December 3rd, 1979: Rock Concerts Are Changed Forever

[Principled Man]

I was there. I'm still angry about it. I will always be angry about it, and with good reason.

 

WCPO anchor Tanya O’Rourke is producing a documentary about the Tragedy. She is also interviewing Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey about the Tragedy. The 60-minute documentary will air on television on WCPO at 8 p.m. on the 40th anniversary of the tragedy, Dec. 3, and simultaneously stream live on wcpo.com.

 

https://www.wcpo.com...nged Rock Dec 3

 

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2014/12/Cincinnati-Enquirer.jpg?w=600&h=0&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89

 

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/140f4b46d4914ba25b87439c90e6b7a620c7d80c/c=12-0-364-265&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/Cincinnati/Cincinnati/2014/12/02/635531187729488233-The-Who-concert-tragedy-12.3.79-Reinke-jpg.jpg

 

Edited November 30, 2019 by Principled Man

[Nova Carmina]

I remember reading about that, in a Rush article or book, I think, and thinking how awful it would have been. It's sort of surprising it hadn't happened more, thank god.

 

One ticket, one seat is an improvement; too bad it took something like this to get there. Was it promoter greed? Venue indifference? Performer ignorance?

[JohnnyBlaze]

I was a little kid at the time but even I remember it. I also remember at the time they even had one episode of WKRP in Cincinnati dedicated to that tragedy.

[goose]

If only everyone had learned from the Who experience. :(

 

21 died in Dortmund, Germany in a stampede at the 2010 Love Parade festival.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Parade_disaster

[Principled Man]

One ticket, one seat is an improvement; too bad it took something like this to get there. Was it promoter greed? Venue indifference? Performer ignorance?

 

The primary cause of the deaths was incompetence and inaction on the part of the Coliseum staff, security and police. There were many doors all around the Coliseum. Only TWO were opened to admit the fans. I personally saw a police officer with arms folded, refusing to do anything, while a guy with a bloody face pleaded with him to do something. I was lucky enough to be against the wall of the Coliseum when the crush started. I could brace myself against the wall and keep myself from being pushed down. The victims were in the middle of the crowd, so they had no way to stay upright. They got pushed down and suffocated.

 

In the countless previous concerts in the Cincinnati area, there had been nothing like this. Festival seating was not a serious problem. In the summer of '78, the concert with The Eagles and Steve Miller, at Riverfront Stadium, went off with very few problems. The venue was even praised for its excellent work with a crowd of 50,000 fans. This concert, however, was an EVENT. It was the band's first tour since Keith Moon died. Even in December, people were at the Coliseum many hours before showtime. The crowd got bigger and bigger and bigger. A sold out crowd of 18,000 fans eventually saw the show.

 

Numerous people tried to blame the festival seating arrangements as well as the crowd for being "under the influence". Many lawsuits were filed against the city, the Coliseum, the promoter, and even The Who (which was ridiculous).

 

The Who was running a bit late, and as a consequence, their sound check was done late. People outside heard the music and assumed that the Show had started, so they got rather agitated. The band knew nothing about the trouble, and that was a good thing. If they had been told that people were dead, they would have probably cancelled the Show, and that may have caused even more trouble.

[invisible airwave]

If only everyone had learned from the Who experience. :(

 

21 died in Dortmund, Germany in a stampede at the 2010 Love Parade festival.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Parade_disaster

 

A song about the Roskilde tragedy in 2000.

 

 

“Lost nine friends we'll never know, two year ago today”

 

Oddly enough, it was The Who soldering on after the tragedy that inspired Vedder and Pearl Jam to keep going.

Edited November 30, 2019 by invisible airwave

[Principled Man]

This is Riverfront Coliseum, which is currently named Heritage Bank Center. It has hosted many a rock concert for the past 45 years. For this teenager, it was the greatest place on Earth. I saw so many great rock bands there. The venue hosted several big name bands every month.

 

Then The Who came to town in December of 1979. I was against the wall, between 50 and 100 feet away from the Entrance when the crush started. There was a virtual ocean of people on the concourse. Thousands of fans trying to get in. The crowd moved like an ocean. Waves of pushing back and forth. My buddy and I finally got in, but we got separated, and I watched the Show alone. We met up after the Show and walked the three miles back home. We had no idea of just how bad it was. We did know that it was our worst experience ever with a crowd.

 

Needless to say, my upset parents jumped out of their chairs when I came in.

 

 

 

Afterwards, the venue became verboten to any and all rock bands. For over four months, there was nothing. Eventually, bands started playing there again. ZZ Top was the first band to play there (April 1980). Smoking was banned, open flames (Bic lighters) were banned, general admission/festival seating was banned.....the venue was understandably terrified of anything going wrong.

Edited November 30, 2019 by Principled Man

[78jazz]

One ticket, one seat is an improvement; too bad it took something like this to get there. Was it promoter greed? Venue indifference? Performer ignorance?

 

The primary cause of the deaths was incompetence and inaction on the part of the Coliseum staff, security and police. There were many doors all around the Coliseum. Only TWO were opened to admit the fans. I personally saw a police officer with arms folded, refusing to do anything, while a guy with a bloody face pleaded with him to do something. I was lucky enough to be against the wall of the Coliseum when the crush started. I could brace myself against the wall and keep myself from being pushed down. The victims were in the middle of the crowd, so they had no way to stay upright. They got pushed down and suffocated.

 

In the countless previous concerts in the Cincinnati area, there had been nothing like this. Festival seating was not a serious problem. In the summer of '78, the concert with The Eagles and Steve Miller, at Riverfront Stadium, went off with very few problems. The venue was even praised for its excellent work with a crowd of 50,000 fans. This concert, however, was an EVENT. It was the band's first tour since Keith Moon died. Even in December, people were at the Coliseum many hours before showtime. The crowd got bigger and bigger and bigger. A sold out crowd of 18,000 fans eventually saw the show.

 

Numerous people tried to blame the festival seating arrangements as well as the crowd for being "under the influence". Many lawsuits were filed against the city, the Coliseum, the promoter, and even The Who (which was ridiculous).

 

The Who was running a bit late, and as a consequence, their sound check was done late. People outside heard the music and assumed that the Show had started, so they got rather agitated. The band knew nothing about the trouble, and that was a good thing. If they had been told that people were dead, they would have probably cancelled the Show, and that may have caused even more trouble.

 

IIRC from my own reading, I believe they were late coming in from the Pittsburgh the night before.

[Principled Man]

IIRC from my own reading, I believe they were late coming in from the Pittsburgh the night before.

 

15 gigs in 18 days during that Tour. :o

 

30 November - Detroit

2 December - Pittsburgh

3 December - Cincinnati

4 December - Buffalo

6 December - Cleveland

7 December - Pontiac

8 December - Chicago

10-11 December - Philadelphia

13 December - Landover

15 December - New Haven

16 December - Boston

17 December - Landover

[pjbear05]

Experienced something similar when Pink Floyd played Detroit's Olympia Stadium in support of WYWH. General admission seating. My date and I were with 3 other couples waiting for the doors to open, and it was getting dicey. I told the guys to surround our dates and when the doors opened, told the guys "elbows out, flying wedge". We bulled our way to the mezzanine, and took seats in the first row. Effing madness.

[RushFanForever]

In relation to Principled Man's other post regarding The Wall' by Pink Floyd here.

 

The incident inspired scenes in the film Pink Floyd—The Wall, whose 1982 premiere was attended by the Who's Pete Townshend.

[laughedatbytime]

Experienced something similar when Pink Floyd played Detroit's Olympia Stadium in support of WYWH. General admission seating. My date and I were with 3 other couples waiting for the doors to open, and it was getting dicey. I told the guys to surround our dates and when the doors opened, told the guys "elbows out, flying wedge". We bulled our way to the mezzanine, and took seats in the first row. Effing madness.

When I went to see Rush at Market Square Arena in Mar 81 on the Moving Pictures Tour, there was festival seating. About 15 minutes before they were due to open the doors at our gate, someone inside walked by, leading to enough people lurching forward that it became a little unsettling for a while.

 

Glad they don't do festival seating any more, at least at anything I've been to lately.

[Syrinx]

I remember this well. I was in some crazy rush seating situations over the years. It pretty much ended after Cincinnati

[chemistry1973]

I read that Daltrey still visits the families whose kids dies in that tragedy.

 

He's a classy guy - or at least tries to be.

[Steevo]

Experienced something similar when Pink Floyd played Detroit's Olympia Stadium in support of WYWH. General admission seating. My date and I were with 3 other couples waiting for the doors to open, and it was getting dicey. I told the guys to surround our dates and when the doors opened, told the guys "elbows out, flying wedge". We bulled our way to the mezzanine, and took seats in the first row. Effing madness.

 

I know someone that made it to the Animals tour in the US, not sure the seating position though.

[Principled Man]

Today, on the 40th anniversary of the "Concert", I'm much more affected than I thought I would be.

 

I told my story to a few co-workers, posted on Facebook, and found myself choking up a bit while doing it. Fascinating.... :o

[78jazz]

I just finished the documentary, but missed the first quarter of it. May I have a synopsis of what I missed?

 

I am curious/somewhat surprised that Entwistle's thoughts weren't mentioned, but I realize that the survivors may not be trying to speak for him or put words in his mouth.

 

Also, I would be interested in reading your Facebook post. Any way I can? I can also contact you privately for that information as well.

 

I think if I did concerts at that level, I may have some similar feelings to Townsend in that I would be unhappy about finding out about it after the fact.

Edited December 4, 2019 by 78jazz

[Principled Man]

I just finished the documentary, but missed the first quarter of it. May I have a synopsis of what I missed?

 

I am curious/somewhat surprised that Entwistle's thoughts weren't mentioned, but I realize that the survivors may not be trying to speak for him or put words in his mouth.

 

Also, I would be interested in reading your Facebook post. Any way I can? I can also contact you privately for that information as well.

 

I think if I did concerts at that level, I may have some similar feelings to Townsend in that I would be unhappy about finding out about it after the fact.

 

The first part of the story focused on the three kids from Finneytown and their families. It also mentioned the magnitude of the event (it was THE WHO!!), the day of the show and how fans were getting to the Coliseum very early, in order to get closest to the stage. Festival seating, you know....the documentary talked about that a LOT. Many personal stories of how the bad the crush was.

 

Townshend's comments were interesting, because at the time of the tragedy, he was quoted as telling the band, "If we don't keep playing (the next gig in Buffalo), we'll never play again." After 40 years, it's understandable that Townshend may have changed his mind about things.

 

"We should have stayed in Cincinnati," he said. To do what? What could the band have done if they had stayed there? It wasn't their fault, and there was no way to bring back the dead.

 

 

Here is my Facebook post. It wasn't nearly as long as I wanted. I could write a thousand pages on the subject!

 

 

I was there. I'm still angry about it.

 

December 3rd, 1979: Eleven fans suffocate to death in a crush to see The Who perform at Riverfront Coliseum, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

 

It was The Who's first tour since the death of Keith Moon. This was no ordinary rock concert for Cincinnati, where countless big name bands came to play every week. This was an event. A sold-out crowd of over 18,000 saw the show. Thousands of excited fans gathered in front of the main entrance gates for the 8:00 concert. The crowd grew to many thousands over the course of the afternoon, and when the sound of the band doing its sound check was heard, the crowd grew even more impatient.

 

The Coliseum staff opened two doors. TWO. The crush didn't take long to end the lives of 11 people. They were caught in the middle of the crowd, and were either pushed to the ground to suffocate or were suffocated standing up. Many more people were injured.

 

I was there. I'm still angry about it. I will always be angry about it, and with good reason. I was lucky enough to be against the wall of the Coliseum, where I had a fighting chance to stay upright. I was sometimes pressed against a glass door, where I could look inside and see a guy with blood pouring down his face, pleading with a cop to do something. The cop stood there with arms folded, inactive. Once inside, I saw several people on the floor, with others trying to revive them.

 

It was by far the worst experience I ever had with a crowd of people. Families sued the city, the Coliseum, the promoter, the band (which was ridiculous), and anyone else they could target. From that night on, rock concerts were seen in a much different (and more negative) light around the country. General admission seating was banned, smoking was banned, open flames were banned.....venues were terrified of having another fatal crush.

[Principled Man]

And I wrote this on Tanya O'Rourke's WCPO Facebook page:

 

THANK YOU for doing this documentary. I am from Southgate, KY, and I was at the Concert. The event still haunts me to this day. I still tell my friends about it, and I still vent my anger towards the Coliseum staff for allowing it to happen.

 

A buddy of mine and I were up against the outside wall of the Coliseum, about 50 feet from the entry doors, when the crush began. I remember seeing the massive crowd of people pushing and shoving and being pushed back. The movements of the crowd were like waves, which flowed forcefully towards the Coliseum and then flowed back.

 

I was lucky enough to be able to brace against the concrete wall. A wave of pushing would come at me, and I could sometimes brace myself against the wall with my arms straight out. Sometimes I couldn't brace myself, and I would be smashed flat against one of the glass partitions. Looking inside the venue, I saw a man with blood running down his face, pleading with a police officer to do something about the crush. The police officer just stood there and did nothing.

 

After finally getting through the entry doors, I walked around and saw people on the floor, with others trying to revive them. I had seen nothing like it in all the rock concerts that I had attended in Cincinnati. I got separated from my buddy, so I ended up watching the Show alone.

 

After the Show, I found my buddy, and we walked home. We had NO IDEA of what actually happened. We did know that it was the worst experience we ever had with a rock concert crowd. When I walked into my house, my parents jumped up and started telling me what had happened. Needless to say, they were quite upset.

 

It’s been 40 years, and I am still angry about it. I don’t think my anger will ever pass, and nor should it.

[Syrinx]

What a story Principled Man. An awful experience and memory.I was in a similar but not tragic experience at an Alice Cooper concert in Toronto. It is actually infamously known as the Alice Cooper riot. He failed to show and the crowd went wild trashing the CNE stadium grandstand. The riot police came and rushed into the crowd forcing us all inside where the rioting continued with fans destroying the concession stands. Unfortunately there were no open exits as 20,000 fans tried to get out. Compounding this the police let off tear gas inside or something like it. We were panicked and finally someone forced up a big roll up garage like door (big enough for a transport truck to get through). The door was forced up about 1-2 feet and we crawled through to escape. Lots of fun at the time for a teenager but it could have gone very wrong. I remember rush seating concerts at the stadium where they would open one gate and let us in and thousands would sprint the length of the infield to get to the stage. Pretty crazy times.

[Principled Man]

What a story Principled Man. An awful experience and memory.I was in a similar but not tragic experience at an Alice Cooper concert in Toronto. It is actually infamously known as the Alice Cooper riot. He failed to show and the crowd went wild trashing the CNE stadium grandstand. The riot police came and rushed into the crowd forcing us all inside where the rioting continued with fans destroying the concession stands. Unfortunately there were no open exits as 20,000 fans tried to get out. Compounding this the police let off tear gas inside or something like it. We were panicked and finally someone forced up a big roll up garage like door (big enough for a transport truck to get through). The door was forced up about 1-2 feet and we crawled through to escape. Lots of fun at the time for a teenager but it could have gone very wrong. I remember rush seating concerts at the stadium where they would open one gate and let us in and thousands would sprint the length of the infield to get to the stage. Pretty crazy times.

 

YIKES...that could have escalated into a major tragedy.

 

Festival seating/general admission has always been a flawed means of seating an audience. That said, it is still up to the people in charge of the venue to have a real crowd control plan. 20/20 hindsight says that if you aren't prepared to handle an aggressive, even hostile crowd, then you might be in the wrong business.

 

I think The Who Concert tragedy hit the Cincinnati area really hard for another reason. Just two years earlier, the Beverly Hills Supper Club burned to the ground. 165 people burned to death. It was just 4 miles south of Cincinnati, and entertainers from Hollywood would perform there. The fire started in the kitchen, but the venue was filled with fire code violations, like no sprinklers and exit doors that swung IN and not out. The people had no chance to get out once the mad dash for the exits started. They piled against the doors and literally doomed themselves.

Edited December 4, 2019 by Principled Man

[Principled Man]

CINCINNATI - Forty years later, members of The Who say they want to put that dark day in the band’s chapter behind them and provide some healing for the Tri-State and themselves.

 

WCPO has learned exclusively that the British rockers are finally returning to the Cincinnati area for their first show since the Dec. 3, 1979 concert, where 11 young people died outside the arena.

 

The Who will perform on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at BB&T Arena at Northern Kentucky University.

 

About 11,000 tickets - all for reserved seating - go on sale at 10 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, through Ticketmaster.

 

The band’s triumvirate – songwriter/guitarist Pete Townshend, lead singer Roger Daltrey and manager Bill Curbishley – committed to returning to Cincinnati during exclusive interviews with WCPO Anchor Tanya O’Rourke in October.

 

“It would be such a joyous occasion for us and such a healing thing, I think,” an enthusiastic Townshend told O’Rourke then.

 

The Who said April 23 was their only free date and BB&T Arena was the only local venue available on that date.

 

Daltrey and Curbishley expressed their eagerness to come back in these statements this week:

 

“It is right to recognize that the friends and families of those fans we lost that fateful night have not forgotten them," Daltrey said. "For many years we have been in contact and supported the Finneytown High School memorial foundation in memory of the three students they lost. After seeing the good work the scholarships provided by the foundation achieve, we have decided that a concert to raise funds for them will allow these to continue and create something positive in their memory way into the future."

Edited December 4, 2019 by Principled Man

[78jazz]

First, thanks for sharing your posts over here. I liked the reading.

 

Second, I wonder if it would be worth a drive to see the show. I also wonder if tickets will sell out.

 

Is there a Dixie Chili nearby that venue? I *thought* so, but I am unsure.

 

 

Edit: Just checked, and Newport would probably be the only option available at the time the concert would let out. 2 coneys and a 6-way for me (and maybe some cans for the ride home).

Edited December 4, 2019 by 78jazz

[Principled Man]

First, thanks for sharing your posts over here. I liked the reading.

 

Second, I wonder if it would be worth a drive to see the show. I also wonder if tickets will sell out.

 

Is there a Dixie Chili nearby that venue? I *thought* so, but I am unsure.

 

Edit: Just checked, and Newport would probably be the only option available at the time the concert would let out. 2 coneys and a 6-way for me (and maybe some cans for the ride home).

 

Dixie Chili has a place on Dixie Highway, near Florence. I have relatives there, and I visit them every year. I hit the Dixie Chili every time!

 

There are two problems: 1) A ticket will most probably cost a fortune, and 2) I was planning on going to Denver that weekend to see my buddy, who is a rabid Brewer fan. The Brewers play the Rockies that weekend.

 

I can drive to KY on Wednesday, see The Who on Thursday, fly to Denver Saturday morning, see two games, fly back to Cincinnati on Monday, then drive home to Wisconsin on Tuesday. This is gonna be exhausting!! :laughing guy:

 

[Syrinx]

What a story Principled Man. An awful experience and memory.I was in a similar but not tragic experience at an Alice Cooper concert in Toronto. It is actually infamously known as the Alice Cooper riot. He failed to show and the crowd went wild trashing the CNE stadium grandstand. The riot police came and rushed into the crowd forcing us all inside where the rioting continued with fans destroying the concession stands. Unfortunately there were no open exits as 20,000 fans tried to get out. Compounding this the police let off tear gas inside or something like it. We were panicked and finally someone forced up a big roll up garage like door (big enough for a transport truck to get through). The door was forced up about 1-2 feet and we crawled through to escape. Lots of fun at the time for a teenager but it could have gone very wrong. I remember rush seating concerts at the stadium where they would open one gate and let us in and thousands would sprint the length of the infield to get to the stage. Pretty crazy times.

 

YIKES...that could have escalated into a major tragedy.

 

Festival seating/general admission has always been a flawed means of seating an audience. That said, it is still up to the people in charge of the venue to have a real crowd control plan. 20/20 hindsight says that if you aren't prepared to handle an aggressive, even hostile crowd, then you might be in the wrong business.

 

I think The Who Concert tragedy hit the Cincinnati area really hard for another reason. Just two years earlier, the Beverly Hills Supper Club burned to the ground. 165 people burned to death. It was just 4 miles south of Cincinnati, and entertainers from Hollywood would perform there. The fire started in the kitchen, but the venue was filled with fire code violations, like no sprinklers and exit doors that swung IN and not out. The people had no chance to get out once the mad dash for the exits started. They piled against the doors and literally doomed themselves.

 

I hadn't heard of this one. Similar to the Great White concert. I can't think of a more horrific way to go.