Destroying the guitar is a part of music history

AP Dhillon’s rousing performance at Coachella over the weekend had a controversial end, with the Indo-Canadian rapper smashing his guitar on stage. This led to a backlash online, as many labelled this act disrespectful. In a post on Instagram that can be interpreted as a reply to the critics, Dhillon on Wednesday shared a series of pictures from the performance, the last of which a compilation of musicians like Kurt Cobain smashing their guitars on stage.By doing this, Dhillon was referencing the decades-old tradition of performers smashing, breaking and setting fire to their guitars on stage at the end of a show. Rockstars like Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix did it so many times, and so spectacularly, that it’s considered a part of their performance aesthetics – and a display of their non-conformist worldview. Here’s looking at some legends who made instrument destruction an integral part of their live shows.

JIMI HENDRIX
Destroying the guitar is a part of music history According to his manager, Jimi Hendrix started setting his guitar on fire after a journalist suggested he do something unusual. When he was performing songs from the album Fire in London, the journalist suggested he light up the guitar after the performance and the rockstar went ahead and did just this. He sustained some injuries, but setting the guitar on fire became his signature act later.

PETE TOWNSHEND
The Who legend Pete Townshend said in an interview: “When we first came to New York, we'd play four times a day. I only had one guitar, so I'd have to break it and fix it four times a day."

KURT COBAIN
A guitar smashed by Kurt Cobain, the late frontman of Nirvana, was sold at an auction for nearly $600,000 (approx ₹45 crore) in 2023.

RITCHIE BLACKMORE
Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore once revealed that he never destroyed his main guitars but used to buy the ones that failed quality check for a minimal sum. He used those guitars for encore and would later smash and destroy them.

EDDIE VEDDER
Eddie Vedder, McCready’s bandmate from Pearl Jam, was nowhere as prolific as him when it came to smashing guitars. In an interview he recounted how, after smashing a guitar, he actually wanted it back!