You Never Knew The Eagles: the incredible adventures of soft rock legends

Being one of the most popular and best-selling bands in the world of all times, The Eagles were not at all as soft and pliant as their sound! Yes, the gentle vocals and soft rock that abounded in this band conjure up images of relaxing, sunsets sinking into the ocean and gentle breezes... But in reality, the everyday life of these American rockers was full of the following follies! Ozzy himself would probably take his hat off to them ....

From their formation in 1971 until their infamous breakup in 1980, The Eagles not only dominated the charts with tender ballads, but also amassed an impressive number of crazy storieswho have generously added to their biography! This makes it easy for the Eagles to compete with such hard rockers as Led Zeppelin and Guns N' Roses! They were, in a word, on fire!

"No weirdos!"

At the height of their popularity, the Eagles developed their own pass system for the so-called "Third encore." - That's how the musicians christened the crazy party after the concert. The guests were invited in the following way: each member of the band and the film crew was given a badgewhich they could give to people backstage or in the audience. But not everyone could get to the "Third Encore". There was a strict rule: "No weirdos!"

By geeks, the Eagles meant characters who didn't mind a bit of a bash. Although their famous "Third Encore" was no different. high morality: tonnes of substances and alcohol, hot dancing and many other interesting things. It is said that among their guests were not only artists, but also famous sportsmen, in particular hockey players.

In the studio, they rocked harder than Black Sabbath.

During the recording of the famous "Hotel California" The Eagles shared studio space with Black Sabbath. From memory Geezer Butler it follows that when Sabbath arrived in the studio after the Eagles, they literally had to "scrape substances out of the mixing desk"!

"There was at least a pound of them in there!"

subsequently Don Henley will say:

"It was our engine, our inspiration, our writing tool. Substances fuelled our writing, but it also brought out the worst in each of us..."

Another interesting episode of their studio life is the track "Life in the Fast Lane"inspired by the way Glenn Frye and his personal purveyor of "forbidden pleasures" were travelling in a car at speed. 90 miles an hour.!

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"He squeezed out 90 mph, and I yelled at him, "Hey, what are you doing!" And he replied, grinning: "Life in the fast lane!" I thought, "Now there's a song title."

"Hop baths" can get you fired.

By 1975, the Eagles had begun to move away from their country-rock roots and had become a true rock 'n' roll group. Some participants, in particular Bernie Lydonhe didn't like that kind of direction. He came in as a country style guitarist and played banjo! So the change in tone towards pure rock did not appeal to him, alas. Constant touring was also taking its toll, and Lydon was on his last legs....

One night after a concert at the Orange Bowl Glenn was excitedly discussing his plans for the group, which finally got Lydon. He walked over to Fry and said: "You need to chill out, mate." The next second he poured whole jar of beer on Fry's head! After that, Bernie left the band without apologising.

A design solution from Joe Walsh

Joe WalshLydon's replacement was famous for his love of things that he didn't know why but had to have! So the Eagles' manager gave him a birthday present. chainsaw! Irving Azoff advised the guitarist to keep this particularly dangerous item at home, but Walsh had other plans.....

"We stayed at the hotel at night. We were promised adjoining rooms, but no way! We were cheated! So I decided to make a door in the wall myself! There was some funny partition made of plywood... Anyway - I fired up the chainsaw and made my own door! I walked through it to Azoff and said: "Hey, now we have adjoining rooms!"

A $28,000 hotel debacle

But on this one. adventures Walsh's hotel stays weren't over. Joe was known to hang out with the comedian often James Belushi. The story goes: one evening the two headed to a restaurant but were refused service - the reason being their blue jeans. Not to be deterred, the two bought a can of black paint in a nearby alley and transformed their outfits there! According to Walsh's recollection, this time they were allowed into the restaurant. But when the meal came to an end and he and Belushi got up from the table, the chairs they were sitting on were not allowed in, blackened.

But it was only peak of the evening! That same night, the friends went to a fancy hotel, where they smashed the room to smithereens! And they did it on purpose. for fun! Their childish fun has cost them $28,000..

Problems with the police

If you think rock stars are personalities. untouchables and the law doesn't care about them, you're wrong. The Eagles have had to deal with law enforcement on more than one occasion. And once they were almost locked up in a jail cell in the Bahamas!

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In 1974, the Eagles took a two-day break from touring and decided to fly to the Bahamas to relax and play a little for fun. Like typical rock stars, they flew into the country with their "untold riches" (talking about substances). When they got off the plane, customs control stopped them for a search. It is not hard to imagine what happened next. As Glenn put it, "Suddenly we were in a Bahamian jail cell." But the Eagles lucky to have a manager!

No one knows what he said Azoffbut after five minutes, the rockers were able to leave the dungeon - and with all their substances! Safe and sound.

Behind-the-scenes dramas

Randy MeissnerThe Eagles' founding father experienced a turning point in 1977: he was found to be extremely stressed and exhausted from the "Take It to the Limit". But the audience didn't really care about the musician's morale. And yes: they demanded an encore of "Take It to the Limit". When Meisner refused to go on stage, Glenn Frye The next second, the two men clashed, and even the police on duty at the concert couldn't separate them.

"Go to hell, it's personal!", Fry shouted.

After this incident, Meissner left the group. Meanwhile, the behind-the-scenes scuffles are not over! Once again, Glenn Frye is at it again. This time, he's taking on Don Felderand it was during a benefit concert! The story goes that on 31 July 1980, The Eagles agreed to perform at the Long Beach Arena as a fundraiser for the Senator of the United Statesand Alan Cranston. The only problem was that not all members agreed to this ....

Don Felderwho has had increasing conflicts with Glenn and Don Henley, was against the fundraiser. During the greeting, he brushed the senator aside, which infuriated Glenn. Backstage, Fry threw a beer can at Felder with all his might, and it almost hit him in the head!

"We played the show, but on stage we were having a hard time keeping ourselves from clashing with each other. He (Felder) would look over every now and then and tell me, "A few more songs and you're dead!" And I'd tell him, "This is great! I can't wait!"

After the show, Felder smashed his guitar, jumped in a limo and drove off. And that's the story of the Eagles ended.