Badly Drawn Boy has issued a statement addressing a recent disastrous show in Los Angeles.
A normally endearing live performer, Badly Drawn Boy has been known to let the pressures of the pop get to him. Playing a series of shows across North America, the songwriter finished the tour with a date in Los Angeles.
However the strains of being away from his family - combined with heckling - pushed him over the edge. Cursing at the audience, Badly Drawn Boy was forced to leave the stage briefly to compose himself.
Returning to complete the show, many audience members walked out of an increasingly pressurised, volatile atmosphere. Now safely back in the UK, Badly Drawn Boy has issued a statement apologising for the events in Los Angeles...
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I can start by saying that "there is no-one more upset by this situation than myself"
After a successful 3 week tour, this should have been the crowning send off but will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. As an artist you only want to do the job to the best of your ability.....when that is compromised there is a tendency to get frustrated.
I said on the mic "if i can't do my job well, then i may as well go home" to which one heckler shouted "just go home then" and then another "bring back Justin" (Justin Jones, the support act). Considering what I was going through, this was too much to bear.
I regret my choice of language directed at the hecklers and then I had to leave the stage to regroup.
I want to thank the people who stuck by me to finish the show, which ended well under the circumstances. Of course, the hecklers had gone by then and wouldn’t have been aware of what came next (and nor would they have cared).
I don’t feel I owe an apology to those who heckled but I want to profusely apologise to those caught in the crossfire, especially a guy who had to leave with his young daughter, and all of you who stuck by me to help turn things around.
Thanks to everyone else at the other shows who came along and made this a great tour for me. I am sorry that it ended in this way and I will finish as I began "there is no-one more upset by this situation than myself".
I would like to wish everybody a happy holiday season!
Badly Drawn Boy
