Out of pocket after rocket man – club sues over Sir Elton gig's pitch damage

Published on Wednesday 8 July 2009 22:02

ONE of Scotland's leading football clubs is suing concert promoters over damage sustained by its pitch following a sell-out concert by Sir Elton John.

Aberdeen Football Club has taken the legal action against the promotion company Marshall Arts Ltd five years after the pitch had to be relayed following a Pittodrie performance by the rock legend.

The Dons were forced to rip up the entire playing surface in July 2004 as a result of the damage caused by heavy equipment used in staging the concert and an oil spill allegedly caused by one of the huge vehicles used to erect scaffolding and lighting gantries for the main stage.

The concert, which had been staged the previous month, had attracted around 26,000 fans.

It is understood that the cost of relaying the pitch was in the region of 80,000.

The organisers claimed the cost of the pitch would be recovered by insurance, but some 36,000 has still to be paid to the club.

The club's official spokesman confirmed yesterday that Aberdeen FC had raised a civil action against Marshall Arts Ltd, the London-based promotion company, in the Court of Session but declined to comment any further.

A club source said that, although only certain areas of the pitch had been damaged during the concert, the club had been required under Uefa regulations to relay the entire pitch.

He said: "This has been dragging on since 2004. At the time there was an oil spillage which caused us to have to relay the pitch.

"The company said the costs would be covered by the concert promoter's insurance but they have not quite paid up everything that they should. Some 36,000 is still outstanding."

A spokesman for Marshall Arts Ltd said the company was not aware of the legal action.

The concert at Pittodrie was Sir Elton's only Scottish date during his 2004 concert tour of the UK. The stage was on one side of the pitch, in front of the dug-outs, and the rest of the surface served as a seating area for concert-goers.

Specialist flooring was used to cover the Pittodrie turf. But it had rained for 14 hours on the two days leading up to the concert.

The singer was even allowed VIP treatment by being given the all-clear to fly his private jet out of Aberdeen after the normal curfew at the city airport.

Five years ago the restrictions in operation at the airport meant that aircraft were not allowed to take off after 11pm or land after 11:30pm. But Aberdeen City Council decided to make an exception for the singer – the writer of Rocket Man and Crocodile Rock – describing his Pittodrie performance as a "coup" for the Granite City.

The keen football fan, who was chairman of Watford Football Club from 1976 to 1990 and is currently the English side's president, has staged many hugely successful concerts in football club stadiums around the country over the past few years.

He performed at Hibs' Easter Road ground in Edinburgh in 2005, and at Inverness Caledonian Thistle's Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in July 2007.

Sir Elton is currently on a tour of various venues in the United States, including Wrigley Field in Chicago, the famous home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

On 10 June, Sir Elton and his backing band played at the SECC in Glasgow, a concert that marked the 2,000th appearance with Sir Elton by Davey Johnstone, his Scottish-born guitarist.

POP LEGEND

BORN Reginald Dwight in Pinner in Middlesex in 1947, Sir Elton John began his career in pop music in 1965 as a pianist and singer with the band Bluesology, which featured Long John Baldry.

He has gone on to become one of the most successful pop entertainers of all time, selling more than 200 million records worldwide.

Most of his hits have been co-written with lyricist Bernie Taupin. Their updated version of Candle in the Wind – a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales – is the biggest-selling single of all time. Since its release in 1997 the record has sold well over 33 million copies. He was knighted in 1998.