Top Of The Pops

I quite fancied seeing Blondie/The Stranglers at Liverpool Pops this summer, but the promoter has deemed everything up to Row X (!) on the floor to be gold circle, and has also decided not to sell any of the front 'few' rows (I never saw anything further forward than Row T!) at anything less than £180 along with drinks and a buffet.

Here's an idea. If it's not close enough that I can make out the artist clearly or indeed from Row X, be certain that it's the artist I've paid to see on stage, it's not really sensible to classify it as "Gold Circle".

So fuck it. I won't be seeing Paul Simon at the summer pops. I won't be seeing Blondie. I won't be seeing Crowded House, and I'll keep my £150. All of them have this same idiot ticketing structure. I hope they're left with a load of unsold seats and the bands play to an empty front half of the venue. Or best case, the bands will be playing to people who've availed themselves of the free bar to make their money back and have more money than sense and more alcohol in them than interest in the band. Good luck to them.

The Liverpool Pops has always been a shambles, from over zealous security (New Order) to hospitality idiots ruining it for everyone by talking (and indeed taking drugs openly) (Pet Shop Boys) and their ticketing has always been ludicrously tiered, but they used to at least sell a few of the front rows to the people who want to the band. Apparently no more.