“Metallica’s manager called you a p***y”: Why Dave Mustaine climbed off a hospital table and put off getting spinal surgery to play a gig because of “gutless” comment
Dave Mustaine claims Metallica’s manager once called him a “pussy” for nearly dropping out of a show due to a neck injury that put him in the hospital.
Mustaine alleges the incident occurred during the 2010-2011 Big Four tour, where thrash metal giants Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax joined forces for a run of shows. Before the last night on the tour was due to commence, which was scheduled at New York’s Yankee Stadium, Mustaine was supposed to get surgery, but put things on hold.
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Appearing on the Wild Ride! podcast, hosted by Steve-O of Jackass fame, Mustaine is asked how the neck injury has changed his approach to headbanging and performing over the years. He begins, “In the beginning it was a big difference for me, because I couldn’t move.
“I remember we were scheduled to play Yankee Stadium with the Big Four concert the day that they found out I needed my neck to be fused together, and so I’m laying on the emergency table and my manager says ‘oh, Metallica’s manager called you a pussy because you’re going to get your neck fused together and you’re not going to come out here and play instead.’ And I thought, ‘that’s a gutless thing to say. I’m laying here getting ready to have back surgery and you call me a pussy.’”
He continues, “So I had the doctor stitch me up, inject me full of all kinds of steroids and shit, I went and played the concert, and then I went back and I had the surgery. But it turned out great as far as healing is concerned. The only problem is when you have a vertebrae and the motion in between it stops, the motion above it and below it has to do extra work. So eventually those two vertebrae will also need some kind of special care and attention. I don’t plan on headbanging for another 30 years, I’m already 63 so I figure you know if I play another 5-10 years, 15 years whatever then that’s a good run.”
You can check out the podcast episode below:
The post “Metallica’s manager called you a p***y”: Why Dave Mustaine climbed off a hospital table and put off getting spinal surgery to play a gig because of “gutless” comment appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
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