‘Drivers weren’t singing’: Ticket seller Paul Morrison hits back over Robbie Williams Grand Prix feud

A music promoter says he would have sold thousands more tickets to Robbie Williams’ Grand Prix concert in the hours before it was cancelled.

Robbie Williams was due to play a concert at the 2020 Grand Prix. Picture: David Caird

A music promoter has insisted he would have sold more than 4138 tickets to pop star Robbie Williams’ 2020 Grand Prix concert in the few hours leading up to the Covid-cancelled performance, despite only selling 13,407 in the months leading up to the event.

The Supreme Court heard pre-sale tickets were on offer from January 15 but up until March 13 they had only sold 13,407 tickets.

The venue – Lakeside Stadium – had a capacity of 36,000. However, after “slower than anticipated” sales and social media response, it decided to reconfigure the event site for a “changed demographic”.

“We thought the demographic would be females bringing their children along but it turned out to be a lot of women on a night out wanting to sit down and have a glass of wine,” Richard Beck, a music promoter, said.

Williams’ concert was cancelled due to Covid. Picture: Mark Wilson

So the organisers changed the layout to include more seats – at a loss of 7000 patrons.

Gerald Dalton, KC, for the Australian Grand Prix, asked: “You knew that if the Grand Prix was pulled the concert would be pulled, didn’t you?”

To which ticket seller Paul Morrison replied: “No, the drivers weren’t singing.”

The case continues.