It “hit a security guard in the back of the head”
Iron Maiden’s Janick Gers’ on-stage theatrics got the better of him this week when he lost the grip of his guitar while swinging it around and sending it flying into the crowd.
During a show in San Antonio on Wednesday (September 25) Gers accidentally let go of his guitar while performing one of his signature windmill twirls.
A fan who was at the gig told Blabbermouth: “Janick was twirling his guitar and he lost control of it and it flew off and hit a security guard in the back of the head and upper torso.
“It literally flew about ten feet!! They returned it and you could tell he was apologetic. The security guard was okay but his eyes were the size of golf balls and he was in shock. The security guard wasn’t injured, as it was a grazing blow, but he was clearly shaken for a moment.”
Watch the moment the Iron Maiden guitarist let his axe slip in the video below:
Gers’ flashy performance style has been criticised in the past. In a 2009 blog post, radio personality Eddie Trunk wrote: “As much as I love MAIDEN. I must state what has been so obvious to so many for so long. Nobody can figure out why the band tolerates Janick Gers’s performance style. Don’t know the man and I hear he is a nice guy, but he behaves like he is auditioning for ‘Dancing With The Stars’ on stage and not playing guitar in MAIDEN.”
He continued: “I’m sure he’s talented and a good guy, but it’s way over the top and painful to watch that side of the stage. I love some of the things he has written with MAIDEN and I’m not for a minute saying he should be out of the band, but someone dancing and spinning his guitar just seems so out of place in MAIDEN.”
Meanwhile, Iron Maiden have filed a lawsuit against the makers of the video game Ion Maiden.
The legendary heavy metal band, via their holding company, have filed a $2 million lawsuit against developer 3D Realms over their video game Ion Maiden.
