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This is the email we have sent to the arena. Who knows it may do some good.

Hi Nicolas

My name is Martin & I spoke to you yesterday on the phone with my concerns about Friday nights concert 4 July 2008 The Australian Pink Floyd Show & you have asked me to email you.

Our concerns Kay (My Partner) & myself would like to say what a great show the band always put on as they usually do at the pops for the last 4 years for us, which we have been fortunate to go to both nights every time except last year as they only did one night. We know when we attend Liverpool concerts that the audience is usually up for a good night that is another reason why we like the Liverpool gigs, but this was totally over the top even more so than the Roger Waters concert in May.

However Friday night from the moment we arrived at the Arena at 7pm we observed a large amount of people so drunk they were having trouble walking. We witnessed these drunk people being let into the Arena to then buy & consume even more alcohol at the Arena bar. At the bar a sign saying 4 drinks per person, can you imagine drunks carrying 4 drinks, lids taken off all bottles as well, spilling the contents on the floor & over people what a disgrace.

The floor where we were sat Block B row N was absolutely swimming in alcohol. The young female sat next to us was in no way capable by the interval of even standing, after several complaints in the second half she was eventually removed by security. Had there have been any bag checks at the door your staff would have found the bottle of vodka which she then consumed with coke bought from the bar, she actually kept sitting on the floor soaked in alcohol to mix the vodka & coke together. The young lady concerned also dropped the contents of her bag all over the floor leaving behind her passport which was then handed in at the end of the night.

At the interval there appeared to be no security around the toilets where people were smoking is this not against the law? What was done nothing. We felt the staff on occasions were totally incompetent, far too young & inexperienced with the situations they were expected to deal with. When one member of staff said "What to you want us to do?" that tells the story of incompetence. We have both attended concert all the world for the past 30 years & never experienced anything like this in an arena. We expect better.

What an awful experience this was for us & others around, this amongst all the drunks up & down constantly to the bar for more alcohol to be spilt all over. The constant procession of other drunks up & down to go to the toilets. The drunks then started swearing & cursing at people which appeared to be for no reason at all which then also lead to a fight in the aisle between Block A & B at the end of our row. What an evening! The entire evening was ruined by the behaviour of these people. How could they have been let in the first in the first place then allowed to continue drinking more alcohol.

After buying new white trainers the previous weekend they were soaked in beer they are now stained & ruined.

We now find ourselves in a dilemma, we have tickets & hotels booked for the concert on 26 July & also for the Queen concert in October & really don't feel like attending. Although we feel quite angry about what happened it's very sad to think that people think this is acceptable behaviour, but with better security all round it could have been avoidable. We also feel that general Health & safety aspects were greatly overlooked at the Arena i.e. people falling due to the bad state the floors were in. We accept that it is nice to have a drink at concerts but surely it would be better to close the bar during the performance & only open at the interval which we know you won't do, so upgrade the security.

After reading this email it appears to paint a bad picture of all Floyd fans, but if you can take the time to read the "not aussie floyd" website you will appreciate the concerns of many more true Floyd fans, there are pages of complaints about the evening from page 17  www.tapfs.com/forum/index.php/topic,1941.240.html


Martin & Kay

After reading that, I am really glad I didn't and won't be going to any of the Aussie gigs in Liverpool. A sad reflection of how much the British population is falling from grace....... we are thought of Internationally as an island of badly behaved drunken louts, nothing I hear these days contradicts this opinion.

I agree that Security should/could probably do more, but isn't there an element of social conscience and respect missing here?

I hope your email does some good, but I wouldn't hold your breath. It sounds like the management haven't got a clue. Someone is going to get seriously injured there before anything gets done about it.

Just to reiterate that these are our complaints about one night only & they have no reflection upon the band who we think are great, it would be nice to know if the band realises what goes on out front & what they think about it.

Martin & Kay

I agree the Security should/could probably do more, but isn't there an element of social conscience and respect missing here?


As you say Great Gig people just dont seem to give a F* any more what a damn shame > & 

I'm so pleased that Martin and Kay have taken the trouble to persue there enormous sense of dissapointment that they feel about the lack of adequate security involvement last Friday night. Thank you both, I hope that you are not the only people to have taken matters directly to the venue management.
          How badly would the reputation of our favourite band be tarnished if (God forbid) a member of the audience were to loose their life due to a security lapse not of the bands making ?