Only time I threatened to pummel somebody (and did, partly). 3 guys. One is still my best friend. 1981 London, UK. We were conducting students at Trinity College of Music, London. Shared a 3 bed flat in Neasden, North London. Jerk roommate was first study conducting, me 2nd study (flute 1). After three months of stealing food, not paying for rounds, smoking stogies in every room, living in his own crap, never cleaning, screwing his loud, dog ugly, equally smelly girlfriend all night long and then feeding her our food, storming out of a rehearsal screaming at me when our prof asked me to finish a rehearsal with the college's major symphony orch, with plenty of polite then terse warnings, he did the unthinkable. He stole one of my scores (Debussy Nocturnes, and 're orchestrated' Debussy in indelible red pen). I found him, he scoffed, I grabbed him, lifted him up against the wall by the scruff of his neck, punched him hard, him kicking and screaming like a Banshee, my buddy screaming 'don't kill' him'. He ran out into the quiet night, smashed into a garbage can (yells fuck at the top of his voice), then a dog barked and bit him and he screams fuck even louder. We laughed. From what I see and read in reviews and from buddies who still work with him, he's still a major arsehole.
