KIMBERLEY Music Festival organisers are fuming and demanding an apology after Ringo Madlingozi ’ s botched performance when he took to the stage “drunk ” and started swearing like a sailor.
Sunday World reports that Revellers at the Diamonds and Dorings Music Festival over the Easter weekend started pelting the singer with bottles and other missiles, forcing him to be taken off the stage for his own safety.
The chaos started when Madlingozi started throwing around F-words willy-nilly and speaking incoherently when he came up for his performance.
The singer has since apologised on Facebook, blaming wine and medication for his stage blooper.
“In my 30 yr span of performing live, I have never climbed any stage under any influence of alcohol or any substance that would alter my mind. I respect my fans as I respect my self. I truly regret what happened in DnD Fest,” he wrote.
Festival organiser Somandla Sibisi said that the human eye showed a “drunk ” Madlingozi.
“’I ve dealt with many artists before and he ’ s only human. He didn ’ t want to perform after Nathi and he left the venue.
“We had to send people and police back to the hotel where he was staying to beg him to come and he was still swearing at them.
“We all know that Ringo ’ s songs have no vulgar [lyrics] but he was using F-words on stage. We had to call him off the stage for his own safety. We apologise on behalf of our fans.”
Sibisi said Madlingozi owed Kimberley fans a free show to make up for his faux pas. “He must come here to do a free special show to apologise to the fans and I will do the production as much as it will cost me.”
In his defence, Madlingozi laid the blame partly on the organisers. He said he was not feeling well on the night, but was still prepared to honour his commitment.
“I was scheduled to perform at 17:30. By 16:00 we were ready to go to the venue. My manager was told that everything is running very late as the gates were opened 2hrs late. The new time for performance was 21:00 for me. I agreed. Then soon it was 22:00.”
Madlingozi says he was patient with the organisers “even though my time kept on being moved towards midnite (sic).
“When I couldn’t take it any longer, I got hold of all relevant persons and begged them to respect my time. After losing my battle with them, and feeling more sick and frustrated, I had to ask my crew to take me back to my hotel. I took my medication, had a glass of wine to induce sleep fast,” he says.
He says he was woken up around 1am by one of the festival officials accompanied by government officials, who claimed to be investors in the event.
“I told them I ’ m not feeling very well and I feel I will not be fit to climb the stage. Nevertheless I succumbed to their force, and when the lights, sound, wine and medication harmonised together, all hell broke loose, I got disorientated.”
Sibisi, however, disputes this claim.
“I want to put it on record that Ringo was not threatened as he claims. All we did was to beg him to come back while he was screaming at us. I have no problem with Ringo as a person but business must be respected. ”
Source:Sunday World
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