In 1973, a 13-year-old Lars Ulrich watched a rock band perform. His life changed forever
At 13, Lars Ulrich saw Deep Purple perform in Copenhagen in 1973, an experience he later described as completely overwhelming. The article presents the show as a formative influence on his passion for performance and on Metallica’s ambition to make their concerts a striking spectacle.
In a 2012 interview, Ulrich recalled Ritchie Blackmore throwing and playing his guitar against stage equipment, while the other members performed around him. He remembered the band’s sound and stage presence as unlike anything he had seen before; the article links that impression to Metallica’s later use of elaborate, high-energy live production.
In short
- Ulrich saw Deep Purple aged 13 in 1973.
- He recalled Blackmore’s extravagant guitar antics.
- The show helped shape his sense of live spectacle.
Explained simply
Lars Ulrich is the drummer and a founding member of Metallica, the American heavy metal band formed in 1981. As a teenager growing up in Denmark, he was already interested in music, but seeing British rock band Deep Purple in Copenhagen gave him a vivid example of how a concert could become a performance as well as a set of songs.
Deep Purple’s guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was known for an unpredictable stage style, including dramatic treatment of his guitar. Ulrich later said the band’s sound and presence made a lasting impression on him. Metallica’s large-scale, energetic concerts have since become part of the band’s identity, making that early experience relevant to how Ulrich approached live performance.