Snap!

[TBird1958]

Yeah, I probably wouldn't be so freaked out if mine was already repaired, but it isn't - and it's been with me since I was 19, so I'm over-protective.

I wasn't happy about dinging mine! Frickin' paint job cost me 1k, it *was* flawless - now, not so much  
Still, mine aren't museum pieces, they gotta earn their keep so they're going out to shows.

[Denis]

Wow, that sucks! I had to watch the video a couple of times to see when the headstock disappeared. I would have been heartbroken. Given that it appears it hit the singer's mic in hand, I suspect that it was already cracked and seriously weakened. It's not like it hit an immovable object like a floor or cabinet or something.

[Daniel_J]

Wow! Is this for real?!

[Dave W]

Thanks, Rob!
I'm analyzing this clip like the friggin' Zapruder film, and I've come to a few conclusions:
1) This wouldn't have happened if he wasn't hopping around like a twit. Save that shit for your Aria, numbnuts!
...
3) Were they playing U2's "I Will Follow"? The bass probably just lost the will to live.
....

1) 

3) 

[Bionic-Joe]

When I played in Daisy Chain (which became Mind Bomb-Mercury 1991), I had a Natural '76 thunderbird (Wish I knew where it was-had bigger schaller tuners at one point and then filled and drilled for the original ones) My stupid ass singer used to always come close to hitting the headstock. And then EVEN when I was on his left, He always seemed to come close.

[Highlander]

A moment of respite for Mr Clayton; after all, he does fly the "Gibson" flag on occasion...

[TBird1958]

For sure Kenny!

Lately it seems the popular thing to slag on Clayton, I don't know why his playing supports an often over-active guitarist and a skillful drummer - somebody has to hold it down.
I like early U-2 alot - "I will follow" is actually a fave, the band plays it usually to a pretty good response too.

[Highlander]

I like his playing and his sound - have done since the early days...

Although not one of the devout and never having seen the band live there is a lot of their material I have and still do enjoy to listen too...

Anyone that sports an RD can't be all bad (with the possible exception of moi... )

[jumbodbassman]

saw them a few times very early on and he was solid.  everyone/everything changes when you get mega big....

[lowend1]

I don't necessarily have an axe to grind about Clayton's playing - I'm just not a fan of U2's music in general, and the deification of Bono. (No, no, no - not defecation, deification)

[Highlander]

Saint Bono of Dublin...

[Dave W]

I don't necessarily have an axe to grind about Clayton's playing - I'm just not a fan of U2's music in general, and the deification of Bono. (No, no, no - not defecation, deification)

Same here. Nothing against Clayton, Bono's a blowhard but that wouldn't bother me if I liked their music. I don't.

[uwe]

Of all the things he played with, I always liked his former girlfriend best:



His peroxide hair was unfortunate though. They probably split after she started throwing things at him.

[PhilT]

I love this quote from Roger Glover ...

Did you have any trouble adjusting to the headless style?

Yeah, it was a bit strange at first. I kept thinking I'd fall off the end
of the fretboard! Mind you, that wasn't my first experience with headless
basses... When I was playing with Rainbow, I had a Gibson Thunderbird bass,
a lovely bass to play - I wish I'd been in Purple when I had that. Anyway,
we were playing one night and it was virtually the last chord of the last
song in the encore. I was playing away, and I suddenly became aware that I
couldn't feel any strings, so I looked down and the strings were just
hanging down off the bass. I looked up at the fretboard and the head had
disappeared!

http://www.thehighwaystar.com/interviews/glover/rg19910400.html

[Denis]

Roger's last sentence in that paragraph is interesting: "The T-birds were very weak, construction-wise, directly behind the nut, and I must have accidently touched my mike stand with the head of the guitar and - WHACK! - instant headless bass..!"