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5 Seconds Of Summer Guitarist Michael Clifford Recovering After Catching Fire On Stage

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 02:05 PST, Jun 15, 2015

Australian guitarist Michael Clifford of pop band 5 Seconds Of Summer had a serious close call over the weekend. During a concert at London’s Wembley Arena, the band was playing “She Looks So Perfect” when the 19-year-old got a little too close to the band’s pyro display. Hot flames shout out at the guitarist’s face without warning. For a brief, but no doubt painful, instant, the side of Michael’s head was on fire. The Aussie ran off stage.

A short while later, 5 Seconds of Summer band mate Ashton Irwin announced that the concert was over.

“Michael has hurt himself, so we will not be continuing the show right now. Just want to say thank you so much for coming. He is OK. You guys have been the best crowd we could ever ask for tonight.”

Fans took to Twitter to explain shock and concern over what was witnessed live.

Later in the evening, Michael Clifford took a snapshot of himself and posted it on Instagram. Half of his face is carefully bandaged. The injured 5SOS band member joked that he resembled “Two-Face.”

“What the f**ks up. sorry I couldnt finish the encore, but at least I look like two face. thanks for worrying every1 x”

Fortunately for Michael, the injury to his face isn’t as bad as initially presumed. According to MTV News, a spokesperson for the band says that he fully intends to perform at the very next show.

“Michael is recovering well after being given the all-clear by doctors. He will join the band on stage tonight at The SSE Arena for their third and final London show.”

5 Seconds Of Summer band mate Calum Hood informed fans that Michael “is a trooper” and “ok.” At the same time, he admitted that it was a troubling injury to witness.

“No one ever wants to see your best friend in the state I saw [Michael] backstage.”

For those of us old enough to remember, watching poor Michael Clifford catch fire was somewhat similar to an accident that happened to a more famous “Michael”: Michael Jackson. Thirty-one years ago, Jackson suffered severe burns while performing in front of 3,000 fans — the concert was meant to be a Pepsi commercial. Sparks from the pyrotechnics ignited the singer’s hair. The fire-related incident put Jackson out of commission at what was said to be the peak of his career.

Fortunately for this Michael, his pyro-related mishap wasn’t anywhere near as bad. No doubt the 5 Seconds of Summer fandom wishes him a full and speedy recovery.

[Image Credit: Michael Clifford]

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