British photographer Tony Woolliscroft has had behind-the-scenes access to the Red Hot Chili Peppers for 25 years, and has taken countless photos of the band on tour in that time. His upcoming photo book, Red Hot Chili Peppers: 25 Years Unseen on Tour, gives fans an unparalleled glimpse backstage. Of course, the book also shares wild stories from the road. Additionally, this marks a first-time publishing for more than half of the over 200 photos.
25 Years Unseen on Tour is available for preorder now before its November 10, 2026, publish date. However, an early excerpt from the book shares details of the band’s appearance at the infamous Woodstock ’99, per Classic Rock magazine. In Woolliscroft’s words, accompanied by his images, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ strange, fascinating backstage rituals come to life.
Woolliscroft begins by recalling that he and the Chili Peppers arrived at the former Air Force Base in Rome, New York, at mid-afternoon that July 1999. They were “immediately whisked away to do various interviews set up for them with magazines and MTV.” After that, in their dressing room, Anthony Kiedis finalized the setlist while Flea took a nap.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Took the Stage at Woodstock ’99 With Flea in the Nude
“In the early evening, Flea had a visitor,” the book continued. “Jimi Hendrix’s sister popped into the dressing room to ask a special favor. She asked if the band could finish their set that evening with the Hendrix song ‘Fire’, after the band said that a hologram of Hendrix would be shown on stage playing a song to round off the weekend.”
The story noted that the Red Hot Chili Peppers hadn’t played “Fire” in at least eight years. It was a concert staple for them in the 80s, and they recorded it twice in 1987 and 1989. But it had been a while. So, after running through it a few times, the Chili Peppers added it to the end of the setlist.
By the time the band took the stage, Flea had made the decision to perform completely naked. “Which, considering it was being televised live on a pay-per-view channel, was quite a risk,” Woolliscroft noted. “[It] could have led to his arrest.”
Reports Attributed the Band’s Rendition of ‘Fire’ As Cause of Notorious Woodstock ’99 Riot
But the real fireworks came near the end. The book noted, “Towards the end of their set you could see from the stage that some disturbances were starting to break out at the back of the crowd. During the last song—with unfortunate irony, the cover of Hendrix’s ‘Fire’—various catering and vending carts has been set alight by some crowd members who were protesting against the organizers’ overpricing of basic food and water.”
Once the band finished, they left the festival immediately to beat the traffic to New York City. “Meanwhile, the crew and I witnessed a full-scale riot in progress at the festival,” Woolliscroft wrote. “We were unable to leave until well into the early hours of the morning when order was restored.”
He added, “Of course, the next day’s newspapers claimed that the Chili Peppers played ‘Fire’ as the crowd rioted. Nothing could have been further from the truth, and most of the press were unaware why the band had really decided to perform the song.”
Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images
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