April 7, 1990, is a date that Steven Adler might wish to erase from his memory, while Tommy Lee is fortunate to have emerged unscathed from that harrowing experience. On that fateful night, the two renowned drummers found themselves performing a staggering 797 miles apart—Lee with Mötley Crüe in New Haven, Connecticut, and Adler with Guns N’ Roses at the iconic Farm Aid 1990 event in Indianapolis. One drummer faced the loss of his career, while the other narrowly avoided a life-threatening situation.

At that time, Mötley Crüe was in the midst of an extensive 168-date tour promoting their 1989 album, Dr. Feelgood. By this stage, Tommy Lee had gained a reputation for his jaw-dropping drum solos, which often defied gravity. Eager to outdo himself, the latest tour featured Lee performing on a moving drum kit suspended just beneath the arena ceilings. This thrilling act culminated in a breathtaking bungee jump back to the main stage to kick off the next song.

However, the night at the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum took a disastrous turn. Concerned that the brake might fail, Lee made the split-second decision to uncouple himself mid-drop, attempting to reach his foot strap. This impulsive action resulted in a perilous 20-foot plunge, ending with a painful head-first impact on the ground.

Due to the severity of the incident, the second half of the concert was abruptly canceled. Tommy Lee was rushed to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a mild concussion. Fortunately, he avoided any lasting injuries. When Mötley Crüe returned to the stage just three days later in Poughkeepsie, New York, Lee adopted a modified, safer version of the bungee drop stunt. Despite the mishap, he continued to innovate and create even more spectacular drum performances in future tours.

Read More: How Tommy Lee Sustained Injuries After Falling Off His Drum Kit

The Turmoil Leading to Steven Adler’s Final Performance with Guns N’ Roses

For Steven Adler, that evening was not marked by immediate danger but rather a culmination of long-standing issues. The Farm Aid concert represented the only performance of Guns N’ Roses in 1990, as the band dedicated most of the year to crafting their groundbreaking Use Your Illusion double albums.

Within the band, Adler’s ongoing struggles with substance abuse had escalated to a critical point, severely impacting his contributions both in the studio and during live performances. His bandmates, while not perfect themselves, recognized that Adler’s addiction was compromising the overall quality of their shows.

Farm Aid marked the band’s first live performance since a highly publicized four-show engagement opening for the Rolling Stones at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum six months prior. Expectations were high, but the Indianapolis show quickly devolved into chaos. Slash vividly recalled Adler missing the opening jump onto his drum kit by a staggering four feet, which set a concerning tone for their first live rendition of “Civil War.”

“If his playing had been fine, I don’t think anyone would have cared what he was doing to himself—at least I wouldn’t have,” Slash later reflected in his autobiography, Slash: The Autobiography. “Our frustration stemmed from the fact that his addiction was hindering his performance, which in turn affected the entire band.”

The situation deteriorated further when the band attempted to perform a song that Adler was unfamiliar with, a cover of the U.K. Subs’ “Down on the Farm.” Reflecting on the infamous show in his own book, My Appetite for Destruction, Adler felt he was deliberately set up for failure.

“I believe their strategy was to make my playing sound awful,” he asserted. “They wanted me to mess up on live television; that would serve as their justification for removing me from the band.”

No matter the truth behind those claims, the Farm Aid performance became the breaking point for Adler, marking the end of his tenure with Guns N’ Roses. When the band resumed touring at Rock in Rio in January 1991, Matt Sorum had taken over as drummer, ushering in a series of lineup changes that would ultimately leave Axl Rose as the sole founding member of Guns N’ Roses until his reunion with Slash and Duff McKagan in 2016.

Read More: How Farm Aid Became Steven Adler’s Last Performance with Guns N’ Roses

Watch Guns N’ Roses Perform ‘Civil War’ at Farm Aid 1990