A court heard last week how a Welsh man and woman were caught in a rather compromising situation at a Paloma Faith gig in Hyde Park last summer. As if being caught at a Paloma Faith show wasn’t embarrassing enough – sorry Paloma – Lisanne Beck was arrested on suspicion of giving her partner Simon Murphy oral sex at the Radio 2 concert, headlined by ELO. After her arrest, Beck said the “rules must be different” in England, and the pair have since strongly denied any wrongdoing. It must be a case of mistaken identity, they’ve argued in court, also suggesting that witnesses for the prosecution who were there on the day are trying to frame them because they did not like how the couple were “laughing and joking and being merry.” Their case is just the tip of the iceberg however when it comes to bizarre gig and festival arrests. Here’s some particularly hair-raising incidents that saw gig-goers nicked.
Man loses finger at Jay Z gig
At a Hova and Beyonce show at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles in 2014, Roberto Alcarez Garnica was accused of having groped a woman. When her boyfriend confronted him, he and Garnica got into a scuffle which ended with Garnica biting off a chunk of his rival’s finger before police intervened. Having only nine digits because some guy chomped one off in a fight would definitely count as one of Jay’s 99 problems, we imagine.
Taylor Swift is “with Satan”?
In 2013, Joseph Jackson, then 28, was arrested at a Taylor Swift concert in Pittsburgh for holding a sign that read ‘Taylor Swift Is With Satan’. He was arrested and, after police found he had also posted a death threat to the ‘1989’ singer online, he was taken away for psychiatric evaluation. Incidentally, he was also carrying another placard with the words “I Luv You” written on it, suggesting he wasn’t all bad.
Stupid tweet causes Pink alert
It probably seemed like a great idea at the time. In July 2013, a 16-year-old tweeted that he was about to blow up the Rod Laver arena in Melbourne where Pink was playing, and was duly hauled from the crowd by security, who then locked him in a room, called his parents and told them to collect him. He later told local press he was referencing the singer’s song ‘Time Bomb’. Oops.
Never a babysitter when you need one…
Just ask rap fan Brittany Harris, who left her three and four-year-old children in a car park while she went to see Lil Wayne in 2013. When police were alerted to Harris’ parenting skills, she said her cousin had taken them to the show, before admitting she’d left them alone. She was arrested and Florida state department probably rightly, let’s face it, took custody of the children.
Country makes you sick
A police deputy – who, y’know, are sorta supposed to be the ones reigning in the drunk and disorderly behaviour at shows – in Stark County, North Dakota, ended a gig by country star Kenny Chesney on the other side of the bars after “violently vomiting all over” fellow audience members midway through the show. Police officer Mark Lykken said Justin Krohmer and his mother Susan were charged with disorderly conduct and resisting or obstructing an officer. Oh dear.
