ISLE OF MAN FARCE -TIVAL
Festivalgoers demand refund as band frontman “stops singing”
MUSIC fans who attended the Isle of Man Festival have been left fuming and demanding their money back after Bernie Gastap, lead singer of rock band The Quacks, consistently went quiet during the chorus of the band’s hit song.
the silence meant that festivalgoers, some of whom had paid hundreds of pounds for tickets, were forced to sing the chorus themselves whilst Gastap watched, smirking and holding his microphone out to the audience. Pop fan Danielle Harp, 22, who stumped up £350 for her weekend ticket plus hundreds more to travel from London to see the band, was left unimpressed.
“I stood through an hour of them playing dross from their new album before they finally got to their one hit single from 1977, Onion Lady,” she told NME.
“The verse went as expected, but as the chorus came up, the lead singer suddenly stopped singing, held the microphone out and put his hand behind his ear.”
Harp continued: “Everyone was a bitconfused,butsomequick-thinking members of the audience started singing the chorus themselves, and soon everyone else did too.”
“I thought it was odd that he could have forgotten the words after all the times he must have sung Onion Lady,” said Craig Galbani, who had paid over the odds for black market tickets. “But we all make mistakes and I gave him the benefit of the doubt.”
“But then the chorus came round a second time and Gastap shouted “Everybody!” which isn’t even in the original lyrics, before going quiet again,” he added.
“The worst thing is, when we were all doing his job for him and singing the song, he had the gall to shout “I can’t hear you!” Galbani fumed.
“Talk about a brass neck.” onion
Alma Gumshoe, who travelled from John O’Groats to see The Quacks, was disappointed, but had no complaints about the other band members.
“The lads kept on playing throughout the song,” she told Mojo magazine. “But I felt insulted when Gastap asked the crowd to do what he’s paid to do. It’s no way to treat loyal fans.”
The band was eventually booed off the stage, and festival organisers were inundated with demands for refunds from disgruntled fans.
Many other fans took to Twitter to express their disgust, vowing never to buy a Quacks record again, not that many people have done since 1977.
And some said they would be taking legal action against the band under the Sales of Goods Act 1973, claiming that the service they had paid for had not been provided.
responsibility
Isle of Man Festival organisers released a statement, saying: “We apologise for any disappointment caused during The Quacks’ performance. We have reminded all performing artists of their contractual responsibilities at the Festival.”
But consumer champion Martin Lewis says fans should demand their money back anyway. “If you pay a brickie to build you a wall, you wouldn’t expect to have to mix the mortar for them,” he told us. “Clearly, fans paid good money to see The Quacks singing their hit song, and this service was not provided.”
“The good news is that fans who bought tickets using credit cards can claim their money back from their card provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act,” he added.“