Bell ends at festivals V's Bell ends at football matches

[jawillwill]

Over the past couple of days I've seen quite a few videos online of idiots at festivals (e.g. Reading / Leeds) mindlessly throwing bottles of piss at strangers and getting into fights/borderline riots. 

Unless I've missed it, I haven't really seen any mention of this in the news, despite the huge attendances at such events. If similar behaviour was witnessed at professional football matches, I'm relatively sure it would be front page news for multiple days.

As someone who's never really been to a "proper" festival, is this behaviour fairly standard, or something that seems to have got progressively worse in the last couple of years? From the videos I've seen, if it's a regular occurance, its only matter of time before someone gets killed/seriously injured by an erroneous former bottle of Strongbow filled with fresh piss.

(I should clarify, before anyone thinks I'm a mad football holligan, I think all such behaviour is the work of twats so I'm impartial. Just relatively intrigued by the mundset of both sides). 

[Sheaf Saint]

I guess it depends on the festival. Leeds/Reading has a terrible reputation for knobheads ruining it. A friend of mine got inadvertently caught up in a massive riot there a few years ago. But I've been to loads of other festivals where you would never see anything like the twattery you get there.

If you think what happened last weekend was bad though, watch the Netflix dcoumentary about Woodstock 99. What happened there was insane. Total carnage on a scale you could only imagine.

[Ted Bates Statue]

Idiots in music crowds has always been commonplace, I've heard stories of Oasis gigs being fairly unpleasant with the constant aerial threat of piss bottles. When I saw The Who around 15 years ago, during an instrumental solo someone took it upon themselves to throw a bottle at the stage from a fair distance away and it hit Roger Daltrey in the head. It must have been quite a nasty impact and it did cut him a bit as I recall, but he just took a step back and got on with his tambourine playing. Absolute pro. I should imagine Axl Rose might have taken a different attitude. 

Not a festival in the same vein as Reading/Leeds, but there are always reports of trouble at Notting Hill Carnival, to the extent that police are requesting for it to be held in Hyde Park instead.

Honestly can't tell if things are getting worse as I don't really get out much generally, but there could well be a bit of post-covid exuberance involved as people learn to socialise again.

[cloggy saint]

I've worked at countless festivals across Europe and have never witnessed or heard of anything similar to what happened at Reading/Leeds. This kind of anti-social behaviour is predominately but not exclusively an English disease.

[East Kent Saint]

Reading / Leeds involved usual portaloo stuff plus tent arson ( they usually just abandon tents these days) plus some not so usual fights according to reports . There is so much in the news about world disasters , war , gas prices , ruderless govt and a new PM who is going to be much worse than the last one that a bit of festival hooliganism doesn't get much coverage.

[aintforever]

Bottles of piss were standard practice at Donnington back in the early 90s.

[ant]

Attended Reading Fest in my youth, from 2005 to 2010 (inclusive). Never got involved in any of the nonsense, but without any wider experience I thought the way people behaved there was the norm at festivals.

It isn't.

Been to dozens of others across the UK and at most of them people simply want to have a good time. You see some hijinks - but mostly in good spirit, and not to anybody else's detriment.

Reading and Leeds seem to attract shitheads like moths to a flame. Predominately mummy and daddy's little 'cherubs', let off the leash for the first time.

Can't remember whether it was 2009 or 2010, but the last night was tantamount to a riot. Telegraph poles being pulled down, just about anything being set on fire... Including a tent which contained two young girls. It's no exaggeration to say there were baying mobs patrolling the campsites. Crowd control were sent in with riot shields etc.

Never understood why it doesn't make the news. Football crowds are angelic in comparison.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

4 minutes ago, aintforever said:

Bottles of piss were standard practice at Donnington back in the early 90s.

Agreed. I was at the GnR concert at Spurs in July. It was so civilised I thought it was a garden party at Buckingham Palace

[Toadhall Saint]

It’s a reading thing.

[Ken Tone]

7 minutes ago, East Kent Saint said:

Reading / Leeds involved usual portaloo stuff plus tent arson ( they usually just abandon tents these days) plus some not so usual fights according to reports . There is so much in the news about world disasters , war , gas prices , ruderless govt and a new PM who is going to be much worse than the last one that a bit of festival hooliganism doesn't get much coverage.

Friend of mine volunteered for a charity that went round festivals picking up the abandoned tents and either selling them or giving them to homeless people.  Huge numbers.

[waylander]

Reading in the 70s had this (and Hell's Angels fighting with axes)

[Nordic Saint]

Victorious Festival working with police probe into rape and sexual assault amid public order and drug offences | The News (portsmouth.co.uk)

 

Armed police storm Reading Festival after night of fires, fighting and looting (msn.com)

 

One in three women at music festivals sexually assaulted or harassed (telegraph.co.uk)

Edited 31 August, 2022 by Nordic Saint

[Lord Duckhunter]

38 minutes ago, waylander said:

Reading in the 70s had this (and Hell's Angels fighting with axes)

At Altamont they provided the security……… for $500 worth of beer … 🤪

Ended up knocking out one of the Jefferson Airplane, stabbing Stephen Stills with a bike spoke, and famously stabbing a fan to death. Peace & love man. 

[Toadhall Saint]

18 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

At Altamont they provided the security……… for $500 worth of beer … 🤪

Ended up knocking out one of the Jefferson Airplane, stabbing Stephen Stills with a bike spoke, and famously stabbing a fan to death. Peace & love man. 

Yeah watched a documentary recently - not great. 

[AlexLaw76]

2 hours ago, Sheaf Saint said:

I guess it depends on the festival. Leeds/Reading has a terrible reputation for knobheads ruining it. A friend of mine got inadvertently caught up in a massive riot there a few years ago. But I've been to loads of other festivals where you would never see anything like the twattery you get there.

If you think what happened last weekend was bad though, watch the Netflix dcoumentary about Woodstock 99. What happened there was insane. Total carnage on a scale you could only imagine.

That was mental.  I do not recall any insight into this in the news at the time.  But I guess that was way before social media etc

Ultimately, we have a young generation who are told they are amazing all the time, in some cases are given the very best grades and expect the world to dance to their tune.  The police are stretched, but make themselves appear very weak, whilst the youngsters are again told how amazing they are.

Lots of entitlement really

Edited 31 August, 2022 by AlexLaw76

[John Boy Saint]

5 hours ago, aintforever said:

Bottles of piss were standard practice at Donnington back in the early 90s.

Especially if you decided to let your bird get on your shoulders for a better view. …………. Being in the vicinity of anyone about to “mount up” you were moving away because you knew a downpour of biblical proportions was coming your way and every drop encased in metal.

[The Cat]

Reading is a festival full of 16-18 year olds getting all excited because they are hammered in a field without their parents for the first time.

I went in the 90's and there was trouble back then. Mates got robbed of their drugs at knifepoint and others had tents slashed and stuff stolen. Vehicles were turned over, bins set on fire etc. It never made the news then largely because no one cared what happened and there was no social media and phones to film it all on.

Most other festivals in the UK have some elements of issues but there will always be something going on when you have 20000+ people in a field for 3 to 5 days.

In my experience the more commercial festivals are the worse for trouble and incidents. The independent ones less so. Even those get the odd gang robbing tests or whatever though. 

I'm off to End of the Road festival tomorrow, really looking forward to having to keep up with the transfer window thread while putting up a tent!

[macca155]

6 hours ago, waylander said:

Reading in the 70s had this (and Hell's Angels fighting with axes)

Well I was at Reading in the 70s and must have missed the Hells Angels act.

I remember lots of drugs openly on sale (pretty much Tesco Express for dopeheads). Toilets to be avoided at all cost. Hippy shit all over the place, lots of nudity, crap sound, but lots of cool bands.

From what I can remember it was all pretty chilled out.

I reckon the aggro is a modern phenomenon. Very different crowd these days.

In contrast football was a regular warzone in the 70s.

Have to say Victorious this year was all very civilised.

[waylander]

45 minutes ago, macca155 said:

Well I was at Reading in the 70s and must have missed the Hells Angels act.

I remember lots of drugs openly on sale (pretty much Tesco Express for dopeheads). Toilets to be avoided at all cost. Hippy shit all over the place, lots of nudity, crap sound, but lots of cool bands.

From what I can remember it was all pretty chilled out.

I reckon the aggro is a modern phenomenon. Very different crowd these days.

In contrast football was a regular warzone in the 70s.

Have to say Victorious this year was all very civilised.

Think the axe fight was 1978

[bangkoksaint]

The easy thing would be to stop them happening. However make no mistake how much each local council and police Forces make out of these gigs even when you take costs into account. One particular Force that hosts a very large festival once paid all its officers to police them and said it wouldn’t be to the residents of that county detriment. Roll on that Force having no money they stopped that and just cancelled days off and holidays. Consequently officers are pulled in from all over the Force area, the result being that in real terms the residents of that county lost hundreds of policing days in real terms. 

[Saint86]

On 31/08/2022 at 14:34, Ted Bates Statue said:

Idiots in music crowds has always been commonplace, I've heard stories of Oasis gigs being fairly unpleasant with the constant aerial threat of piss bottles. 

Saw oasis at the Rose Bowl (don't believe the truth tour - so I'd guess circa 2005). 

The number of plastic pint glasses filled with piss that were hurled across the crowd was beyond count. People seemed to delight in it. I remember someone not too far away from me getting hit by one square in the back of the head/neck. Fortunately the people I was with recieved only the occasional spray. Needless to say you were constantly worried about errant piss cups... Well until you'd given up caring. 

Edited 2 September, 2022 by Saint86

[The Cat]

Anyone watching Oasis deserves to be covered in piss.

[jasonb]

On 31/08/2022 at 14:55, aintforever said:

Bottles of piss were standard practice at Donnington back in the early 90s.

Absolutely. The '5 litre container' cloud  before Metallica's set in '95 was particularly memorable. 

 

Apparently it's gone very tame now its Download. 

 

I recall some fun antics in the campsites back in the day too. Loons atop the roof of rented transits powering around the campsite 'roads'. People having fire jumping competitions. 

[adrian lord]

Deep Purple Knebworth 1985: the sky went black with a rainstorm of bottles of piss. You cannot go the the toilets from the centre of a crowd of 120,000 in a field. So you piss in your empty bottles. Once you are soaked in piss (like getting caught in the rain in the open without a coat and soaked) it actually doesn't matter anymore.

Stranglers, Southampton Gaumont 1982  - support act bottled off the stage, seats ripped up and destroyed and thrown at the stage and at the army of bouncers. Loads of other similar gigs there in the early 80s. 

It was all part of the experience and everyone, consenting fans and performers alike knew the score and willingly attended. Fantastic fun. 

[Jonnyboy]

On 31/08/2022 at 16:54, AlexLaw76 said:

That was mental.  I do not recall any insight into this in the news at the time.  But I guess that was way before social media etc

Ultimately, we have a young generation who are told they are amazing all the time, in some cases are given the very best grades and expect the world to dance to their tune.  The police are stretched, but make themselves appear very weak, whilst the youngsters are again told how amazing they are.

Lots of entitlement really

That was 23 years ago. And there was plenty in the news at the time. 

[Jonnyboy]

4 hours ago, jasonb said:

Absolutely. The '5 litre container' cloud  before Metallica's set in '95 was particularly memorable. 

 

Apparently it's gone very tame now its Download. 

 

I recall some fun antics in the campsites back in the day too. Loons atop the roof of rented transits powering around the campsite 'roads'. People having fire jumping competitions. 

Average age at Download is much higher. It's the Donnington crowd but now old and grown up. 

[jasonb]

On 02/09/2022 at 00:36, Jonnyboy said:

Average age at Download is much higher. It's the Donnington crowd but now old and grown up. 

I am considering a return next year as my son has taken an interest in the heavier side of music... finally. I've actually got him to come along to see Anthrax with me in a few weeks time. 

[Jonnyboy]

3 hours ago, jasonb said:

I am considering a return next year as my son has taken an interest in the heavier side of music... finally. I've actually got him to come along to see Anthrax with me in a few weeks time. 

I did a day ticket this year. Saw toddlers in Maiden patch jackets right up to people in their sixties. No trouble at all.