An article referring to the Hunters and Collectors 2013 Grand Final performance.

Author:  Bronte Gossling, Nine Celebrity.

Date: 27 September 2024.

Original URL: https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/afl-grand-final-entertainment-most-memorable-performances-pictures/a2933322-4a80-4773-b025-fd02f6391c0a

Article Text

The most memorable AFL Grand Final celebrity performances of all time

Booking the humble AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment slot is something that can make or break an artist’s career in Australia – in fact, it memorably saw one Aussie rocker call time on his solo activities and crawl back to his band.

Over the years, even the best performances have had their fair share of dramas off-field (see: Katy Perry not being allowed to perform Roar this year), but that’s what makes it so iconic.

Read on to see all the most memorable AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment performances.

Meat Loaf in 2011

The late great Meat Loaf may look like he’s having a good time in this photo… but maybe it was only him having a good time.

In 2011, the American rocker behind one of the world’s best-selling albums of all time headed down to Australia to perform a 12-minute medley of his greatest hits.

The trouble, however, apparently began before he even set foot on the stage, telling Billboard later: “We did a thing called the AFL, I thought it was like halftime in the middle of a field, which I’ve done for NFL and World Football League finals … These were the cheapest people I’ve ever seen in my life. They said, ‘We’re gonna have 100 motorcycles’, they had three.”

In the uproar that followed his infamously pitchy performance, however, he did end up taking ownership of what critics took issue with – though he did note that, despite having damaged vocal cords, the AFL also did not provide a live piano or offer enough time for a sound check.

“I can’t take it back. It happened and I am truly sorry,” Meat Loaf later wrote on social media when someone highlighted that the motorcycles weren’t the problem.

“I have learned one lesson from now on, no matter what happens or when it happens there is only one person to blame and that is myself. Stand like a man and say I am sorry. I may never see you again and I can never repay what the people of Australia have given too me. I betrayed your trust, I apologise for any feelings that I have hurt.

“My behaviour was extremely inappropriate, immature, and lacked the respect for the people of Australia and the Australian football league. Again, I am sorry for my actions and I hope that we can put this matter behind us.”

After he died in 2022 aged 74, however, Australian promoter Harley Medcalf claimed the Bat Out of Hell singer had serious health issues on the day of the 2011 Grand Final and “should not have gone on stage” at all.

“The story’s never been told – I’ve never spoken about it – because Meat was so proud,” Medcalf said on Today following Meat Loaf’s death.

“He went on stage that day because he always went on stage. But he rang me that morning – and I happened to be in Melbourne – and I spent three hours with him in the dressing room. He had a fever, he had the shakes, he was coughing up all this stuff out of his lungs. He should not have gone on stage.

“If I could roll back that moment, I would’ve grabbed him and walked him out the door. But he was under so much pressure. It rained, there was no sound check, no gear check – nothing.”

“He was literally just tossed out there. But the big Texan strongman (said), ‘I can do this’. But he was sick and no one has spoken about that and no one has ever defended him,” Medcalf claimed.

“It’s just wrong, this part of his incredible legacy of this beautiful man. He doesn’t deserve that.”

Ellie Goulding in 2015

Sometimes seconds can feel like an eternity – at least, the 20 or so at the start of Ellie Goulding’s 2015 AFL Grand Final performance did.

The English singer-songwriter – pictured here ahead of the match with Bryan Adams – had ventured Down Under off the back of her global hit Love Me Like You Do, which had been released alongside Fifty Shades of Grey.

But as the lyrics started projecting around the MCG, it was to the soundtrack of her other song, Burn.

And it only went downhill from there…

For about half a minute, the words to Love Me Like You Do were played out to the music of Burn – and although Goulding was on the stage, her microphone was nowhere near her mouth.

Suddenly, the music cut out. And after a period of silence, the music to Love Me Like You Do started playing and Goulding finally lifted the microphone to her lips to sing along… though at times, it appeared she was singing a bit slower than the words were reaching our ears.

Jet in 2007

Goulding’s sound blunder was not the first nor last time such a calamity had occurred during pre-game entertainment – in fact, eight years earlier, local rock legends Jet were also plagued by sound issues.

Namely, during the band’s first song – Rollover D.J. – the track completely stopped, their monitors appeared to stop working, and they stopped singing.

The Killers in 2017

Despite what the previous acts may have telegraphed, booking the AFL Grand Final doesn’t automatically place a curse on the pre-game entertainment act.

The Killers more than proved that in 2017, bringing the house down with their catalogue of massive bangers and the monumental stage presence to match.

But that wasn’t the only reason the band’s appearance would go down in history…

They also performed a 45-minute ‘after party’ show at the MCG after the game – bringing out Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt for a Mr Brightside duet.

Name a more iconic moment? You can’t!

John Farnham in 2009

Nothing gets the blood pumping like John Farnham singing You’re the Voice, so when the AFL booked him for the 2009 Grand Final between Geelong and St Kilda, everyone breathed a sigh of relief knowing he’d deliver.

And boy, did he ever…

The energy was electric inside the MCG as Farnham belted out his classic tune with his powerful voice.

And then the crowd went wild when he brought on a special guest…

Jimmy Barnes!

The rocker joined Farnham on stage towards the end of the hit, proving once again why the singers are a match made in heaven.

Hunters and Collectors in 2013

When Hunters and Collectors reunited in 2013 for the AFL Grand Final, it only cemented just how important the sport is to Aussie culture.

They’d been on hiatus for nearly a decade, but all that faded away the second the opening strands of Do You See What I See? reverberated throughout the MCG.

Birds of Tokyo and The Western Australia Symphony Orchestra in 2021

A change in scenery – the AFL Grand Final was held at Optus Stadium in Perth in 2021 – called for a collaboration of the ages.

Enter Aussie alternative rock band Birds of Tokyo and The Western Australia Symphony Orchestra.

The two musical acts performed Birds of Tokyo’s Lanterns and Unbreakable, getting the crowd to their feet throughout.

Just look how beautiful this is!

KISS in 2023

Another major international act shipped Down Under for the fateful job, another controversial performance.

KISS’ set in 2023 divided music and footy fans, with the American rock legends accused of lip-syncing and miming.

KISS’ audio notably wasn’t in time with their visual, however, the MCG is a large venue, and sound travels a bit funky in large areas… but if it was mimed, would Paul Stanley’s improvised vocal runs have been able to be heard loud and clear?

Angry Anderson in 1991

Ah, the “career-ending” AFL Grand Final performance that saw Angry Anderson call time on his solo ventures and go back to Rose Tattoo.

Travelling around the stadium in a Batmobile without in-ear monitors was probably not a bet that paid off for the rocker.

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