What Really Happened

On behalf of David Bowie, Isolar, The Outside Organization and ourselves, we can only state our sadness and disappointment in the inability of the Gisborne 2000 Festival Organization to fulfill their obligations to the fans of all the bands scheduled to perform in New Zealand. It is not our policy to respond to questions publicly, but as so many people have asked essentially the same things, we felt that this might at least answer some of the unanswered questions posed by fans.

Regarding your statement that in the weeks prior to the cancellation it was impossible to find out what was happening. During those same weeks, we were unable to get our questions answered by the organizers. If The Outside Organization or Isolar could not give you any information as to the fate of the show, it was because they had no more than the general public.

As for expenses incurred by the fans, although we cannot help you with your out of pocket costs, we too are attempting to get answers as to ticket refunds. It is our understanding that, under New Zealand law, all ticket money must be held in escrow so refunds are available for just such an occurrence.

I feel compelled to say something regarding "putting your life on hold", the loss of funds, time, and expectation of New Years Eve abroad. We clearly understand that many fans were hurt in many ways by this cancellation. It is important to understand it is not just the fans that are suffering.

Over 75 musicians, crew and staff were hired for this event by RZO (not to mention the other bands.) These are people who generally work only several months a year hoping to earn enough in that time to pay their bills and feed their families.

Most had turned down other employment to accept the 3 months of rehearsals and touring. I don't want to diminish the loss to any fan, but you should understand that you are not alone.

I do appreciate your understanding that the relationship between promoter and artist is not one of a partnership. We do take, quite seriously, the parties we do business with. The Gisborne 2000 Festival hired numerous professionals with whom we had worked before. Utilizing these professionals, we originally were not fearful that a quality job would be done. In addition, we had the verbal assurance of the town that the support for the festival was not in question.

We did everything possible to help the promoter in the last weeks before cancellation. Even then, as now, we postponed pursuing money due us in the hopes that the fans could recover their losses from the ticket money. Unfortunately, none of our efforts were successful in keeping the festival alive.

We firmly believed that the promoters would have continued to sell tickets in the hopes of finding a backer when, along with the other artists on the bill, they were confronted and eventually cancelled the event. We all believed that the closer to December we got, the more likely many more people would be hurt.

R.Z.O. works with many other bands and musicians. I can tell you that there is no one outside of the Bowie organization that puts as much emphasis on fan happiness, security and safety. Unfortunately, sometimes the best efforts and intentions cannot avoid the failure by others. I'm sorry we could not do more to save the show.

-- R.Z.O.