re: Most self destructive band?

Thelonious Monster would knuckle check each other on stage. You'd always hope they'd make entire set before something went down.

Management and labels screwed Badfinger more than anything else. Apple folded, Warners took away their ability to earn money when they pulled their album of the market in '74. ad thousands of dollars stolen from them by their manager. Hardly their fault.

Motley Crue

Chicago. Once was good. Not worth a nickle after about 1980.

Not my type of music but read up on the black metal band “Mayhem”. I think they win this title easily.

Here’s an excerpt from their wiki about the former lead singer:

quote:

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On 8 April 1991, Dead committed suicide in the house owned by the band. He was found by Euronymous with slit wrists and a shotgun wound to the head. Dead's suicide note notably read "Excuse all the blood, cheers." and included an apology for firing the weapon indoors. Instead of calling the police, Euronymous went to a nearby store and bought a disposable camera to photograph the corpse, after re-arranging some items.[16] One of these photographs was later used as the cover of a bootleg live album, Dawn of the Black Hearts.[17]

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Not long after, a band member murdered a fellow band member.

Lead singer also used to cut himself on stage, bury his clothes and dig them up to wear on stage to appear more corpse-like, and they routinely performed with severed pig heads impaled on spears surrounding the stage. Pretty wild stuff.

INXS deserves mention.

Spinal Tap had a drummer spontaneously combust on stage and one choke on his own vomit