“We queued up for a good half hour and give our tickets at the door. It seemed pretty normal. So, we’re pulled aside to get searched and the security guy asks if I know the lead singer and could I name their two albums and some songs. I couldn’t think off the top of my head so they kicked us out, took the tickets off us and said we couldn’t watch the band because we didn’t know enough information about them. I’ve made a complaint to the venue asking for a refund as there was no other reason I wasn’t allowed in.”
In response Venue Cymru issued a statement which read: “Venue Cymru was made aware that pickpockets may attempt to operate in the arena during The Vaccines gig. In order to ensure the safety and security of our customers we carried out random checks of those in the queue. As a result six people were refused admission and a further two people were ejected from the building. Security were working closely with the police and licensing officers throughout the evening. Unfortunately one or two genuine visitors may have been refused admission and we apologise that they missed the event and full refunds are being given."
However, Bellis dismissed the venue’s statement: “No matter how they try and justify what went on it's not going to cut. You can't just go ejecting random people from queues just for not knowing information on band discography. The thing is I'm actually a big fan of the band. Just because I couldn't name the singer or the songs or what underwear they we were wearing last September is irrelevant. How did people discover bands before the internet and everything else? I remember my first experiences of gigging to be a lot of fun by not knowing much about the bands I was going to see. So do I have to revise the history of each performer when visiting Venue Cymru?” Now Bellis is aiming to get his money back and is still outraged at what happened.
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