Sure enough it wasn’t long before someone rushed the stage and attacked the band, leading to a general free-for-all – no doubt to the delight of the band members. Audience participation! Yep, a night to remember, but nothing much to do with music (and, to be fair, they’re quite honest about having no interest in music, though it’s an odd claim coming from a band). And here we are 25 years on and they’re still playing. Isn’t there something a bit sad about desperately trying to epater le bourgeoisie, when the audience are determinedly un-middle class and un-shockable? – a sort of vicious circle, with the artists determined to shock and outrage, and the hip audience equally determined to show that absolutely nothing is capable of shocking or outraging them.
Still, the Chapmans aren’t above being bitchy:
Accommodation at the festival, which takes place in a holiday camp in Camber Sands, is in chalets; will they be staying in one too? “No, we’re going to pitch a tent right in the middle,” says Dinos. “Dinos’s idea was to have a marquee with everyone’s name who doesn’t want to shag Tracey Emin,” says Jake. “It’d be about the size of the Millennium Dome.”
Update: I see from this Guardian article that TG did in fact split up back in ’81, but have reformed for this one-off reunion gig: “But this isn’t going to be a Rolling Stones-like nostalgia concert. We plan to destroy our own myth very efficiently.” An evening of Beatles cover versions, perhaps? Why the concert was re-scheduled from May I have no idea.
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