Rock Band Comeback Gig Ends in On-Stage Brawl as Singer Punches Bassist

A Scottish band's big comeback gig went south when the singer and bassist got into an onstage brawl, and it was all caught on video. In one heated moment, the lead singer threw a punch at the guitarist and screamed, "I'm going to kill you!"  The band making the less-than-triumphant return was the View, a quintet known for their single "Same Jeans," which was a UK hit in 2007. They had to cut their show—their first in five years—at the Deaf Institute in Manchester short. Read on to see video of the fracas and what fans had to say about it. 

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According to an audience member interviewed by the Daily Mail, frontman Kyle Falconer and bassist Kieren Webster were arguing, then Webster kicked a microphone stand. Video footage taken from the crowd shows Falconer lobbing a punch and shouting, "I'll kill you," while others onstage try to pull the men apart.  In a second video, Falconer returns to the stage and addresses the melee. "If you want, I think you should maybe ask Kieren to come up and finish the set. The problem with this band is he wants to sing the songs and he can't, right?"

Via social media, the band also called off their subsequent London show. "Unfortunately we are having to postpone tonight's London show. Our promoter is working to resolve the situation. Please keep hold of your tickets for now and we will make a further announcement in a few days. Massive apologies to all our fans."  On Thursday, the band followed up with another apologetic tweet. "Sorry to the fans at our show in Manchester and everywhere else that we've upset—we had a brotherly bust-up that went too far, and we cannae [sic] wait to get back to touring in November and throughout the festival season with yous [sic] lot."

"It was proper rock 'n' roll," a spectator named Daniels told the Daily Mail. "Kyle just flipped. It was your typical playground altercation. I was surprised by it. I've been to gigs in the past where stuff's happened but nothing like that."  Daniels said conflict broke out after Webster traded places with Falconer to sing lead on a few songs. When he finished, he kicked the mic stand.

Some in the crowd thought the band was pulling a stunt, before realizing the contretemps was real. "It was very scary to see someone you respect behave like this," fan Saffie Yates told BBC News. She had waited six years to see the group.  "The bass player normally plays a couple of songs and it was his birthday yesterday. He wanted to play a third song and the lead singer went for him. The band left the stage and the fans were hanging around waiting to see what would happen."

Fans had some fun with the incident on Twitter, speculating on the motivation for the conflict.  "Lead singer found out the bassist washed his jeans after 3 days," one man opined.  "Probably some history and issues but it's the classic not being able to manage  'the drink' that brings it to this," another speculated.  "You don't see this at Eurovision," another said.  Several others pointed out that the band didn't even get to play their most popular song.  "One hit wonders… quite literally lol," one man wrote.