Watch as Disturbed invite disabled fan onstage

A picture of David Draiman and Disturbed fan Pete in Auckland
David Draiman and Disturbed fan Pete in Auckland

Disturbed invited a disabled fan to watch part of their set in Auckland, New Zealand, from the stage after being inspired by his “bravery.”

The fan, known only as Pete, was watching the band’s performance at the Vector Arena from the front row, despite being confined to a wheelchair.

And as the metal giants returned to the stage for an encore, frontman David Draiman explained to the crowd that he wanted the man to enjoy the rest of the show at close quarters.

In a video posted to the band’s Facebook page, Draiman says: “There’s this gentleman sitting right by the front row. And this guy has not been able to see properly all night, but he’s had the balls to be in the fucking front row like this.”

As security guards help Pete to the stage, it is revealed that it his first ever time at a live concert.

Draiman adds: “This is the difference between other genres and hard rock and heavy metal, ladies and gentlemen. You won’t see this kind of bravery, courage, strength at a pop show.

“You think people have the balls to go ahead in a wheelchair to get to the front of a fucking barricade when they go to see Britney Spears? Doesn’t fucking happen.”

Pete then watches as Disturbed perform early hit Voices and Draiman, guitarist Dan Donegan and bassist John Moyer interact with him throughout the song.

Disturbed are on the road in support of their latest album Immortalized.

Disturbed tour dates 2017

Jan 07: Dublin 3 Arena, Ireland
Jan 10: Glasgow SSE Hydro, UK
Jan 12: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, UK
Jan 13: Birmingham Genting Arena, UK
Jan 15: Sheffield Arena, UK
Jan 16: Manchester Arena, UK
Jan 18: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, UK
Jan 19: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, UK
Jan 21: London O2 Arena, UK
Jan 22: London O2 Arena, UK
Feb 12: Frankfurst Festhalle, Germany
Feb 13: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Feb 15: Alt Treptow Arena, Germany
Feb 16: Dusseldorf Mitsubishi Electric Halle, Germany
Feb 18: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Feb 20: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Feb 21: Milan Forum, Italy
Feb 23: Vienna Wiener Stadthalle, Austria
Feb 25: Munich Zenith, Germany
Feb 26: Zurich Halle 622, Switzerland
Feb 28: Lille Zenith Arena, France
Mar 01: Esch Sur Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Mar 02: Paris Accor Hotels Arena, France
Mar 04: Copenhagen Valby Hallen, Denmark
Mar 07: Helsinki Hartwall Arena, Finland
Mar 09: Stockholm Ericsson Globe, Sweden
Mar 10: Osolo Telenor, Norway
Mar 14: St Petersburg A2, Russia
Mar 16: Moscow Sokol Music Hall, Russia

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Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.