't delete the original post.

Answer: Keith Richards

In a 2007 interview with NME, Keith Richards casually claimed that he had snorted his father's ashes. His exact words: 'The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. He was cremated, and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. His publicist initially said it was a joke, but Keith later doubled down in his memoir 'Life', confirming that it really happened, or at least, that he wasn't ashamed of it.

According to Richards, the ashes had been sitting around for years, and when some spilt out while he was transferring them, he decided to 'celebrate' the moment with a line. Whether it was a sincere tribute or a drug-fueled impulse, it became one of the most egregious stories in Rock history.

Answer: Billy Idol

In the late 1980s, Billy Idol checked into a luxury hotel in Bangkok and unleashed a multi-day bender so destructive it made Rock history. Fueled by drugs and ego, he trashed his suite, blasted music nonstop, and refused to leave, even after hotel staff and local police begged him to calm down.

Eventually, the Thai military was called in to end the chaos. Idol was reportedly dragged out unconscious on a stretcher, leaving behind thousands in damages and one of the most egregious hotel meltdowns ever recorded. Rock star tantrums are common, but few require government intervention. Now, that's what I call egregious!

Answer: Roger Waters

Roger Waters has racked up a string of egregious controversies in recent years, including political, personal, and legal. In 2025, a UK High Court ruled that he defamed journalist John Ware, calling him a 'lying, conniving Zionist mouthpiece' and accusing him of 'cheerleading the genocide of Palestinians' during an Al Jazeera interview.

The court found his remarks defamatory and deeply offensive. Earlier, in 2023, David Gilmour and Polly Samson publicly labelled Waters 'antisemitic to the rotten core' and a 'Putin apologist', sparking a bitter feud.

He also drew backlash for mocking Ozzy Osbourne after his death, prompting Jack Osbourne to call Waters 'pathetic and out of touch'. Whether it's political firestorms or personal feuds, Waters has become a lightning rod for egregious drama.