Lars Ulrich has recently pointed out that he almost pursued a career as a professional tennis player instead of being a great drummer. When he was a 9-year-old boy, the first concert he went to in his life lit the fire in him. It seems we owe Metallica to this flaming Deep Purple concert and the fact that suburban life is not for Lars.
Before changing rock history, Lars Ulrich had tennis in his mind for a career. The drummer told Louder Sound about the first concert he attended and how magical it was for him. Ulrich explained the experience:
“I was just infatuated. Not just with the music but the event: the people, the volume, the reverberation, the light Show, the whole thing.”
The concert at KB Hallen, Copenhagen, is engraved in his core memories; the Metallica mastermind even found his hero: Ritchie Blackmore. Ulrich said:
“The first concert I ever went to was Deep Purple. I was nine years old, and I still can close my eyes and see him taking the black-and-white Stratocaster and playing it with his foot or grinding it against the PA speakers. That left an impression on me. I think he was the best guitar player of that generation, and for me the epitome of the guitar hero.”
Ulrich even went to a particular center in Florida to hone his skill which led him to be sure that the tennis court was not the place Metallica Drummer would like to live. He explained his last months in court:
“I ended up playing tennis every day for six months, and that was probably what turned me off. Then we decided to move to a suburb South of LA called Newport Beach, which was pretty fucking horrible. It was really rich, conservative, pink Lacoste shirts.”
Aged 13, he rushed to his grandma, begging her to buy him a drumkit, a Ludwig made just like Deep Purple’s stickman. Thankfully he chose to chase his dream and let us meet Metallica.
You can click here to learn about Lars Ulrich’s firsts and favorites.