Damon Albarn has been labelled a 'pop diva' by rock band Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats after they claim the Gorillaz frontman forced festival organisers to cut their set short at Denmark's Roskilde Festival. The band posted a statement on Instagram accusing the 58-year-old singer of throwing a 'hissy fit' because their performance was 'too loud'.
Band claims set was cut after 25 minutes
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats were performing on the Lagune Stage at 10:15pm while Gorillaz headlined the Orange Scene stage at 10pm. The band alleged that Albarn threatened to storm off stage unless their set was shut down. According to the statement, they only managed 25 minutes of their performance before being stopped, despite being 'below the festival dB limit' and offering to turn down the front-of-house sound.
'Pop diva Damon Albarn of the novelty cartoon act Gorillaz threw a hissy fit while we played, threatened to storm off stage before finally getting our set shut down because we were “too loud”,' the statement read. 'They were the only headliner of the whole weekend who couldn’t cope with playing at the same time as other artists.'
Festival organisers cite wind conditions
Roskilde Festival organisers released their own statement, attributing the early end to 'strong winds' and technical factors. 'To reduce the risk of further disruptions and provide the best possible experience for both festivalgoers and artists, we’ve made a number of changes to today’s programme,' they wrote. 'The interruption was caused by a combination of wind conditions and technical factors that affected the sound production.' They apologised for the disappointment caused to both fans and artists.
Uncle Acid thanked the festival crew and stage manager for trying to intervene but said 'orders from above' ultimately forced the shutdown. They ended their statement with a message to Danish fans: 'We love you and we’ll see you next year in Copenhagen.'
Metro has contacted Damon Albarn for comment on the story.
