3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Scots rockers The Fratellis pull out headline festival appearance after promoters fail to pay deposit
The Fratellis have pulled out of an appearance at a revived music festival in Stirling this summer, after accusing the promoters of not paying a deposit to secure the band.
Scots rockers The Fratellis have pulled out of a headline appearance at a revived Stirling music festival – blaming promoters for 'not fulfilling our contractual obligations to pay deposits to confirm the bands appearance'.
The group had been set to headline the revamped Back Doune the Rabbit Hole (BDTRH) festival at the Cardross Estate, near Port of Menteith, Stirling, this August.
But the organisers - who say they booked the band through a third-party promoter - announced that it was 'sad to share' the news that the Fratellis will no longer be appearing blaming "circumstances outside our control".
A statement said: 'We're sorry to confirm that The Fratellis will no longer be performing at Back Doune the Rabbit Hole.
'Their appearance was arranged through a third-party promoter, and unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of our control, the booking has not been fulfilled. Like many of you, we're incredibly disappointed by how this has unfolded.
'We know how much people were looking forward to their set, and we completely understand the frustration.
'We're working hard behind the scenes to secure a brilliant replacement and will be announcing your new Saturday night headliner very soon.
'Thank you for your patience and continued support. We'll have a further update for you shortly.'
The Chelsea Dagger rockers took to their website with a statement which read: 'Unfortunately our planned Summer festival appearances at the recent Stone Valley South, and forthcoming Monument, Back Doune The Rabbit Hole and Lindisfarne Festival will not be going ahead.
"This is due to the promoters of each event not fulfilling our contractual obligations to pay deposits to confirm the bands appearance.'
Back Doune The Rabbit Hole (BDTRH) is set for an overhaul after the previous operators of the event – called Doune the Rabbit Hole – collapsed into liquidation amid a storm over unpaid musicians and contractors.
This year's edition of the festival is set to go ahead from August 1-3.
Liverpudlian indie rockers The Zutons are set to top the bill on the Sunday evening and Marc Almond will headline on Friday evening.
There will also be performances from Scouting for Girls, the Bay City Rollers, The Skids and Newton Faulkner.
BDTRH is led by new organisers in Helensburgh musician and businessman Brian Harkin working alongside experienced bookers Colin Black and Paul Aspey from Rock Asset Management.
The previous Doune The Rabbit Hole had been a firm favourite in the Stirling cultural calendar until it ran into issues and eventually collapsed.
It was run by promoter Jamie Murray – who ran up almost £1million in debt had just £2.38 in the bank to pay creditors.
Dozens of furious performers, staff and firms were not paid when Mr Murray shut down the company behind the festival in 2022.
His dad, the jailed Salmond blogger Craig Murray, took over the running of the festival for 2023 as another company, with a plan to repay debts from his son's firm through profits from the event. But it was called off a month before it was due to go ahead, leaving creditors in the dark.
Speaking to the Stirling Observer in September last year, new organiser, Mr Harkin said: 'The initial discussions were about starting a new festival over there, but during the discussions, we did a bit of research on the collapse and how it was handled.
'I got a general consensus that it was a well-liked festival, low key and quite family-friendly in its vibe.
'I was introduced to the previous owner Jamie and he was very keen to revive the festival as he was disappointed that something he had built over the last decade would vanish.
'It was quite accidental in that we were looking to start a new festival and the site was pitched to us, but we know it was an event that was well loved by the community.'
Mr Harkin added: 'We're going to address those who didn't get their money back. There isn't an obligation on us to do that but we want to re-engage with the community.
'We realise there is some frustration and anger left over from the last couple of years, but I understand most of the issues took place post-Covid and I don't think it was handled well.
'One of the main considerations in taking over the name was that it was in bad taste with agents, bookers and event services companies but the team mitigates that to an extent because they have a strong working relationship with those services.'
