I thought that this time around I'd take the opportunity to use my blog to have a little rant!
This last weekend should have been fantastic. Sue and I went off to Copenhagen to see the city and also to see Take That in concert. The purchase of the tickets was a bit of a saga in itself (learning for me there on how to try to avoid fraudulent ticket scam websites) but by Friday afternoon everything was sorted and in place:
Car parking for three days at the airport
Flights from Birmingham to Copenhagen with SAS
Hotel accommodation at Crowne Plaza Copenhagen
and most importantly two tickets to see Take That in concert.
We had a wonderful day on the Saturday exploring the city; the coloured houses in Nyhavn, wandering up the harbour to see the Little Mermaid, even having a look at the shops along the high street (just like a UK high street but more branches of H&M and higher prices all round). And then in the evening off we set to Parken stadium to see the concert.
For those of you who aren't aware, Robbie Williams had a tummy upset after eating lobster the night before. And that meant that the concert was cancelled, just ten minutes before the gates were due to open. So, like 40 000 fans, we were left without purpose or show in Copenhagen. Fair enough perhaps, but the thing that gets me is that there are no plans at all to put on another concert to make it up to those who came along.
We tried relating this to our usual jobs. Can you imagine the patient who goes along for an operation at a hospital say and is told that the surgeon is off ill that day, so terribly sorry but what can you do. No plans to reschedule the operation. Or a student turning up for a lecture and being told that the lecturer is off that day, so terribly sorry go listen to the lecture online instead. It wouldn't happen. Yet neither lecturers nor surgeons get paid nearly as much as the members of Take That.
Almost any other walk of life requires those who work there to find ways to get their job done when they return to work after being ill - or an employer who works hard to make sure that the job can be covered. Not so for those who are millionaires and just sing and dance for a living. And I think that is really wrong.
I am reminded of an episode of 'Mock the week!' in which one of the comedians commented on the habit of stars at concerts turning the microphone to the audience and getting them to sing the songs. In all honesty I think that would have worked a treat in Copenhagen for the Robbie Williams section. We could still have shared in the talent of the Pet Shop Boys and Take That!
And as for the statement that says that the tour was all about the reunion, well that doesn't bother me at all. It's quite clear that once the tour is over the band are going their different ways again, so why not do the one show without him.
My final thought on this one relates to the differences between an England concert audience and that which we saw in Denmark. Here in England the concert goers are predominantly from the UK. There are some who have made the effort to fly over here to see the band, but mainly it's a homegrown audience. In Copenhagen the audience was made up of people who had almost all travelled a long way to get there. As well as those of us from the UK, there were people from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, Holland and further afield. It was a truly international audience. And that's a group of people who can't easily get back again - even if the band has the decency to do the right thing and reschedule the concert.
There's a Facebook group which has been set up to try and persuade the band to think again - sort of like an online petition. You can find it and your support here:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/192044790850635?id=193429797378801
So overall I am impressed with Denmark and with the manners and attitude of the people who were badly let down by Take That and the Pet Shop Boys. But I'm not impressed with those people who take high wages and don't accept the responsibility that comes with it.
Sue is breaking up her Take That and RW CDs. I haven't got any to break up, but I would if I had!
Rant over!
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