Interestingly, as was noted later, all those who lost their lives were men - according to reports, several women close to the stage were helped out of the area earlier due to fear of the crowd pushing.Īfter a thorough investigation, it was ruled there had been no criminal actions. It took several minutes, and for those at the bottom it was too late. When some audience members made it over the barrier and told security what happened, word got to the band, who stopped the show and told the 50,000-strong crowd to take a few steps back so those who had been crushed underneath could be rescued. The crowd surged forward, and people were pushed over the fallen. What we do know is that about half an hour into the show, several people fell close to the front of the stage, right in front of the barrier, where security couldn’t see them. It’s still unclear what factors led up to the crush - moshing on the wet, muddy ground after a day of heavy rainfall slippery crowd surfers who couldn’t be held up, the audience trying to get closer to the stage. Pearl Jam – Roskilde Festival, 2000 (c) Pearl Jam/YouTubeĪfter days of rain during Denmark’s Roskilde Festival in June 2000, headliners Pearl Jam finally took the stage. They finally planned to return for a show there in April 2020 - but it was canceled due to the pandemic. But in 2019, guitarist Pete Townshend admitted all these years later he still regrets that the band didn’t cancel their next show and stay even a day to mourn. The Who haven’t been back to Cincinnati since. They weren’t told until after the show - and paid tribute at their next show, with singer Roger Daltrey telling the Buffalo, New York crowd: Shockingly the concert went ahead, with the band none the wiser.
Ultimately 11 died from asphyxiation, crushed by the weight of the crowd behind them. The crowds in front of the unopened doors surged forward in an attempt to get in to see the show. It’s unclear whether this was a sound check or the stadium playing The Who’s film, Quadrophenia - but to the masses still waiting outside, it sounded like the band was taking the stage. The crowd heard the classic rock gods playing. The crowd slowly trickled in through that one set of doors for a couple hours. Then for some reason only one pair of doors was opened, leaving those standing in front of all the other entrances confused. Due to conflicting information, the crowd gathered a bit too early in front of the stadium. In the middle of their 1979 world tour, The Who sold out Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum - over 18,000 tickets sold. The Who – Cincinatti 1979 (c) The Who Films LTD/YouTube When the smoke cleared, 165 people never made it out of the club alive. Unfortunately the flames spread quickly, and evacuation was difficult - exits were poorly marked, people ended up bottlenecking at the doors. In May of 1977, an over-packed crowd was awaiting a performance by singer John Davidson when a fire broke out. One of the deadliest concerts of all time happened at a little-known venue in Southgate, Kentucky, called the Beverly Hills Supper Club. In fact, the incident appears in the final cut of 1970’s Gimme Shelter. The entire shocking incident was caught on film as a documentary about the Stones’ tour was being made. He was stabbed multiple times by one of the gang members, Alan Passaro, who was later acquitted of murder charges on grounds of self-defense. The Angels beat them back, leading an 18-year-old boy named Meredith Hunter to pull a gun. But the Stones went on anyway, and at one point a large group of fans tried to rush the stage. One member assaulted the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane, leading the Grateful Dead to refuse to perform.
That turned out to be as bad an idea as it sounds.
Unfortunately their novel idea for security was to employ the Hell’s Angels biker gang - armed with pool cues.
I am grateful for the hardships life has thrown at me, because without them I never would have met you.On December 6, 1969, the Rolling Stones tried to recreate the peaceful magic of Woodstock with a free concert at the Altamont Speedway in California.