Hopeful fans looking to catch a piece of Guns N’ Roses concert memorabilia may be disappointed to learn that Axl Rose is ending his microphone-toss tradition.
Rose’s decision to stop throwing his microphone into the crowd during the band’s concerts — which he has done for more than 30 years — came after a woman in Adelaide, Australia, was reportedly injured at a show in November.
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According the Adelaide Advertiser, Rebecca Howe had been standing close to the stage during the concert on Nov. 29. Howe claimed when Rose tossed his microphone into the crowd following the band’s last song, Paradise City, the device hit her in the face.
Rebecca Howe claimed to have been hit in the face with a microphone thrown by Axl Rose at a Guns N’ Roses concert in Adelaide, Australia in November 2022.
Howe told the Adelaide Advertiser that she thought her face had “caved in” from the blow. She claimed that if the microphone had hit her in the temple, it “could have killed me.”
On Friday, Rose, the Guns N’ Roses frontman, released a statement on Twitter about Howe’s alleged injury.
“If true obviously we don’t want anyone getting hurt,” wrote Rose.
Rose wrote that most Guns N’ Roses fans are aware of the microphone-throw tradition and look forward to the opportunity to catch it when tossed into the crowd.
“Regardless in the interest of public safety from now on we’ll refrain from tossing the mic or anything to fans during or at r [sic] concerts,” he wrote.
Rose concluded by thanking all of his fans “for understanding.”
On social media, several Guns N’ Roses fans mourned the end of the concert tradition. Several dedicated concertgoers asked Rose to keep throwing his microphone anyway, despite the possibility that someone could get hurt.
It remains to be seen if Rose will stay true to his word for the rest of the band’s tour.
Guns N’ Roses’ current tour ends in London, England at Hyde Park on June 30, 2023.
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