I too, watched a concert once that was cancelled mid-show (like the Babymetal performance at Download the other day), but these things happen. I had travelled quite far to see Rainbow in concert in Malmö (Sweden) a week prior to the first Monsters Of Rock concert in the UK that they were about to headline. The band got to play maybe two thirds of the show before the rain started to really pour down. Don Airey (now the keyboard player in Deep Purple) did his keyboard solo and the last notes was “Singin´ In The Rain” and then the show was cut short. Up until then it had been a fantastic show, amazing version of “Stargazer” (and rare, never heard them perform it again personally). Rainbow were riding high at that time, they had the hits from the “Down To Earth” album and they had a lot of respect in the rock community. Short lived version of the band but I managed to see them twice with singer Graham Bonnet. Experiencing a concert that has to be cut short is a sad occasion for all parties concerned. At the end of the day it is all about safety. In the last few years in Europe alone there has been incidents at rock concerts in which many has been struck by lightning. This is not to be taken lightly, and hard decisions has to be made that nobody really wants to go through. I am sure it was the right decision in Malmö back in 1980 and I am sure they knew what they were doing at Download in 2024. Life goes on.
(1980 press clippings seen here as reprinted in Deep Purple Forever! 26 back in 2000, rare Rainbow bootleg from the show inserted as well)
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trinkelbonker 