Guitarist Slash was picking his way through Guns ‘n Roses standard “Sweet Child o’ Mine” when an over exuberant fan emerged from stage left and nearly knocked Slash off the stage in a dramatic incident during an Italian concert.

Slash managed to maintain his balance as the fan and a security guard trying to grab him nearly knocked him off the stage.

Slash momentarily fumbled his guitar and it broke hitting the stage. He got another guitar and picked up where he left off in the song.

The security guard and the fan tumbled off the stage while stunned onlookers watched.

The concert in Milan, Italy, was definitely over the top, Slash said in a message on his Facebook page.

“It was a rowdy crowd, for sure, but amazing. The guy who nailed me didn’t take me down but he busted my poor guitar. Ah well… it was a kick-ass rock show.”

Slash said his own security guard contributed to the onstage incident.

“It turned out to be not that big a deal, but you never know exactly what it could have been,” Slash tells Web site I Heart Guitar.

“It was just some drunk guy – it doesn’t seem like he had any ill will. He came up behind me and my security guard came up and tackled him, not knowing what the guy was capable of.

“The real melee was that tackle – my guard deflected the guy off me, and he got hooked onto my guitar, which I let go of, all in a split second.

“My guitar hit the ground and I picked it up and continued playing, only to find it was broken, so I had to switch guitars to finish the song.”

Slash says moments like those are why he never takes his favorite guitars on tour.

“I only take new guitars on the road because in all the bands I’ve been in there’s a certain amount of chaos.”