Coke-Fuelled Gorham Played Through Pain

Black Star Riders guitarist Scott Gorham has recalled the “absolute bar-none worst thing” that ever happened to him on stage.

He severely injured his leg during a Thin Lizzy show after a jump went wrong – but he was on so much cocaine that he didn’t know how much damage he’d done, and went back to finish the performance.

Gorham doesn’t say when the incident took place, but he’s remembered performing a number of shows with his leg strapped up during 1981′s Chinatown tour.

He tells Total Guitar in the video below: “I made a move, something I did a hundred times with Phil. I’d jump on the drum riser, play with Brian Downey a bit, do a big leap off, land, and Phil and I would be doing our thing.

“In Washington DC, I jump up, mess around with Brian, I jump, I hit – and I just crumble on the floor. I couldn’t get up; I’m looking at my guitar tech going, ‘You’ve got to help me here.’ Two guys unceremoniously drag me off stage behind my amps. I’m sitting there going, ‘Oh man, I guess I just dislocated my knee. I’m okay now!’ I was coked up to the eyeballs – feeling no pain.”

Things got worse when Gorham went back on. He climbed onto a monitor and heard a sickening cracking noise, and looked down to see his skintight trousers were filling with blood. He once again needed help climbing down – but remained on stage for the last 40 minutes of the show.

“As soon as we came off they took me straight to the emergency ward,” he remembers. “They told me I’d ripped my kneecap off. The next half of the tour Darren Wharton had to put me in a wheelchair and wheel me through all the airports.

“It was so painful it was unbelievable. It was a real game-changer; I never want to go through that again.”

Black Star Riders are currently touring the UK in support of début album All Hell Breaks Loose, which could be followed by a second record next year. The trek includes a stop at Hard Rock Hell this weekend. Gorham is also planning a number of Thin Lizzy shows in 2014.