- Everything has to start somewhere, and pop superstars start with Franz Liszt.
People go crazy about musicians. From Elvis Presley to the Beatles to modern K-Pop heartthrobs, obsessive and, frankly, insane fans are a mainstay of popular music fandom.
But where did this all start? Well, before K-Pop, Beatles, or Elvis, there was a man who took Europe’s music scene by storm.
Ladies and gentlemen, Franz Liszt!
In the mid-1800s, that line would’ve sent fanatic fans screaming. The Hungarian classical composer was so popular that doctors at the time diagnosed his fans with a new condition — Lisztomania.
Sounds like Beatlemania, right? And the similarities don’t end with the name.
Here are seven weird ways Liszt’s fans treated him in ways that make him the first modern rock star.
7) Women Threw Their Undies at Him
Women throwing their underwear at rock stars is a common stereotype. And it just may have started with Franz Liszt.
Franz Liszt was a sex symbol like no other had been before him. He was charismatic, talented, and just plain smoking hot.
So, the ladies went absolutely goo-goo-ga-ga over him. While classical concerts before him were subdued affairs, as soon as Liszt took to the stage, the crowd went nuts.
Women threw everything at him, from flowers to handkerchiefs, gloves, and — yes — even their underwear. They would scream, cry, and faint, just like Beatles fans would 200 years later.
6) People Kept His Trash
Collecting pop star memorabilia is fairly common these days among dedicated fans. That phenomenon, too, may have started with Liszt.
If he threw away a used handkerchief, somebody in the crowd around him would quickly snatch it up. If he dropped a glove, he would probably never see it again.
And if something touched his lips, women would fight over it.
But it wasn’t just Liszt’s everyday things that his fans hoarded. They even gathered his garbage.
Women would bring glass vials to his concerts so they could scoop Liszt’s coffee grounds into them. One lucky lady managed to pick up Liszt’s cigar stump, which she encased in a locket with Liszt’s initials rendered on it in diamonds.
5) Even Men Went Crazy for Him
It wasn’t just women who lost their minds over Liszt. Men did it too.
He was just that hot.
His male fans wrote adoring diatribes about Liszt where they praised his handsome looks, impeccable musical skills, and basically anything else he did. In a weird way, you could consider these letters and reports precursors to modern fan magazines and websites.
Some men went even further in their admiration. Yuri Arnold, a Russian music critic at the time, wrote the following in his diary after hearing Liszt play:
“I was completely undone by the sense of the supernatural, the mysterious, the incredible. As soon as I reached home, I pulled off my coat, flung myself to the sofa, and wept the bitterest, sweetest tears.”
4) He Had Bizarre Merchandise
If it can be sold to fans, you can bet a pop star’s name will be slapped onto it. And it was the same with Liszt.
In particular, people lusted after his glorious, long, luscious hair. And to be fair, he did have some flowing locks.
His fans kept begging Liszt for a lock of his hair. There was just one problem — with the thousands of fans, Liszt would’ve soon gone bald if he answered every request.
So the man bought a long-haired dog the same color as his hair and clipped off a bit of his fur every time somebody wanted a memento. And the fans ate it up.
Hopefully not literally, but we wouldn’t put it past them.
3) Groupies and Wrecked Hotel Rooms
Many rock stars are famous for their love of groupies and destroying hotel rooms. And so it was with Liszt.
But in his case, he wasn’t the one to wreck the room.
Liszt had a brief affair with Lola Montez, a professional groupie who’d slept with practically every famous man of her time. Liszt, however, had his fun and then quietly stole away into the night as Montez slept.
When she woke up, Montez was absolutely livid. Not used to rejection, she annihilated the hotel room she had booked with Liszt.
The musician knew of the woman’s temper, though. Before he left the hotel, he handed the receptionist a stack of cash and apologized in advance for what was about to come.
2) He Had a Crafty Manager
Many musicians today owe a lot to their shrewd managers. Liszt also had a manager, the crafty Signor Belloni.
Once, Liszt went on a tour with the singer Giovanni Rubini as his opening act. Belloni realized that there could be a problem.
Like with so many opening acts, it was likely that Liszt would completely overshadow Rubini. That might become a problem for the longevity of the musicians’ collaboration.
So, Belloni hired people to act as fanatical toward Rubini as Liszt’s fans did for him. The actors threw flowers at Rubini, recited love poetry to him, and in general made him feel like he was as popular as Liszt.
And then Belloni sent Rubini the actors’ bill. No, we’re not kidding.
1) He Was Treated Like Royalty, by Royalty
These days, it’s not weird to see popular musicians meet with top politicians of the time. But Liszt did better than that — he was treated better than Europe’s royals by the royals themselves.
Case in point, after performing for the German court, the king and queen showed up at the balcony to wave him goodbye. They also gave him a royal entourage, complete with 30 horse-drawn coaches and the royal honor guard.
Maybe the fame went to Liszt’s head a bit because he started demanding that royals place him on a pedestal. Once, he was playing for the Russian Czar Nicholas I.
Liszt was outraged when the Czar dared to talk briefly during his performance. So, the man stopped the show and sat there glaring at the emperor for what we assume were several very awkward moments.
Just as entitled as many pop stars today.
Hits: 0
