Entertainment
Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell punches guitarist Dave Navarro as US rock band’s reunion gig ends in chaos
A concert by US rock band Jane’s Addiction ended early after lead singer Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro on stage in the middle of a song.
Videos posted on social media showed Farrell, 65, becoming upset as they played their 1986 song Ocean Size in Boston on Friday night.
The singer is filmed walking towards Navarro and shouting in his face before aggressively bumping shoulders with the guitarist.
Navarro, 57, eventually stopped playing and put a hand up to Farrell’s chest as Farrell continued to shout at his longtime bandmate.
He then punched Navarro’s shoulder as others, including bassist Eric Avery, intervened to break it up.
Dave Navarro (R) apologised to fans while stage crew restrained Perry Farrell. Pic: @banditodelfuego via Storyful
More members of the stage crew then restrained Farrell, while Navarro walked away before taking off his guitar and kneeling at the front of the stage, reportedly to apologise to fans.
Farrell was seen still apparently struggling as he was dragged off stage.
Perry’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, said on Instagram he lost his temper because “night after night… his voice was being drowned out by the band”.
Farrell and Navarro on stage in New York last week. Pic: AP
She said Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night, and “lost it” when people in the front row complained that “the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him”.
Her husband was “a crazed beast for the next half an hour” [backstage] where he broke down and “cried and cried,” she added.
The gig in Boston, part of the outfit’s Imminent Redemption reunion tour, ended after 11 songs, Variety said, adding that they normally played 14 or 15 numbers.
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Fans said on social media that tension looked to have been brewing for several songs before the confrontation, according to Rolling Stone.
The fallout follows a show in New York where Farrell told the audience that “something’s wrong with my voice. I just can’t get the notes out all of a sudden”.
The band, formed in Los Angeles in 1985, consists of Farrell, Navarro, Avery, and drummer Stephen Perkins.
They are in the middle of a US tour, with the next gig scheduled for Sunday in Hartford, Connecticut.
Sky News has contacted Jane’s Addiction for comment.