“For the first five minutes, it’s euphoria. During the last five minutes, it’s hostile – they’re throwing quarters at our dicks!” Tom Morello looks back on Rage Against The Machine’s infamous naked protest at Lollapalooza ’93
Rage Against The Machine staged a silent, naked protest at Lollapalooza in Philadelphia on 18 July 1993 to oppose music censorship and defend First Amendment rights. Tom Morello has recalled the event, which turned the band’s debut appearance before a huge festival crowd into a deliberately provocative political statement.
The four members stood onstage for 15 minutes with black tape over their mouths and “P-M-R-C” painted on their chests, referring to the Parents Music Resource Center. Their tour manager expected police to arrive after 15 minutes, so the band left without playing; Morello says the crowd’s initial excitement gave way to hostility, with some people booing and throwing coins. He later hid, still naked, on Fishbone’s tour bus as police searched for the band.
- Rage Against The Machine protested music censorship at Lollapalooza in 1993.
- The band stood silently onstage for 15 minutes, then left without playing.
- Morello recalls the crowd shifting from excitement to hostility.