Coldplay ticket mare

Empty venues could greet the band when they play the Scottish leg of their tour

18 July 2008 - Hundreds of Coldplay fans will be locked out of their Scottish gigs on December 5 and 6th after a massive ticket mix-up.

Ticketmaster has recalled a batch of 3200 after they were printed on the wrong paper. The gaffe means anyone who bought the tickets from secondary sources, like eBay, will be denied entry.

Despite the chaos, scores of tickets to the gig were selling on eBay yesterday, with some fetching £150 for tickets whose face value is £60.

Don't buy from 'unofficial sources'

A statement from a DF Concerts spokesperson says: "Tickets purchased through Ticketmaster for the Coldplay gigs at the SECC have been printed on incorrect stock, but we are confident that Ticketmaster will be able to replace all tickets for their customers in advance of the gigs in December."

The statement comes with a warning about buying from touts: "It will be more difficult to replace tickets originally purchased through Ticketmaster and then sold on through the secondary ticket market. In this case, ticket holders should contact their point of purchase.

"We always advise fans not to buy from the unofficial sources because they are not covered by standards set in place by promoters and official agents such as Ticketmaster. We urge these secondary sources to look after their customers at this time," it read. 

"People who buy from other sources lose the rights that other fans are covered" - Ticketmaster spokesperson

Live At: Loch Lomond tickets missing

In addition to this, two batches of tickets for two major Scottish music events have gone missing, said to be worth £90 000.

500 weekend and 1000 Saturday passes for Live At: Loch Lomond disappeared while they were being taken by courier from Glasgow to Manchester. And 600 tickets for Dutch DJ Tiesto's show in Edinburgh have also gone astray.

Ticketmaster realised the mess and reported it to the police after their courier firm arrived offices in Manchester with tickets missing.

Warning against touts

Live At: Loch Lomond organiser Ricky Magowan said last night: "This is a bit of a nightmare just a couple of weeks before the events are to take place.

"We want to warn the public not to buy tickets from touts as we know the serial numbers and have cancelled the tickets.

"We will reissue fans with new tickets, so they will not lose out. But anyone who thinks they might be getting a bargain for Live At: Loch Lomond from a tout will be disappointed.

"Anyone who turns up at the events with the cancelled ticket will be turned away and will lose out."

Ticketmaster have sent a statement saying that this should not stop punters getting their tickets:

"Tickets have not yet been dispatched for this event and all Ticketmaster customers will receive their tickets, valid for entry."

"The missing tickets account for a small proportion of the tickets sold for this event and as we are able to identify the missing tickets by their serial numbers we have on the instruction of our client cancelled these tickets."

Sex Pistols, Groove Armada, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild and DJs Roger Sanchez and Carl Cox are on the bill at the the festival on August 2 and 3.

Tiesto plays the Royal Highland Centre on August 9.


Ruth Barnes