Woman ejected from Coldplay gig for ‘dancing to mother-in-law’s funeral song’
A woman was escorted out of a Coldplay concert after she stood up to dance to her mother-in-law’s funeral song in a seated area.
Andrea Nelson, 50, did not realise the tickets she had bought for nearly £150 for the gig at the Etihad Stadium, in Manchester, were for a restricted section where standing was not allowed.
So when she and her partner Anthony stood up to dance to the band’s hit song Yellow, which was played at Anthony’s mum’s funeral, they were shocked at security telling them to sit back down.
Andrea said: ‘They came and said, “you need to sit down”, I said “this is my mother-in-law’s song, I will sit down in a minute”.
‘They were just rude, saying “we’re watching you”. And because I didn’t sit down straight away, they called security.
‘They said I might fall over the barrier, which basically came up to my chest – I’m five foot. Next thing, about 10 security came and escorted me out.’
Andrea claims other people in the seated area were dancing too.
She believes she and Anthony were singled out because they were sat near the steps where security staff were.
She said she ‘felt like a criminal’ during the whole ordeal and asked: ‘I’ve stood up and danced at a concert, what have I done wrong?’
The fan went on: ‘I didn’t realise the seats were restricted. If I had, we shouldn’t have been paying full price for them.
‘I would not have paid that fee if I’d known you couldn’t stand up. Who goes to a concert where you can’t stand up?
‘It’s probably my own fault, but at the end of the day, I just wanted to stand up at a concert.
‘Should they be selling tickets at full price when the seats have restrictions? No, they shouldn’t.
‘This meant a lot to me and my family. I was devastated. We’d paid a lot of money to come to this concert. It may never happen again in my lifetime. It was supposed to be a memorable concert for us, and this ruined it.
‘They could have been a lot more sensitive. They didn’t listen. How can you not stand up at a concert? That’s not my idea of going to a concert.’
Yellow was only the ninth song to be played at the gig on Saturday night, meaning the couple saw less than half the show before being asked to leave.
Andrea, from Moston, north Manchester, said she has contacted the venue to request a refund for her tickets.
The show’s promotor, SJM, said it was ‘unable to comment’.
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