“We cannot go on”: ATP shutters live operation
All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) has announced it is to wind down its ailing live business with immediate effect.
The news comes amid doubts over whether the British record label and concert/festival promoter’s latest event, ATP Iceland, would go ahead following cancellations by three acts, two of which accused ATP chief Barry Hogan of failing to honour the terms of their contracts.
ATP Iceland is “no longer happening”, says a statement on the ATP website, “but all our other UK shows will have new promoters appointed and tickets transferred”.
The statement continues: “We are very sorry we could not make this work and have tried to survive throughout all our recent losses, but we are no longer able to trade and have to accept we cannot go on.
“Thank you to all our loyal customers who have supported us and incredible artists who have performed or curated for us over the years and made ATP so special while it lasted.”
“We are very sorry we could not make this work and have tried to survive throughout all our recent losses, but we are no longer able to trade and have to accept we cannot go on”
IQ has contacted Hogan for further comment.
ATP’s last two events – one programmed by comedian Stewart Lee and one by US post-hardcore band Drive Like Jehu – were beset by controversy, with the once-prestigious brand tarnished by reports of venues not being paid, ATP taking out a payday loan and Drive Like Jehu’s festival being uprooted and moved halfway across the country. While Lee’s event eventually went ahead (albeit after a “nightmare start” that saw John Cale pull out, Roky Erickson not get paid and guests being left without chalets), Drive Like Jehu’s was called off at the last minute.
ATP has had cashflow problems since at least August 2014, when its Jabberwocky festival, scheduled for the ExCeL conference centre in London, was called off with three days to go. It said in a statement at the time: “Despite healthy ticket sales, all our efforts could not take [them] to the point that we needed. If we had gone ahead; it would have 100% been the end of [us].”
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Another All Tomorrow’s Parties fest in trouble
Although ostensibly organised by a different promoter, All Tomorrow’s Parties’ (ATP) upcoming ATP Iceland festival looks set to share the same fate as April’s two ill-fated ATP 2.0 festivals in the UK as an increasing number of acts pull out just over two weeks before it’s due to kick off.
Múm, Blanck Mass/Benjamin Power and Fabio Frizzi have all called off their appearances at the festival – billed as being presented by Tölva Parties of Reykjavik, and scheduled to take to place from 1 to 3 July at the former naval base of Ásbrú – in recent weeks, with Italian composer Frizzi being the latest to cancel.
He wrote on Twitter yesterday: “We’ve made every effort to make this show happen, but unfortunately the lack of communication and the failure to honour any of the agreements that we made with Barry Hogan (ATP) made it impossible for us to perform.”
“Unfortunately the terms of the agreement with the festival have not been honoured and the band has been left with no other option than to pull out of the line-up”.
“The lack of communication and the failure to honour any of the agreements that we made with Barry Hogan made it impossible for us to perform”
Icelandic band Múm issued a similar statement late last month, writing on Facebook: “Unfortunately the terms of the agreement with the festival have not been honoured and the band has been left with no other option than to pull out of the line-up.”
There are still only 26 artists confirmed for the three-day festival, reports CMU, and day tickets are yet to go on sale.
ATP’s last two events – one programmed by comedian Stewart Lee and one by US post-hardcore band Drive Like Jehu – were beset by controversy from the outset, with venues not being paid, ATP taking out a payday loan and Drive Like Jehu’s festival being uprooted and moved halfway across the country. While Lee’s event eventually went ahead (albeit after a “nightmare start” that saw John Cale pull out, Roky Erickson not get paid and guests being left without chalets), Drive Like Jehu’s was called off at the last minute.
IQ has contacted ATP founder Barry Hogan for comment.
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