![Chuck Berry: The legendary musician’s 2013 Helsinki show was such a disaster that it helped usher in a new law - gig-goers in Finland can now get their money back if there’s a “generally agreed view that the concert was a failure.” To be fair to him, he had the flu, and probably shouldn’t have been performing.]()
Chuck Berry: The legendary musician’s 2013 Helsinki show was such a disaster that it helped usher in a new law - gig-goers in Finland can now get their money back if there’s a “generally agreed view that the concert was a failure.” To be fair to him, he had the flu, and probably shouldn’t have been performing.
![The White Stripes: Fans weren’t technically entitled to a refund for this Newfoundland show, given that it was free - but they were probably miffed they’d bothered coming all that way to see Jack and Meg play just a single note before saying, “We have now officially played in every province and territory in Canada,” before leaving the stage.]()
The White Stripes: Fans weren’t technically entitled to a refund for this Newfoundland show, given that it was free - but they were probably miffed they’d bothered coming all that way to see Jack and Meg play just a single note before saying, “We have now officially played in every province and territory in Canada,” before leaving the stage.
![Atlas Sound: When a drunken heckler jokingly requested Bradford Cox play ‘My Sharona’ at his Minneapolis show, he decided to spend the entire, hour-long set performing The Knack’s cheesy hit song. No-one - not even the heckler - was impressed.]()
Atlas Sound: When a drunken heckler jokingly requested Bradford Cox play ‘My Sharona’ at his Minneapolis show, he decided to spend the entire, hour-long set performing The Knack’s cheesy hit song. No-one - not even the heckler - was impressed.
![Prince: To call this a disastrous gig isn’t entirely accurate - it wasn’t really a gig at all. Despite the fact that fans had paid 100 pounds to get into his early morning Connecticut gig, all Prince actually did was appear briefly in the DJ booth for one spin of his latest single, before leaving never to return. Sadly, he was subsequently met with boos from those who’d forked out their cash expecting to see a live show, and they were offered refunds.]()
Prince: To call this a disastrous gig isn’t entirely accurate - it wasn’t really a gig at all. Despite the fact that fans had paid 100 pounds to get into his early morning Connecticut gig, all Prince actually did was appear briefly in the DJ booth for one spin of his latest single, before leaving never to return. Sadly, he was subsequently met with boos from those who’d forked out their cash expecting to see a live show, and they were offered refunds.
![Death Grips: The group were due to play at a Lollapalooza pre-party in Chicago a few years ago. Instead, they set up a drum kit, projected a suicide note and played a CD of their album to the confused crowd. To clear matters up, they sent a statement saying, “That was the show.” Then the crowd turned from confused to furious.]()
Death Grips: The group were due to play at a Lollapalooza pre-party in Chicago a few years ago. Instead, they set up a drum kit, projected a suicide note and played a CD of their album to the confused crowd. To clear matters up, they sent a statement saying, “That was the show.” Then the crowd turned from confused to furious.
![Madonna: Though most of Madonna’s recent world tour went off without a hitch (in fact, her O2 show was one of the best things we saw last year), she arrived over an hour late to her Manchester gig, apparently due to technical issues. Not content with merely showing up late, she then decided to turn on the crowd, saying,]()
Madonna: Though most of Madonna’s recent world tour went off without a hitch (in fact, her O2 show was one of the best things we saw last year), she arrived over an hour late to her Manchester gig, apparently due to technical issues. Not content with merely showing up late, she then decided to turn on the crowd, saying, "If you diva bitches want to keep complaining about it, then don’t come to my show. I’m not back there eating chocolate and filing my nails and getting my extensions done, all right?”
![Exo: The hugely popular K-pop band were supposed to play a three-hour gig at China’s Shanghai Gymnasium - for which fans had paid at least $617 per ticket, with front row seats going for as much as $1,500 - but they only ended up playing for 30 minutes, performing five songs.]()
Exo: The hugely popular K-pop band were supposed to play a three-hour gig at China’s Shanghai Gymnasium - for which fans had paid at least $617 per ticket, with front row seats going for as much as $1,500 - but they only ended up playing for 30 minutes, performing five songs.
![Yo La Tengo: The band brought a game show-like wheel on the road with them on the 2011 show, spinning the wheel to decide the theme for each evening. During one show, this resulted in them acting out an entire episode of Seinfeld. Not exactly what the crowd had in mind.]()
Yo La Tengo: The band brought a game show-like wheel on the road with them on the 2011 show, spinning the wheel to decide the theme for each evening. During one show, this resulted in them acting out an entire episode of Seinfeld. Not exactly what the crowd had in mind.
![Neil Diamond: Despite suffering from acute laryngitis, the singer decided to struggle through a performance in Ohio. Realising afterwards that his voice had been well below par, he released a statement promising refunds for everyone in attendance, saying, “I haven’t let you down before and I won’t let you down now.]()
Neil Diamond: Despite suffering from acute laryngitis, the singer decided to struggle through a performance in Ohio. Realising afterwards that his voice had been well below par, he released a statement promising refunds for everyone in attendance, saying, “I haven’t let you down before and I won’t let you down now."
![Oasis: The band’s performance at Manchester’s Heaton Park back in 2008 was blighted with technical problems after a generator failed. After a 45 minute break, Noel told the crowd it was now a “free” gig and that “anybody that kept their ticket will get a refund.” He wasn’t expecting them to take him seriously though, so when more than a quarter of the crowd applied for a refund (hitting the band with a £900,000 bill) he released a statement calling them “cheeky cunts.]()
Oasis: The band’s performance at Manchester’s Heaton Park back in 2008 was blighted with technical problems after a generator failed. After a 45 minute break, Noel told the crowd it was now a “free” gig and that “anybody that kept their ticket will get a refund.” He wasn’t expecting them to take him seriously though, so when more than a quarter of the crowd applied for a refund (hitting the band with a £900,000 bill) he released a statement calling them “cheeky cunts."
![Low: While most bands stick to their best-known, crowd-pleasing numbers for festivals, Low decided to treat their Rock The Garden audience with a 27-minute-long, one-song set. It was met with a mixed response, to say the least.]()
Low: While most bands stick to their best-known, crowd-pleasing numbers for festivals, Low decided to treat their Rock The Garden audience with a 27-minute-long, one-song set. It was met with a mixed response, to say the least.
![Eminem: The rapper headlined Wembley Stadium back in 2014, but his set was marred by sound issues - with fans in the seated area of the 90,000 capacity arena saying they could barely hear the performance at all. It’s fair to say his first ever appearance at the venue wasn’t an unmitigated success.]()
Eminem: The rapper headlined Wembley Stadium back in 2014, but his set was marred by sound issues - with fans in the seated area of the 90,000 capacity arena saying they could barely hear the performance at all. It’s fair to say his first ever appearance at the venue wasn’t an unmitigated success.
![Tom Jones: The Welsh singer was performing at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland when, 45 minutes into his set, the stage went black. He left the stage for 15 minutes, before a voice announced over the loudspeaker that he wouldn’t be coming back. Fans who’d forked out nearly a hundred pounds for a ticket demanded their money back.]()
Tom Jones: The Welsh singer was performing at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland when, 45 minutes into his set, the stage went black. He left the stage for 15 minutes, before a voice announced over the loudspeaker that he wouldn’t be coming back. Fans who’d forked out nearly a hundred pounds for a ticket demanded their money back.