METALLICA Explains That 'Errant Beachball Incident'

November 18, 2010

METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett accidentally knocked a little girl off stage after kicking a large beachball at her during the band's November 11 concert in Sydney, Australia. The incident happened while the band was performing the song "Seek And Destroy".

METALLICA has issued the following statement regarding the incident: "In the wacky world of rock'n'roll, sometimes stuff happens which looks even weirder than it really is! And with context being vital in these situations, we just wanted to address something which happened on the tour the other night regarding a large beachball, a band member's foot and a little girl.

"Some of you will have seen on YouTube (or read in some reports) that Kirk knocked a small child offstage by kicking a beachball at her. That little lady is the daughter of the stage manager and dressing coordinator, who are fortunate to travel as a family on this tour. She was thoroughly enjoying watching the beachballs drop from the rafters, Kirk was thoroughly enjoying kicking the beachballs off the stage and back into the crowd as has been done every night on the tour, and neither of them saw the other. The poor wee one happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She wasn't hurt. She didn't go 'flying several feet into the audience.' And Kirk and she remain good buddies.

"It's very cool that everyone showed concern and support though, so we just wanted to say 'it's all good' and thanks for asking."

METALLICA's current run through Australia and New Zealand will complete the two-year touring cycle behind the band's 2008 album, "Death Magnetic".

The band has just released a second live EP, titled "Six Feet Under, Part II", as a follow-up to the eight-song EP it issued just prior to the band's current tour of Australia and New Zealand.

METALLICA will also release a nine-track live EP recorded in Nashville, titled "Live At Grimey's", on November 26.

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