DrawnBySix

Skateboarding was a passion for Metallica in the 1980s, especially for James and Kirk. This passion resulted in two serious accidents involving James – the first in July 1986, the second in March 1987. The scar on Hetfield’s left forearm, left by an open fracture, remains as a reminder of those fateful falls

It’s worth noting that even before these incidents, James had fallen off his skateboard numerous times and twisted his ankle a couple of times, but it didn’t bother him or the Metallica crew, as it didn’t affect their performances

📝 James: «There was a couple of shows where I had to have my ankle taped up. For like a week. It was banged up and twisted»

But when Metallica went on tour with Ozzy Osbourne in late March 1986, his passion for skateboarding reached a new level. Kirk and James were joined by Osbourne’s guitarist, Jake, his roadie, and a few other members of the crew. Skating literally became more important than the shows.

Of course, this ended with James falling and breaking his wrist before a July 1986 concert, forcing Metallica to cancel the show. Luckily, roadie John Marshall was able to fill in on rhythm guitar for a couple of months.

Afterward, Metallica received a reprimand from management and a request not to skate. At the time, it was just a warning...

📝 James: «We told the management, hey, look we’re thinking about taking boards out on tour’...I thought he was going to go, ‘oh shit, no way, you can’t.’ He just said, well, you break something, you still play.»

📝 Kirk: «Yeah, you break a leg on your skateboard you play on stage with a broken leg»

James’s second «fall» occurred in 1987, resulting in the cancellation of his SNL appearance, and the release of Garage Days Re-Revisited being rescheduled for August while Hetfield recovered. This time, treatment at St. Francis Hospital was quite expensive (James’s explanatory note on the last slide).

After this, the band’s management finally added a clause to their contract prohibiting the guys from skateboarding while Metallica was touring.