Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has been branded a ‘diva’ by rock band Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats in an official statement.
The noughties alternative band headlined the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, but the Brit rockers have now claimed their set at the annual festival was cut short on Albarn’s request.
The group have hit out at the 58-year-old singer and claimed he forced festival bosses to end their set prematurely because he could hear their music.
Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats were performing on the Lagune Stage at 10.15pm, while Gorillaz were helming the Orange Scene stage at 10pm.
Taking to Instagram after the set, Uncle Acid apologised to their fans who had been in the crowd expecting a full set, blaming the ‘novelty cartoon act’ Gorillaz.
A statement from Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats read: ‘Apologies to everyone who came to Roskilde Festival hoping to see us play a full set last night.
‘Pop diva Damon Albarn of the novelty cartoon act Gorillaz threw a hissy fit while we played, threatened to storm off stage before finally getting our set shut down because we were “too loud”.
‘They were the only headliner of the whole weekend who couldn’t cope with playing at the same time as other artists.
The continued: ‘Unfortunately we only managed 25 minutes of assaulting his precious ears from our stage half a mile away before his goons came over and pulled the plug.
‘Despite us being below the festival dB limit and offering to turn down FOH to continue the show, they wanted us off.
‘Thanks to the Roskilde crew and stage manager who tried their best to intervene but it was ultimately out of their hands. Orders from above. PS to our Danish fans… we love you and we’ll see you next year in Copenhagen.’
Festivals organisers have since released their own statement, blaming the ‘strong winds’ for Uncle Acid’s early end time.
‘To reduce the risk of further disruptions and provide the best possible experience for both festivalgoers and artists, we’ve made a number of changes to today’s programme,’ they wrote, explaining that this was why the Lagune stage set ‘unfortunately had to stop’.
‘We know this was disappointing for everyone involved, and we’re sorry that both festivalgoers and the artists missed out on the experience they had been looking forward to,’ they penned.
‘The interruption was caused by a combination of wind conditions and technical factors that affected the sound production. When hosting a large outdoor live event, changing weather conditions can sometimes create operational challenges.’
Metro contacted Damon Albarn for comment on this story.