THE PROMOTER behind a number of high-profile shows cancelled at short notice says he was “undercapitalised” and should have been “more realistic” regarding the timing of the shows.
James Delaney O'Neill, from Rockefeller Productions, was promoting upcoming concerts by Grace Jones, Ute Lemper and Marianne Faithfull, an Irish tour of the dance-musical Marilynand a visit to Dublin by Hollywood screen legend Tony Curtis. But with the exception of Marianne Faithfull's concert, which went ahead after a change of promoter, the other shows were cancelled.
Mr O’Neill said he had three large acts booked for one week but after he cancelled Marilyn, “a domino effect happened rapidly”.
“I was undercapitalised and payments I was owed were being paid slowly. I am a small promoter and should have been more realistic in terms of the timing of the shows.”
He said tickets for Marilyn's proposed Irish tour "did not sell well". Marilynis a dance-musical about the life and times of Marilyn Monroe performed by the Peter Schaufuss Ballet company.
"The Irish audience was not familiar enough with the dance company," Mr O'Neill claimed. "The Irish go mad for Riverdance, they know what it is and they like it. I believe any production by this company will be better than Riverdance."
Ute Lemper fans first learned about the cancellation of her Dublin show through a message on the venue's website. Lemper told The Irish Times"the promoter stopped all communication with us" and the cancellation left her with significant financial losses.
Her booking agent, Henry McGroggan, said “the promoter was in breach of contract, making the show impossible to go ahead”.
Mr O’Neill said he “regrets” this cancellation: “The artist and the agent will be paid in full over the next few months and will not suffer any financial loss.”
Mr O’Neill was also promoting July shows for Grace Jones in Dublin and Cork. However, the shows have been cancelled and Jones’s agent, Michael Schweiger, issued a statement saying the promoter was “in breach of his contract by failing to pay deposits” and was working “without a fully executed artist agreement”.
Mr O’Neill claimed that “Michael Schweiger was fully aware of the situation and that the shows were being promoted. In all my communications, I had stated that I would pay the booking fee in July. There is no real reason why these shows couldn’t have gone ahead as ticket sales were extremely robust.”
The Irish Timesspoke to Mr Schweiger, who confirmed that contracts were signed, but deposits for the show were not received.
Mr O’Neill, who used to run an organic grocery store in Dublin’s Temple Bar, is planning shows for later in the year. “Obviously the last few weeks have been hell for me, and it’s been a PR disaster. My intention is to be more creative, wiser, and keep going.”