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When Rock Fans Go Off the Rails

bruce springsteen

Think today’s TikTok stans are intense? Hold onto your vintage concert tees, because classic rock’s most devoted fans just might make you rethink what it means to be “dedicated” to your favorite artists.

Sure, we’ve all heard about Beatlemania, but that was just the tip of the super-fan iceberg. While some admirers were content with screaming and fainting, others took their devotion to hilariously creative heights. Take Kay Zar and her teenage friends, who decided that the best way to meet the Beatles on their 1965 stop in L.A. was to channel their inner Lucy Ricardo.

After a failed high-speed car chase that landed them in the local papers (and earned them a speeding ticket), these enterprising teens pooled their resources to rent an actual helicopter, hovering over the Fab Four’s L.A. hideout with a bullhorn. But you know what? It worked! The Beatles were so impressed by their aerial antics that they invited the girls to their press conference the next day. When George Harrison asked if Kay’s father was rich, little did he know the girls had scraped together the $100 rental fee themselves – a debt that, Kay jokes, remains unpaid to this day.

 

But why stop at airborne adventures? In the 1970s, some particularly resourceful fans of the Raspberries proved that sometimes all you need is a first aid kit and the confidence of a door-to-door salesman. Armed with $20 worth of drugstore medical supplies and homemade badges, these creative gatecrashers walked right into a concert by posing as medical supply salesmen. The price of admission may have only been $10, but you can’t put a price on that story.

Speaking of entrepreneurial spirit, some University of Florida students took fan memorabilia to disturbing new heights during Pat Benatar’s Crimes of Passion tour. After bribing hotel staff and performing some amateur burglary, these college kids set up shop in the venue parking lot, selling pieces of Benatar’s bedsheets, pillowcases, and – brace yourself – used Q-tips. The merchandise might have been questionable, but you can’t fault their business acumen.

 

Then there’s the case of identity juggling that left even shock-rock master Alice Cooper shaking his head. Moments before a show in the Midwest, Cooper was told his wife had collapsed backstage. Rushing to help, he found a heavyset woman lying there with an oxygen mask. But when the mask came off, the “wife” turned out to be a complete stranger. When confronted, the woman pivoted to claiming she was Amy Lee from Evanescence (plot twist: she definitely wasn’t). Weirder still, the fan’s father was there backing up her story, completely convinced his daughter was the Evanescence frontwoman fresh off tour. The woman even tried pushing her luck by asking to meet Johnny Depp, who she insisted was Cooper’s regular guitarist. As Cooper later reflected, he went onstage that night knowing he “wasn’t the most bizarre person in the building.”

And let’s not forget Glenn Danzig’s Halloween surprise in 2005, when a fan expressed their admiration through a unique art project: a backpack full of adult magazines with Danzig’s scowling face meticulously pasted onto every naughty nude figure. Given Danzig’s notorious reputation for taking himself very seriously (this is the guy who once threatened to “knock out” a photographer for taking pictures at his show), it’s somewhat miraculous that the fan survived this creative expression of devotion. Though maybe the former Misfits frontman secretly appreciated the hours of scissor work involved – talk about dedication to craft!

But sometimes, the sweetest fan stories are the simplest. Just ask Bruce Springsteen about the night in 1980 when two teenagers spotted him alone at a St. Louis movie theater.

Not only did The Boss agree to sit with them during the film, but he also accepted their offer of a ride home – with a detour to meet a somewhat confused mother, who responded to their excited announcement of having the Bruce Springsteen in tow with a bewildered “Who?” The evening ended with midnight scrambled eggs and conversation, sparking a friendship that would last for decades of St. Louis tour stops.

These tales remind us that while fan culture may have evolved, the creative lengths people will go to connect with their musical heroes remains timeless. Whether it’s helicopter rentals, elaborate cons, or just a simple invitation to watch a movie, sometimes the craziest plans yield the most memorable results. Just maybe skip the used Q-tips next time.

-Staci Layne Wilson

Photo: Bruce Springsteen (Getty)

 

2 comments on “When Rock Fans Go Off the Rails

  1. Mike Gaglio

    Ha! Thats Rock and Roll. Thanks Staci! You always find the cool stuff to talk about!

    • Staci Layne Wilson

      It’s a fun subject, huh? Could you imagine teenage girls renting a helicopter nowadays??!

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