(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Police have been called in to investigate the promoters of the Rock In The Castle concert at Scarborough Castle after bands and other firms filed complaints that they had not received payment.
Headlining acts Terrorvision and the Wildhearts claim they are still owed their performance fee by In The Castle Ltd., run by Andrew Roberts and John Cooper, and they believe that none of the other groups have been paid either. The police who provided security for the event, as well as the firms who provided the sound system, staging, scaffolding, signage and fork lift trucks have also had their checks cancelled before payments could go through.
According to the Scarborough Evening News, the company has been in hiding, except to apply for voluntary liquidation. Police are investigating to see whether any criminal offense has been committed.
Stuart Land, of insolvency firm Jacksons Joliffe Cork, told the paper that a creditors meeting has been set for the company on October 28th.
“The returns were not as much as the firm anticipated and were not sufficient to pay their bills. We have probably about a dozen creditors on the list at the moment,” he said.
English Heritage, which owns the castle, said more than 3,700 tickets were sold for the concert at £29 each, which should have given In The Castle Ltd at least £107,300 in revenue, enough to pay it debts.
Rebecca Nutter of Acorn Scaffolding told the paper her company was only paid a small portion of the money owed.
“It doesn’t look like there is much hope of any of us getting the money back,” she said. “We have been paid £3,000, but still have more than £9,000 outstanding. It’s annoying and we have had to spend a great deal of time chasing it up.”
Ginger Walls, singer, guitarist and manager for the Wildhearts, told the paper, “We are owed a fortune. We were promised a good payment for the show and we have been chasing around for it ever since. A lot of people are disgusted about the way this has been handled.
“All the bands performed really well, as did the crews, the location was fantastic and the reception we were given by the audience was great, but it was organized and promoted really badly,” she continued. “It is disgraceful when it should have been an event which promoted Scarborough. Instead it has besmirched the town’s good name.”
Terrorvision has filed a similar complaint.
“I am led to believe that none of the bands have been paid,” band manager Steven Waite told the paper. “We received a 20 percent deposit before the gig and the organizers gave four cheques to the band members on the night, then the bank was told not to honour them. We are not out of pocket, but we have not made anything from it either.
“I have been involved in festivals for 30 years and this one was a chaotic mess. If the company had been up front and said it was struggling to find the money we could have come to some sort of deal, but they seem to have gone underground.”
Other firms told the paper that they are owed large sums as well: Greenwood Hire, who provided forklift trucks for the event, is owed £2,800. Marquee and signage firm Adrassy in Doncaster is owed £12,000, after the check they were given was cancelled. Innovation Productions, who provided the sound system and staging, is owed what is believed to be a five-figure sum.
The North Yorkshire Police, who provided a sergeant and six constables for the Rock In The Castle concert, have also not been paid.
A spokesman for the police told the paper, “We have received several complaints and are looking into the matter to see if any criminal offenses may have occurred.” –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
