Your name's not down, you're not coming in
Back in Dave's rugby playing days, being a large, imposing looking young lad, he would occasionally pick up part time jobs doing security at big venues like Earl's Court or Wembley Arena.
On one particular evening, he was set to work the Supertramp show at Earl's Court. The security team lead for the evening was a particularly frightening gentleman who, as Dave described it, "stopped evolving just past Neanderthal - I think he was about 12 feet in every direction." This gentleman directed Dave to man the stage door, showed him the two colors of pass that were allowed through the door, and made it very, very clear that he was not to allow anyone else through the door under any circumstances.
About 15 minutes before the show was set to start, a group of men ("weedy looking hippies" was Dave's description) with a variety of passes came to the stage door. As he'd been told to do, he politely but firmly told them that they didn't have the right pass and he couldn't let them in. There was token protest, but they stepped to the side, held a short conference among themselves and finally found that one of them did in fact have the correct pass. So the one went on backstage, while the others waited politely, chatted amongst themselves, chatted with Dave - no hard feelings on either side.
A few minutes later, shortly after the time the show was due to begin, the guy with the correct pass comes back, followed by a highly irate Neanderthal Man, who escorts the rest of the group inside, then turns around to give Dave a thorough shouting at.
Because, apparently, it's not ideal to deny Supertramp access to their own concert. Even if they don't have the right pass. And even if you couldn't have picked them out of a lineup if your life depended on it. :)
On one particular evening, he was set to work the Supertramp show at Earl's Court. The security team lead for the evening was a particularly frightening gentleman who, as Dave described it, "stopped evolving just past Neanderthal - I think he was about 12 feet in every direction." This gentleman directed Dave to man the stage door, showed him the two colors of pass that were allowed through the door, and made it very, very clear that he was not to allow anyone else through the door under any circumstances.
About 15 minutes before the show was set to start, a group of men ("weedy looking hippies" was Dave's description) with a variety of passes came to the stage door. As he'd been told to do, he politely but firmly told them that they didn't have the right pass and he couldn't let them in. There was token protest, but they stepped to the side, held a short conference among themselves and finally found that one of them did in fact have the correct pass. So the one went on backstage, while the others waited politely, chatted amongst themselves, chatted with Dave - no hard feelings on either side.
A few minutes later, shortly after the time the show was due to begin, the guy with the correct pass comes back, followed by a highly irate Neanderthal Man, who escorts the rest of the group inside, then turns around to give Dave a thorough shouting at.
Because, apparently, it's not ideal to deny Supertramp access to their own concert. Even if they don't have the right pass. And even if you couldn't have picked them out of a lineup if your life depended on it. :)
