Jamaican star Shaggy tested the patience of even his most loyal fans with a very late and very short performance at Soho Bar recently - spurring several to demand a refund from the venue.
The Gisborne Herald received a number of complaints about the gig but Soho management say they are just as disappointed at his late performance and are apologetic to patrons, despite circumstances out of their control.
Promoters had said Shaggy would be at Soho between the hours of 11.30pm and 2am, so co-owners Matt Smith and Tony Trafford were shocked when they got a message at 11.15pm saying he was still in Whakatane.
"By this time most people had entered the bar and paid the $30 cover charge. We requested that Dei Hamo, who was performing before Shaggy make an announcement to the crowd explaining this.
"Unfortunately, this caused some rumours to spread and some people believed he was not going to turn up at all," Mr Smith said.
When customers started asking for refunds, Soho staff were unable to oblige because door sales went directly to the promoters.
In a letter to the editor, a "disappointed local" cited an "ungrateful, very rude" woman at the door who was taking the money and stamping guests.
The woman was a representative of Shaggy's promoters and had no affiliation with the bar. She later left unannounced with the door takings and Soho's float, money bag and stamp, which had been lent for the evening.
"We believe it was exceptionally unprofessional of her to leave the venue when she became aware that Shaggy was going to be late. Soho had no authority over that money, as all proceeds from door takings were going to the gig promoters. It is because of this we were in no position to refund ticket money. We were simply acting as a venue on this particular occasion and regret that some chose to leave before Shaggy arrived," Mr Smith said.
The "disappointed local" was one who did leave before he showed up and noted his late and short set.
"We heard that Shaggy finally arrived at 1.30am, sang a few lines for 10 minutes, signed a few autographs - that's it! So was this a night for Soho to make some extra money or was it in fact a promotional hiccup?"
Soho has hosted more than 100 successful gigs and has made a decision not to use these promoters again.
SOURCE: gisborneherald.co.nz
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