Great White Singer's Fire Fascination

The tragic fire which killed 100 people at rockers Great White's gig last week has been blamed on lead singer Jack Russell's obsession with pyrotechnics.

The fatal blaze was sparked by an ill thought-out fireworks display in tiny Rhode Island club The Station, and a band associate claims Russell's irresponsibility contributed to the tragedy.

Russell's former driver Al Bowman wasn't surprised when he heard the news of the inferno - because his ex-boss was always playing with fire.

He says, "One night, I was driving him home from a concert in Los Angeles and all of a sudden the windows started fogging up and the car became really hot.

"I rolled down the divider and there was Jack in the back seat using a blowtorch to superheat a glass bottle that was full of some liquid.

"Another time, I saw that Jack had opened the moon roof and was firing rockets into the sky.

"The band would always finish concerts with a huge flash and with the sound coming a second later. He loved those. It was tough for the fire marshals and arena managers to rein him in."