The Peculiar Truth Behind Metallica’s Secret Coded Backstage Passes

Being one of the greatest bands in the rock music industry comes with many benefits for the Metallica members. Thanks to their success, fame, and music, the rockers always have unlimited access to pretty much anything they desire. As a result, the notorious lifestyle of being a rock star was inevitable for all four members while touring.

While the rock scene is used to hearing crazy backstage habits when a band is on the road, Metallica came up with a brilliant way for categorizing the benefits of being major rock heroes. Since the four band members were quite busy backstage with their ‘guests’ at all times, they came up with a clever solution; let’s take a look.

Metallica Had Special Passes To Divide Groupies

The term ‘groupie‘ is one of the most exciting aspects of the rock scene. While it was initially used for fans who followed their beloved musicians with the hope of meeting them, it later described young women who follow rock stars to have sexual intercourse with them. Some of the most famous groupies were Sable Starr, Pamela Des Barres, and Lorri Maddox.

According to a former roadie named Thomas Bright, Metallica members wanted to keep track of the groupies that came to their backstage in terms of the ones willing to have sex and those who were there just to hang out. The band put smiley faces on the passes to separate the two categories. The pink ones were for the groupies who were there to have sex, which determined how band members acted.

Thomas Bright said that the band’s production manager and the tour manager were in charge of a box in which there were the special passes. Bright had a key to that box, which was why he was called ‘The Fisherman’ and ‘The Father of Filth.’

According to Ranker, Bright explained:

“We had this smiley passes. They were pink backstage passes that had a little face with a smile on them. When a girl got one of those, that meant she gave oral sex. The production manager and the tour manager were in charge of the box that had these passes. And I had a key to the box. I was called ‘The Fisherman.’ I got thanked on two Metallica records for this. They called me ‘The Father of Filth’ and then just ‘The Fisherman.'”

Although it’s incredibly sexist to divide their female fans into two categories to separate who was there to have sex, back then, many groupies had the intention to sleep with their favorite rock star. Luckily, Metallica members aren’t famous for their sexual relationships with underage girls, such as Steven Tyler or Ted Nugent, which made their fans assume their groupies were at least adults.