The investigation into the fatal stage collapse at a Radiohead concert last year has seen a number of charges brought against global concert promotions behemoth Live Nation over the death of a stage technician.
Officials at the Canadian Ministry of Labour have announced 13 charges in total, including eight against Live Nation Canada and Live Nation Ontario Concerts GP. The ministry said that Live Nation “failed to ensure the structure was designed and constructed to support or resist all likely loads and forces, it was adequately braced, there were no excessive loads and every employer complied with the act.”
According to the Toronto Star, the other five charges have been brought against the staging company who built the structure, and an engineer responsible for overseeing its construction.
Unlike Australia’s ‘Safety Guidelines For The Entertainment Industry’ which provides occupational healthy and safety rules developed by Live Performance Australia, some concert organisers in other countries (Canada and the US in particular) have no such regulated guidelines, which means the responsibility falls to the artist and its promoter to ensure their performance site is safe.
It’s been nearly a year to the day since the tragedy, which occurred just hours before 40,000 ticket holders were due to arrive at the sold out concert in Toronto. A spokesperson for the Toronto Emergency Medical Services said at the time that a man had died after becoming trapped in the rubble and was pronounced dead at the scene.
“It was a crushing injury that killed the man,” said Fire Services Platoon Chief Tony Bellavance after emergency crews were called to the scene by officials to assist in extracting the victim. A 45-year-old man was also taken to hospital with a head injury, while two others workers injured in the accident were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
“We absolutely maintain that Live Nation and our employees did everything possible to ensure the safety of anyone who was on or near the stage involved in the tragic incident that led to the unfortunate death of Mr Scott Johnson.”It was later revealed that the man killed was Radiohead drum tech Scott Johnson, devastating the band and crew midway through their world tour.
A trial has been slated to begin on June 27, but Live Nation bosses have vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Releasing a statement, the concert promoter said that the company “wholeheartedly” disagrees with the charges in the “tragic incident” because it did everything possible to ensure safety.
“We absolutely maintain that Live Nation and our employees did everything possible to ensure the safety of anyone who was on or near the stage involved in the tragic incident that led to the unfortunate death of Mr Scott Johnson. We will vigorously defend ourselves and we are confident that through this process the facts will come to light and we will be exonerated,” the company said, adding it has a new staging contractor.
If convicted, the maximum fine against Live Nation would be $500,000 per charge according to ministry spokesman Matt Blajer. Individuals face $25,000 per charge or up to a year in prison.
Scott Johnson’s best friend, Paul Bonney from the Australian Pink Floyd Show said that the charges “will never bring Scott back, but a little bit of closure.” In addition for working with Radiohead, Johnson was Bonney’s drum tech. “A day doesn’t go by without me thinking of Scott; he was my best mate,” Bonney said. “When I first went back on the road . . . I was in tears.”
The tragedy echoed a similar crisis at the Ottawa Blues Festival in May last year, where a stage crumbled just 20 minutes into a performance by Cheap Trick.
Two similarly grand accidents occurred in the US, who like Canada don’t have regulated safety guidelines for stage construction, in the last year – including a stage collapse at an Indiana Music Festival that killed five last August, and a homecoming show by The Flaming Lips in which their screens and equipment came crashing down pre-show.
