Remember When: Guns N’ Roses Destroyed the Set of MTV’s ‘Headbangers Ball’

During its early 1990s heyday on MTV, Headbangers Ball was known for its host Riki Rachtman and being the go-to show on a network that had banished metal to late-night on Saturdays. The series began life in 1987 with a different kind of VJ—Asher Benrubi, a more off-the-cuff, gravelly-voiced host with a different kind of energy.

Funnily enough, Benrubi’s VJ name was Smash, and he interviewed guitarist Slash and Guns N’ Roses for the October 24, 1987, episode, three months after Appetite for Destruction had come out. No one foresaw that the band was going to blow up to be one of the biggest rock groups of all time. Nor did they know that Appetite would sell over 18 million copies domestically. The album would not go Gold until the following February, then Platinum in April, and 6-times Platinum by the end of 1988. And it kept growing.

Hangover Central

In his memoir, Slash recalled that GN’R had just flown overnight to New York City from overseas and went directly to MTV to record their episode of Headbangers Ball. Then, literally right after the show, they had to hop on their tour bus to head for their opening slot on a Mötley Crüe tour. They’d flown all night, hadn’t showered, and were in no mood for the MTV experience.

“From the moment we entered the building at 10 a.m., it was a huge clash between hungover, sweaty, unclean touring-in-the-same-clothes-for-weeks rock musicians and the corporate world of MTV,” Slash wrote.

The members of GN’R were none too impressed with MTV’s staff and offices, especially the green room with two couches, one table, and no amenities. “When we got on set, we met J.J. Jackson, the host, and he was really cool,” Slash continued, with the erroneous VJ identification indicating how hungover he was. “They had this big set, and somewhere along the line, we joked that we should destroy it on camera. That idea stuck, and among ourselves we decided that we were going to do just that.”

From Relaxation to Destruction

For a group known for being rabble-rousers, the five members of GN’R were chill throughout the whole interview. When he chatted them up, Smash addressed the bad-boy rumors, their alleged dislike of other bands, the cuts made to the video for “Welcome to the Jungle,” and the controversial original album cover.

At the conclusion, Smash declared, “You guys, from what I understand it, are known for your interior decorating capabilities, along with great rock ‘n’ roll. And as I understand, you guys have redecorated many a motel room. I look at this beautiful … Gentleman, if I gave you 30 seconds, do you think that …” Then Slash interjected with some tour dates for fans (some “motels we’re going to be visiting”). Smash then continued, “Good luck to you. I’m going to give you 30 seconds to redecorate this room. On your mark …” But they had already started.

The group’s destructive instincts instantly kicked in, and they had a field day tearing the set apart while Smash orated like an emcee at a sporting event. When one of the guys bumped him with a couch he tipped over and feigned unconsciousness. After it was all over, Smash came back from a commercial break and noted, “To some, this would look like a mess. To others, it would be a thing of beauty.”

Gone in Less than 60 Seconds

“We waited until the show was just about over and then in 10 seconds flat we totaled the set,” Slash recalled. “I didn’t think about it at the time or again until a couple of weeks later when I saw the episode. We looked like savage zombies straight out of 28 Days Later. That was our first real exposure, our first step up from just having a video on MTV; that was us, inching our way into mainstream consciousness.”

It was certainly one of the funniest moments in MTV history.

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