05/07/2019
Last evening many lovers of reggae music arrived at Islington Assembly Hall in anticipation of seeing Richie Spice in concert. Speaking for myself I had been looking forward to the show, as it is very rare, given my work schedule, for me to actually get out these days. Suffice to say it became abundantly clear quite early on that something was a miss.
Allow me to elaborate, on entry into the venue we were greeted with a DJ on stage, Jah Negus, was his handle I believe. Anyway that was fine, music was sufficiently interesting, however at one point he appeared to be suggesting that he had turned up to be entertained and was asked to make a contribution. It seems he walks with his kit at all times.
Around about 20:00 he was preparing to depart the stage, he however, returned [my apologies if the sequence of events is not exact] stating that someone was about to perform and he had been asked to play their tracks for them. This young man did his best, but in truth his best wasn't good enough. He was on the stage way beyond his sell by. Once this young man had departed from the stage and the DJ had removed his equipment we were subjected to an hour of the best of all things reggae. Don't get me wrong as a lover of reggae music, for its entire 50 year history, the selection was enjoyable, but I could not really engage because the lack of activity on the stage had my full attention. Long story short, just before 22:00 one of the stage hands removed a mic from its stand and exited stage right. Then came the dreaded words, "Due to circumstances beyond our control Richie Spice will NOT be appearing tonight. Anyone wishing to get a refund should contact the ticket agency."
Some people muttered, "I knew something was wrong." Others just looked stunned, one sister even threw her "plastic" cup onto the stage.
OK, you may be wondering why I am bothering to write this little piece, then let me explain, we the reggae generation have in my opinion been treated quite shabbily over the years. We have endured poorly put together promotions with stoicism for years. However, the fact that we have taken disappointment in our stride does not detract from the fact that this treatment is wrong. The main problem is that there are very rarely any proper explanations of what has gone wrong, the promoter blames the artist and the artist blames the promoter. The paying public are left with a bad taste in their mouth. I for one, am tired of this situation. We continually cry out for the world to treat us better, while continuing to treat each other with what amounts to contempt. I wait to see the fallout from this unprofessional debacle.
As an aside I spoke to an artist, that I know very well, who suggested that considering who Richie Spice uses to book his concerts and events, coupled with the fact that this event was Lottery funded and backed by the Arts Council of Great Britain, it would appear that some sort of contractual error has occurred and this is most likely to be the responsibility of the artist. I would like to be proved wrong in my assumptions, but will not be holding my breath in anticipation.
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