Bands/Musicians The Strangest Opening Act Bookings Ever
Adam Tyler
4.8k votes 743 voters 45.6k views
List Rules Openings bands that are completely different than headliners. Could be in different genres or opposite images.
Some of the strangest opening act bookings no doubt leave music fans scratching their collective heads. Most of the time, an opening act 'gels' well with the headliner. Rock bands, for instance, tend to open for other, more well-known rock bands. Occasionally, though, for some reason, very, very unlikely pairings happen. Who on Earth thought of having Jimi Hendrix open for The Monkees? What crazy, deranged concert promoter decided that having The Afghan Whigs open for Aerosmith was a super good idea? This list includes some of the most bizarre concert billings ever. Be sure to vote for those artists that you think are the most peculiar opening acts of all time, and, if you know of one not listed, by all means, add them! Everyone, it seems, has seen an oddly mismatched concert billing at one time or another.
It's hard to imagine who thought having the Beastie Boys open for Madonna on her 1985 Virgin Tour was an awesome idea. Audiences generally hated it, and critics did too. And while the Beasties went on to great fame and fortune, that tour is probably not one of the highlights of their career. Flash forward to 2012, now, and behold, one of the strangest, most unusual opening act bookings to date: Kool & the Gang will open shows for...Van Halen?! Yep. Apparently, this was David Lee Roth's bright idea. Celebrate good times, come on!
An opening act is supposed to be less popular than the headliner. That's just how it works, right? Wrong. Sometimes, the opening act winds up stealing the show. In 1983, Stevie Ray Vaughan opened for The Moody Blues. And he was, as always, amazing. Headliners want opening acts to warm up the crowd, but not take away from their big show.
The worst, oddest opening act billings resulted in disaster for some. Prince, of all people, was booed continually when he opened for The Rolling Stones in October of 1981. And Terence Trent D'Arby had the unfortunate status of opening act for Bruce Springsteen at New York's Madison Square Garden in June of 1993. Audiences did NOT like the choice: They booed throughout D'Arby's performance, and they also really pissed off The Boss - he cursed at them and then rushed through the show. And poor "Weird Al" Yankovic: He had the misfortune of opening for the new wave band Missing Persons in 1982. He's still somewhat traumatized by the experience, which he says included getting "pelted for 45 minutes" by "anything that wasn't nailed down."
Behold, the list of the most bizarre, strangest opening act bookings in music history. Don't boo, don't throw things -- just vote for your favorites!
reranker: 1
Alice Cooper Glam metal, Experimental rock, Shock rock
Opened for Chad & Jeremy in 1970
The Who Popular music, Pop music, Rock music
Opened for Herman's Hermits on July 14, 1967
Jimi Hendrix Blues-rock, Rock music, Experimental rock
Opened for The Monkees in 1967
The Doors Blues-rock, Rock music, Protopunk
Opened for Simon and Garfunkel in 1967 (Forest Hills, Queens)
Beastie Boys Hip hop music, Pop punk, Alternative hip hop
Opened for Madonna in 1985
malachi4.4ministries added Ramones Punk Rock
Opening act for Toto in Montreal, Canada once upon a time in the mid '70's.
Kool & the Gang Disco, Dance-pop, Contemporary R&B
Opening for Van Halen in 2012
Glen Campbell Pop music, Rock music, Folk music
Opened for the Doors in the mid-1960s (Portland and Seattle)
Bruce Springsteen Americana, Blues-rock, Heartland rock
Opened for Anne Murray on August 3, 1974 at New York's Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park
Justin Timberlake Hip hop music, Blue-eyed soul, Pop music
Opened for AC/DC and the Rolling Stones in 2003 (Toronto)
StarpunkRoQr added Rage Against the Machine Crossover thrash, Nu metal, Political hip hop
opened up for U2 in 1997
PattiRuane added Queen opened for Mott the Hoople 1974 Pop music, Rock music, Heavy metal
Stevie Ray Vaughan Blues-rock, Rock music, Instrumental rock
Opened for the Moody Blues in 1983
The B-52's New Wave, Pop music, Rock music
Opened for The Who in 1982
StarpunkRoQr added Violent Femmes Alternative rock, Punk rock, Folk punk
opened up for Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. No, you're not hallucinating.
"Weird Al" Yankovic Hip hop music, Pop music, Rock music
Opened for Missing Persons in 1982
Rush Progressive metal, Rock music, Heavy metal
Opened for Kiss in 1975
Porter Wagoner Gospel music, Country
Opened for The White Stripes in 2007
Prince Hip hop music, Synthpop, New Wave
Opened for The Rolling Stones on October 11, 1981
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Hip hop music, Old-school hip hop, Electro
Opened for The Clash in 1981
StarpunkRoQr added Bachman–Turner Overdrive Boogie rock, Rock music, Hard rock
opened for Van Halen ( the 5150 tour, the first "Van Hagar" tour ) in 1986.
alexgor23 added Albert Brooks
Opened for Sly and the Family Stone in 1973 in Tacoma, Washington. He tells a great story about the experience...http://anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=4203
Idiom added Devo Synthpunk, New Wave, Synthpop
Opened for Sun Ra in 1975, opened for Arcade Fire in 2014
sangredeargento added Radiohead Rock music, Electronic music, New Prog
opened for Alanis Morrrisette
TaylorRandallGlover added Hatsune Miku
Opened for Lady Gaga in 2014.
List Rules: Openings bands that are completely different than headliners. Could be in different genres or opposite images.
Filed Under: Bands/Musicians Musictop 50poll
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