After reports that a woman was injured by a thrown mic at a Guns N' Roses concert in Australia, Axl Rose says he'll pull the plug on the tradition.
The Guns N' Roses frontman said on Twitter Friday night that he has closed shows by throwing the mic to fans "for over 30 years."
“It’s come to my attention that a fan may have been hurt at [our] show in Adelaide Australia possibly being hit by the microphone at the end of the show when I traditionally toss the mic to the fans,” Rose wrote. "If true obviously we don’t want anyone getting hurt or to somehow in anyway hurt anyone at any of [our] shows anywhere."
Local news reports said a woman named Rebecca Howe was hit on the nose with the flying mic. Photos showed heavy bruising on her face.
“He took a bow and then he launched the microphone out to the crowd … and then bang, right on the bridge of my nose," Howe told the Adelaide Advertiser, adding that she thought the impact could have been worse if she was hit in the eye, mouth or temple instead. She said an off-duty police officer helped get her out of the crowd.
"Having tossed the mic at the end of [our] show for over 30 years we always felt it was a known part of the very end of [our] performance that fans wanted and were aware of to have an opportunity to catch the mic," Rose wrote. “Regardless in the interest of public safety from now on we’ll refrain from tossing the mic or anything to the fans during or at [our] performances.”
Rose criticized some reporting on the incident as framed "in a more negative out of nowhere light," and said he hopes fans understand.
