Francesca Rudkin: I go to concerts for the music, not to get famous on TikTok

So what is going on with people throwing objects at musicians on stage?  

I know. It’s not the most pressing issue in the world today, but it’s Friday, after all.  

What we’ve seen at recent concerts is a breakdown in the social etiquette that normally sees an artist and an audience coming together respectfully. We’re seeing an increase in aggressiveness and rudeness – from both sides -  and the desire for concert goers to steal the limelight from the star on stage with attention grabbing antics designed to make them go viral online.  

I don’t know if you saw the Cardi B video of her reacting to someone from the crowd throwing water at her during a Vegas concert. The retribution was swift and brutal as Cardi B hurled her microphone. I don’t know if she hit her target or a loyal fan – but the result is a law suit.  

I don’t condone Cardi’s B’s behaviour but it does represent how fed up artists are at being targeted. Recently Harry Style’s was hit in the eye by a flying object, Bebe Rexha took a phone to the face and needed stitches, and Justin Bieber put a phone thrown at him down his pants. At a Pink concert, someone handed her a wheel of cheese, and at another concert someone allegedly threw a bag of their mother’s ashes on stage. Needless to say Pink was taken aback when she found out what was in the bag. And the list goes on…

Whatever happened to tossing a pair of knickers?  

Throwing things on stage is not new. There will be many of you who like me have been going to gigs for decades, and watching singers gracefully dodge projectiles coming their way without the slightest pause in performance. It used to be mostly bottles that were thrown – only for the culprit to be swiftly removed, without achieving any infamy.  

While there has always been a divide between floor and stage this doesn’t mean the line can’t be crossed – as long as it’s instigated by the artists. Stage diving, crowd surfing and audience participation has been part of the concert experience for years.  

And then there’s the aforementioned Knicker trend – which never seems to end. The sexual revolution has been blamed for knicker throwing taking off in the late 1960s. Over the years Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Mick Jagger, Jon Bon Jovi, Drake and One Direction, just to name a few, have been confronted with underwear hitting the stage. Apparently Lana del Rey has also received her fair share of underwear. As has John Farnham, which did not go down well with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. They had a series of concerts planned in 2005 but she pulled out after watching videos of women throwing knickers at Farnham during one of his concerts. It ended up in court; our Dame won.

So while not new, it is interesting to see how artists are reacting to it now. No longer happy to see the funny side of it and deal with it in good grace, they’re calling time out. Recently Adele spoke out against the spate of people throwing objects at musicians, telling her audience she would “kill you” if they tried. I wouldn’t try it on with Adele.  

Clearly I go to a concerts for a difference reason to some others.  

I go for the music, the show, the atmosphere, the shared experience and the talent. And that’s the way it should be. Not to make yourself famous on tiktok.

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