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View Full Version : Drunk blokes...yet again



LeapCreative
13-08-2006, 12:17 PM
The story of a bloody long night:

Last night, we had two disco's out in Preston, one at a wedding, one at a 30th wedding anniversary. Each one had an experienced DJ and a roadie. At about 11:15 last night, i got a phone call from one of my DJ's, who was absolutley terrified, as he had been quite seriously threatened by a bloke, who took offense to the DJ telling him to move away from the stage.

He had been staggering about all night apparently, and had downed the best part of a barrel of Fosters. He kept requesting Metallica, Guns N Roses and others, which dont tend to go down too well during the happy couples slow dances. He approached my DJ and threatened to glass him.

All the DJ had said (quite rightly) was that he needs him to move away from the stage, as he didnt want him falling into anything and injuring himself. My DJ reported this to the manager of the venue, who refused to call the police, as apparently, it looks bad on their next license application. Then again, they wouldnt chuck him out either, as they didnt have any door staff on that night.

Eventually, i ended up going down there to stand with the DJ and roadie, to make sure the bloke didnt try anything. He did start shouting at my DJ's at one point, at which time i threw him out personally, much to the approval of the happy couple and the rest of the guests.

Long and short of it....ive got a black eye and quite sore arm this morning, whilst the bloke ended up in a police cell.

My point being, is if venues arent prepared to look after the safety of their guests and staff, wont call police, and wont provide doormen, then its obviously getting a bit too dangerous for me to send DJ's out to work in some pubs and function rooms in Preston. In particular, the pub from last night is now blacklisted with us. Although i do hold an SIA license, i dont see why i should have to 'stand guard' in front of my DJ's all night.

I swear, alcohol is the bain of my existence.

Danno13
13-08-2006, 12:34 PM
Its a tough one this, as i've worked in plenty of venues that don't employ door staff to keep an eye on things but luckily have never had any physical problems...

The problem is that the venue could have never had a problem before, so it wouldn't be worth employing doorstaff.. although, they should have called the police really. Could the DJ not have phoned the police himself though?? Ok, it would have rubbed the venue up the wrong way, but if your blacklisting them anyway, sod it!

Paul James Promotions
13-08-2006, 12:41 PM
Sorry to hear about your problems.

Manager's like that shouldn't be allowed to run a venue....

Have a disco
13-08-2006, 12:50 PM
Unless you were working in a private members club or council hall venue you can insist on SIA approved doormen at every event where ever you work. It seems you were severely let down.

Have a word with the manager of the premises remind him of the venues obligations under his premises licence. State if he deos not improve this situation for any future events that you can get his premises licence withdrawn as he is breach of one of the 4 fundemental licencing Objectives if not 3 these being;

a = crime and disorder
b = public nuisance
c = protection of children
d = public safety

Its an offence to sell alcohol to a drunk which they obviously did (B) and they never maintained yours or anyone elses public safety (D) and to top it off he assulted you (A)

And yes I just passed my BIIAB level 2 National Certificate for Personal Licence Holders (NCPLH) so I know what Im saying is very correct

Corabar Entertainment
13-08-2006, 12:51 PM
It is a stupid thing that responsible venues who call the police if there are trouble makers do get a black mark against them; whereas those who really do have a lot of trouble and don't bother calling the police get away with it. I've come across this before.

Don't the authorities realise that it's the ones who DO call the police who are acting responsibly and should get the licences..... not the other way around!?!?

LeapCreative
13-08-2006, 12:57 PM
TBH, im personally not that affected by it, as ive come accross drunk idiots before, and taken a lot worse, but this really did scare one of my DJ's. He's 22, and very friendly etc, and completley professional, and although he wouldnt admit it, i could tell he was really shaken up.

He did, however, seem to get back to his old self after i'd thrown the guy out. The real kicker was when the landlord asked to see my SIA after i'd kicked the drunk guy out. He said it was in case the police asked anything afterwards. I then asked him why the CCTV wouldnt be able to prove what happened. Apparently it's not been rigged up for months, and they only turn the equipment on when they know the licensing officers are coming round.

I think ill be making a complaint after this. Our job can be difficult enough sometimes without having irresponsible landlords left right and centre.

Cheers for the comments HaveADisco. I've taken them on board and ill be informing them accordingly.

Corabar Entertainment
13-08-2006, 01:13 PM
Unless you were working in a private members club or council hall venue you can insist on SIA approved doormen at every event where ever you work. It seems you were severely let down.Now that's something I've never heard before. I'm not suggesting in any way that you are wrong, but I would be interested in knowing what this is based upon (ie the law behind it) as I wouldn't mind reading up a bit and seeing what that actually entails (eg there must be some conditions attached to that such as when the request can be made, etc - surely you cannot ask half-way through a night? It would be a get-out clause for any entertainer to pull out half-way throug a gig if they fancied an early night if that were the case!) Do you know what the actual legislation/statutory instrument/regulation is Badger?

LeapCreative
13-08-2006, 01:16 PM
My understanding was that is was dependant on capacity of the venue or amount of people in the pub on the night in question. I may be wrong though. I only know the legislation on the doorman side, im not too sure about when they're needed to be there by law

Shaun
13-08-2006, 02:12 PM
Sorry to hear that you had some trouble.

I have a clause in my contract that states the client is respnsible for resolving such matters. I would have politely told the client that unless the person is ejected from the venue immedietely I would be packing up and going home (as per the contractual agreements they signed). It's not my job to play doorman or put myself or any of my staff in danger.

DMX Will
13-08-2006, 02:22 PM
I have a clause in my contract that states the client is respnsible for resolving such matters. I would have politely told the client that unless the person is ejected from the venue immedietely I would be packing up and going home (as per the contractual agreements they signed). It's not my job to play doorman or put myself or any of my staff in danger.

So do we, states something along the lines of the disco will be suspended if we experience verbal/physical abuse from the client and or guests.

Sorry to here about the troubles last night Lee. I wondered why you had disappeared from msn.

Solitaire Events Ltd
13-08-2006, 02:24 PM
Sorry to hear that you had some trouble.

I have a clause in my contract that states the client is respnsible for resolving such matters. I would have politely told the client that unless the person is ejected from the venue immedietely I would be packing up and going home (as per the contractual agreements they signed). It's not my job to play doorman or put myself or any of my staff in danger.

Agreed, although in situations like that, it could be difficult to instigate.

Shaun
13-08-2006, 02:30 PM
Agreed, although in situations like that, it could be difficult to instigate.


Difficult or not I would have made the steps to get the matter resolved.

1. Inform the client that they need resolve the dangerous situation.

2. Called the police and told them that there was a guy about to "glass me".

3. Switched off the music till the person was ejected from the hall. (there would be no way I could carry on entertaining whist having to watch my back for physical violence towards me)


Once the music was stopped the client would know that we are serious about these types of matters.

LeapCreative
13-08-2006, 02:58 PM
To be honest, had it not been a wedding, i would have had the kit packed up and been out of there within minutes. Unfortunatley though, the situation was upsetting the bride, and the groom was fretting about it. I did feel quite sorry for them, so i tried to sort it without having to stop.

Ah well, live and learn..

Shaun
13-08-2006, 03:21 PM
Hi Shockwave,

Seeing as the the trouble-maker was an invited guest of the bride and groom could they have not had a word with him and asked him to keep away from the stage area?. This may seem harsh but wedding or not they invited him and therefore it's ultimately up to them to resolve the matter. Did they just stand back and watch all this unfolding?

Kudos to you for taking the situation in hand (despite the black eye...ouch). You resolved the matter and continued on providing a great party so all's well that ends well. :)

Now that it's all is done and past...in hindsight would you react differently if presented with the same situation again?

LeapCreative
13-08-2006, 03:38 PM
Half the reason why we didnt speak to the bride and groom, was that other members of the party had tried to keep them away from him. They were doing an OK job, but when he started to get aggressive, they understandably backed off. I wouldnt have wanted to put either the bride or groom in a potentially violent situation.

The thing i'd do different, is not give the guy chance to get worse. It was entirely my fault for not trusting my DJ's judgement more, as they told me he needed chucking out as soon as i got there, however i gave it 20 mins before i did. I should have had a word straight away and thrown him out. I had a word with the best man before i chucked the guy out, and asked him to make sure nobody else got involved, which worked out well.

It was just the licensees attitude that got me. Absolutley no consideration for the customers or staff, and kept on serving him.

Shaun
13-08-2006, 03:51 PM
I agree, the licensees attitude was deplorable.

Candybeatdiscos
13-08-2006, 07:26 PM
i had one like that once, the guy wanted dance music, which i had just finished playing...(was moving into party mode as it was a mixed crowd) and i told the guy i would get back to dance music later in the night, he then threatened to "glass me". The minute he done that i became very p&*$ed off and immediatly turned the music off, grabbed the mic and said that as he had threated to glass me because i wouldn't play dance music i would now be packing up and going home, immediatly some other bloke came up and grabbed the guy by the throat and carried him out...i then put music back on and put a smile on my face....turned into one of the best nights i ever had...

I was 19 at the time and working for someone else, who was unhappy at the way i done it...seemingly he wanted me to call him in such situations..

Its sad though that DJ's need to act like doormen tho

funkymike
13-08-2006, 07:28 PM
i had one like that once, the guy wanted dance music, which i had just finished playing...(was moving into party mode as it was a mixed crowd) and i told the guy i would get back to dance music later in the night, he then threatened to "glass me". The minute he done that i became very p&*$ed off and immediatly turned the music off, grabbed the mic and said that as he had threated to glass me because i wouldn't play dance music i would now be packing up and going home, immediatly some other bloke came up and grabbed the guy by the throat and carried him out...i then put music back on and put a smile on my face....turned into one of the best nights i ever had...

I was 19 at the time and working for someone else, who was unhappy at the way i done it...seemingly he wanted me to call him in such situations..


Good boy, thats what I would have done

mike

Have a disco
13-08-2006, 08:11 PM
Now that's something I've never heard before. I'm not suggesting in any way that you are wrong, but I would be interested in knowing what this is based upon (ie the law behind it) as I wouldn't mind reading up a bit and seeing what that actually entails (eg there must be some conditions attached to that such as when the request can be made, etc - surely you cannot ask half-way through a night? It would be a get-out clause for any entertainer to pull out half-way throug a gig if they fancied an early night if that were the case!) Do you know what the actual legislation/statutory instrument/regulation is Badger?

believe It has to do with the Premises licence in which ever venues rules are stated in there Operation schedule within there mandatory conditions ie

Where a premises licence contains a condition that door supervisors be used at the premises, its mandatory that they use SIA door supervisors only failure to do so is a breach of the conditions of the premises licence for which athe maximum penalty is a fine of £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment. stated from BIIAB manul itself al be it abreiviated

Shaun
13-08-2006, 10:00 PM
I was 19 at the time and working for someone else, who was unhappy at the way i done it...seemingly he wanted me to call him in such situations..





*Hypothetical situation

Just for arguments sake imagine that the events played out as they did up till the point the unruly guest was grabbed by the throat by the other guy. What if the unruly guest had friends in the place. This could have potentially been an extremely dangerous move by you that could have resulted in innocent punters being in the middle of a 'free-for-all'.

I can fully understand why your employer wouldn't be happy. Luckily things went your way in that situation.....it could have been a whole lot uglier my friend.




I personally think matters like these should be handled as 'low-key' and swiftly as possible.

Paul James Promotions
14-08-2006, 12:19 AM
There's not really a right or wrong way to sort out problems like this out...

I suppose it seemed the right thing to do at the time.

Corabar Entertainment
14-08-2006, 12:24 AM
believe It has to do with the Premises licence in which ever venues rules are stated in there Operation schedule within there mandatory conditions ie

Where a premises licence contains a condition that door supervisors be used at the premises, its mandatory that they use SIA door supervisors only failure to do so is a breach of the conditions of the premises licence for which athe maximum penalty is a fine of £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment. stated from BIIAB manul itself al be it abreiviatedYes - I understand that if it's a condition of their licence then they must provide doormen, but your initial post suggested that DJs could insist on doormen at any venue they work at. Did I misunderstand your post? :embarasse

BeerFunk
14-08-2006, 12:25 AM
There are techniques to handle drunks, but it is still stressful.

I try to get them 'on my side', by discussing their favourite music and agreeing with them about it - showing the thumbs up :thumbs_up

Then I tell them I'm looking some tracks out to play for them shortly, and if I'm lucky they forget. If they come back, I just fob them off again. However - if they get violent it's a different story! There's not much you can do in some cases - but I've been brought up to give as good as I get

dj andy allwood
14-08-2006, 10:42 AM
a similar thing happened to me a few years back when this drunk bloke kept on asking for a song i didnt have and for some reason he did not belive me, after knocking my cd decks a couple of times i told the manager that if this bloke bothers me anymore im packing up and going home he told the customer and he stopped for about 20 mins then he walked into the cd decks which made the cd jump the manager looked over and i looked at him then turned the lights off he came running over and grabbed the bloke and put him in the corner of the bar after that he gave me £20 so the lights went back on and the bloke didnt bother me again after that but i did invite a couple of not so friendly friends who turned up at 11pm when i was packing up just incase lol i have never played their again and the company i was working for at the time has never taken a gig there again since :)

Corabar Steve
14-08-2006, 11:07 AM
believe It has to do with the Premises licence in which ever venues rules are stated in there Operation schedule within there mandatory conditions ie

Where a premises licence contains a condition that door supervisors be used at the premises, its mandatory that they use SIA door supervisors only failure to do so is a breach of the conditions of the premises licence for which athe maximum penalty is a fine of £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment. stated from BIIAB manul itself al be it abreiviated
Being the key phrase.

If he spent the night in the cells I woud have thought the police would have noticed how drunk he was. It wouldn't take too much brain power to work out how he got that way. Perhaps you should have a word with them about the fact that he was still being served even though blatantly drunk & after bcoming threatning. A visit from the boys in blue may make the licencee think twice about doing it again.

theoloyla
14-08-2006, 01:08 PM
Punters who get unreasonable and violent when drun has always been a problem. When you are working in a club or pub with bouncers then hopefully you are covered otherwise as has been said you need to play it by ear. I have also threatened to stop performing after I have had threats or trouble and it does work.