Despite the recent alarming trend of music artists getting injured by fans throwing things at them while performing on stage, JLS say it’s nothing new and are not concerned as they prepare to head out on tour.
Among the artists who have recently fallen victim to flying items at gigs is Bebe Rexha, who sustained facial injuries after an audience member threw a phone, which hit the pop star in the face and caused her to fall to the ground.
“Don’t throw things, you know?” implored Kelsea Ballerini after getting pelted in the face by a bracelet mid-song, while Ava Max was left reeling after a stage invader “slapped her so hard” during a show that it scratched the inside of her eye.
Although not injured physically, Pink was left stunned after having the ashes of someone’s dead mother thrown at her while performing at BST Hyde Park earlier this month, saying “I don’t know how to feel about this.”
Ahead of their reunion tour later this year, JLS member JB Gill says he is not fazed and while he wouldn’t want to see anyone injured, thinks it’s “relatively humbling people want to give you a piece of them.”
The four-piece boyband — which also includes Marvin Humes, Aston Merrygold and Oritsé Williams — originally shot to fame when they finished second to Alexandra Burke on The X Factor in 2008.
They announced they were going on hiatus in 2013, but came together for a reunion tour in 2021 and will now reform once again for 15 dates including two at the London O2 Arena.
Speaking to the Standard, Gill, 36, said: “Certainly in the early days we used to have all sorts of stuff thrown on stage. We’ve had flags, underwear, flowers, we’ve had drinks, all sorts over the years. I guess [it’s] relatively humbling, you know, people want to give you a piece of them.
“I can’t promise that I’ve got everything that that has ever been thrown at me, but for the most part we’ve probably removed it from the stage, taken a picture, put it on social media and then go about our business.”
“I don’t think it’s a malicious thing, certainly not if it’s your personal gig,” he continued. “I don’t see anybody paying for a ticket to go see their favourite artist and if they’re close enough to throw something within an inch of them, they’ve certainly paid a lot more than the average person going to a gig so I don’t think it’s a deliberate thing that they are trying to injure their favourite artist.
“I think within moderation of course, you just have to exercise a bit of common sense to know that if you’re going to throw an object that’s either full of liquid or anything like that, which is going to have a force of its own, then it might well do damage.
“I don’t know, I think I’m on the fence. Obviously I wouldn’t want anybody to get hurt, but at the same time I feel often it’s a fan or supporter who’s wanting to leave a piece of them with you which I think should also be celebrated as well.”
Away from the stage, Gill owns his own working farm in Kent where he lives with his wife, Chloe, and their two children Ace, eight, and Chiara, four.
He has partnered with with meal kit company HelloFresh, who will be including plantable seed paper within the first 5,000 boxes of a limited-edition recipe-kit to celebrate the launch of new Disney Pixar film Elemental.
Their aim is to foster creativity and sustainability by encouraging families to create “cardboard gardens” using their recipe-kit box this summer in just five simple steps.
Speaking about his decision to get involved, Gill said: “It’s about trying to be as sustainable as possible and grow your own garden. Not everyone is going to have access to gardens themselves – not everyone has a garden.
“With the summer holidays, it’s an activity that we can do as a family that the kids can get stuck into and it’s also a great way to introduce cooking to the younger members of the family as well.”
