Steve Harwell, the former lead singer of pop-rock band Smash Mouth, was known for an array of controversies in the past.

The musician who died aged 56 on Monday after being in hospice care for days, had been suffering from liver failure. He died after a number of health issues in recent years, since a 2013 diagnosis of heart disease cardiomyopathy and the neurological disorder, acute Wernicke encephalopathy. The latter affected his speech and memory. He also suffered from alcoholism.

Although Harwell will be remembered for some of the iconic hits he created with his bands, he will also be recalled for some of the antics that he pulled at his concerts over the years.

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Nazi salute

In 2021, in an upstate New York concert, Harwell slurred his words, threatened the audience, and appeared to give a Nazi salute to the crowd.

The then-54-year-old singer was seen dropping a drink at the show and swaying onstage. He punctuated his slurred singing with inscrutable comments. “I’ll f— kill your whole family, I swear to God,” he told one fan in the audience. To another, he used even more profane language as he said he would never leave the house if he were more gifted at masturbation.

This was followed by an apparent Nazi salute, made from the stage, which drew the most ire from the crowd and social media. The TikToker who shared the original clip called it “the most chaotic show I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

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COVID concert

During an August 9, 2020 concert in Sturgis, South Dakota, Harwell shouted into the crowd, “We’re all here together tonight! F*** that COVID s***!” According to TMZ over 1,000 people attended the concert. It was part of a 10-day long Sturgis Motorcycle Rally festival. Most of the attendees were not wearing face masks or practicing social distancing. Other bands on the festival’s lineup include Buckcherry, Trapt, Lit, and Drowning Pool.

Threatening to beat up fans who threw bread

In 2015, during the Taste of Fort Collins food festival in Colorado, Harwell became angry when fans started throwing bread at him onstage. He cursed at the crowd and threatened to beat up the culprits.

“You throw one more piece of s*** on f***in’ stage, I’m gonna come find your a**, I’m gonna beat your a**, whoever the f*** you are out there,” Harwell screamed, according to Billboard. “You wanna be a bada**? Come up here. Come on. Come be a badass up here. Come on! Come onstage! Come onstage, bada**! Come on! Come onstage! You bring your ass onstage, whoever’s throwing s*** at me!”