It’s hard to imagine there will be 20 000 people in here,” says Attie van Wyk, the man behind Big Concerts, and three major music events: Robbie Williams, The Massive Mix and the People’s Celebration featuring Snoop Dogg.
Flocks of outsize seagulls, a couple of track athletes stretching and a slim security guard are the only people in the stadium right now. So how do we get to the point where 20 000 paying punters pour safely through the gates to watch a top international act?
“Gosh … it’s a long story,” says Van Wyk. Usually his company would hear of a tour planned, and make contact with the agent. “There are probably a dozen agents that represent 90% of the world’s talent, so we would immediately know who’s Madonna’s agent or Robbie Williams’s agent, and we would make contact.”
Once Big Concerts’s pitch is accepted, things can still fall through. Robbie Williams was scheduled to tour South Africa in 2003, but he decided towards the end of November that he was “over extended” and would rather record his new album than come to South Africa. The agent said, “Thanks for all your hard work and effort. Robbie’s gonna take a rain check.”
And it rained and rained, until years later Van Wyk received another e-mail saying: “Let’s chat about dates.” Months of number-crunching and a trip to London later, Big Concerts paid Robbie cash in advance for his performances here later this year.
Only after the deal is signed does Van Wyk find out what he must have ready for the tour. Most of the requirements go in the “rider” — a document that details everything from lighting to what kind of towels should be in the stars’ dressing rooms.
Robbie Bailey from Pantsula Events, a competing company that recently organised Diana Ross and other top names, remembers a reggae band’s demand that there be M&Ms in the dressing room. But no yellow ones. “They do it to check you’ve read it all.” And you can’t please everybody — one band brought their own washing machines.
Van Wyk’s rider from Robbie Williams only came in on the day of our interview. “The tour is in … where are we now? End of Jan. The tour is in less than three months’ time and they’re only writing the world rider now,” he says, amazingly without a trace of panic in his voice. Over the phone, he flips through the document and reads the good bits aloud.
M&M sorting is the easy part, apparently. Riders cover everything: venue info; maps; permits; personnel in detail — from the artist’s social assistant to security, crowd control and how many steel crew are needed to build the scaffolding (about 60 a day).
Clarity is essential. Van Wyk laughs, remembering a story. Chris de Burgh had just come to South Africa via Russia, where rock concert terminology was fairly new. When the singer’s team arrived at the Russian venue, the organisers had a guy standing there in gym shoes, shorts and a vest. The rider had asked for a “runner”.
Most of what is asked for in Robbie’s rider is detailed, says Van Wyk. Such as what Robbie’s 65-person entourage want for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And it’s in draft form. Which means? Yep, they can change anything they like.
Robbie wants “no alcohol to be put in his room”, but he will need a melon platter, a fruit platter, Evian, Coke Light, toothpicks and something Van Wyk spells over the phone: P-U-R-D-E-Y-S … It’s a health tonic “for active people”, available online. Robbie has also requested soft toilet tissue, padded chairs, two bars of deodorant, facial soap, two freshly laundered (not brand new) lint-free, white towels and 20 hand towels.
“It’s straightforward,” says Van Wyk, who has had his share of weird requests, some of them fake — such as the one about Michael Jackson wanting to bath in Evian water. All Jacko actually wanted was for Big Concerts to renovate Cape Town’s ailing Green Point backstage to his requirements. And redecorate. “Michael Jackson said we must give him a Disney feel. We went over the top and we had lots of Disney characters and streamers and lollipops and Jellytots.”
African art is another extra Big Concerts often trots out to “turn the overseas people on”.
Jacko was easy work, compared to Whitney Houston and her entourage. “There were six accountants just grinding us. It was a circus on the road. She had a travel party of about 150 people. And she was sniffing the cocaine …”
Big Concerts did not supply the blow. “We always say we never arrange women, and we never arrange drugs. If they want that, they’ll organise it themselves.”
“It happens. Sex, drugs and rock’n’ roll,” Van Wyk sighs.
But the majority of them have been there, done that. “Metallica — the singer’s been in rehab. Robbie Williams has been in rehab …”
And once the big night is all over, the 20-odd tonnes of ankle-deep rubbish is vacuumed up. The people are gone. And it is on to the next one.