Lana Del Rey also can be credited with not destroying the set she was given, the way that punk band Fear did on Halloween, 1981. Surrounded by fans clad in tight jeans, chains, spiked boots and leather jackets, Fear sang “Beef Bologna” and incited a near-riot. As John Joseph, who was in the audience at the time, recalled, “We were just f–king kicking cameras over, screens, anything that look like it cost money. we were just like, ‘Bam! Next!’ ” Gory details of the night include much more than just the standard slam-dancing typical at punk shows, according to Joseph (who also was the lead singer of hardcore punk band Cro-Mags in the 1980s). Noses were broken, brawls broke out between new York and Washington, D.C., natives, pumpkins were launched at security guards’ heads and a NYPD-versus-punks chase out of Rockefeller Center spilled into the streets outside. All told, it was a punk’s dream show, but an SNL producer’s worst nightmare. Total property damages caused that night by Fear and their fans are rumored to be around $250,000—needless to say, they were promptly banned from ever performing on SNL again.
By Matt Sullivan Anchorage Daily News