Worst crush at Reading/Leeds?

[Bisque]

Pendulum 2008. I only managed to get into the tent after a nutter with a blade ripped open a hole in the side tenting & pass us through. Still managed to get near the front though pits opening up left right & centre.

[The Placid Casual]

Didn't the libs have to go off during time for heroes due to the crush?

I only went last year, and the crush before Black Keys where I was, was unreal

[Hart Attack]

Front and center for Lostprophets in the tent in 2009.

[kev1664]

What was yours?

The only truly scary moment for myself was Blink 182 at Reading 09 - I remember we instructed to move back quite a few times. Only time I've genuinely feared for what might happen.

[kev1664]

I was in the thick of it for that. About 10 rows from the front? It was crazy - it you fell over during that you had no chance. Worse than when I saw Rage (although that was in Finsbury, not Reading/Leeds).

Wonder what it'll be like for SOAD this year...

[jordanuk90]

Pendulum 2008. I only managed to get into the tent after a nutter with a blade ripped open a hole in the side tenting & pass us through. Still managed to get near the front though pits opening up left right & centre.

[Spud001]

Barrier for Green Day was fucking ridiculous last year in the tent. Was to be expected though.

As has been said, the best place to be is slap bang in the middle. The back of the Golden Circle gets pretty damn cosy during the headliners as everyone thinks 'if we stand at the back of the GC, we'll be able to see and won't be crushed' so this just loosens up the middle

And I agree Shikari '11 was ridiculous. Can't remember half the set as I spent the whole set just trying to stay on my feet and stay breathing. The crowd surfers took a right beating in the end from people at the front who were just drowning in people.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Spud001

[Andre91]

During Paramore at Leeds '10. The crowd just swelled from the time Weezer finished and everybody was pushing forward. I could hear people screaming, people couldn't breathe at times because of the crush. At one point about 20 people around me (myself included) hit the deck, I had someone fall on my leg and it killed! My friend had to pull me up, he looked genuinely scared and he's a tough guy. At the next moment we could we crowd surfed out of there. Horrible, scary moments.

[DMCJ2]

Getting out from front after Pulp had finished in 2011 was mad

[Andy_47]

Pendulum 2010 in the NME tent was ridiculous. I can handle myself in a crowd fairly well but for the first time I considered leaving because of the crowd.

[LondonTom]

As has been said, the best place to be is slap bang in the middle. The back of the Golden Circle gets pretty damn cosy during the headliners as everyone thinks 'if we stand at the back of the GC, we'll be able to see and won't be crushed' so this just loosens up the middle

Edited April 9, 2013 by LondonTom

[Greg123]

Pendulum 2008. I only managed to get into the tent after a nutter with a blade ripped open a hole in the side tenting & pass us through. Still managed to get near the front though pits opening up left right & centre.

[MONTHEBIFF2013]

Was at the front for green day last year in the tent, never been so squashed in my life. It was like wave after wave of people i ended up being pushed further and further to the side so decided to get out and watch a little further back during hitchin a ride. Felt a bit bad though as I left the misses in there. Don't think she was too bothered though she came out afterwards saying it was the greatest gig she'd ever been too.

[Spud001]

Plus you have the w*nkers at the back, who have stood there all day who then start pushing people away if they dare to go in their space a little....the crowds around Kaiser Chiefs /Black Keys would have been fine without them morons pushing back against anyone who tried to avoid going into mosh pits. (Jesus Christ people opening pits for Kaiser Chiefs anyway?!). They also done it when everyone was leaving/entering before Black Keys, absolute cretins with on that back barrier with no regards to others safety.

[alex28]

Foals 2008 on the NME was so bad that my mate lost his shoe so we had to crowd surf out. I was 16 at the time. Whilst crowd surfing I had my shoes, socks and shorts pulled off me. My underwear got partially pulled down so I felt very sorry for whoever had my ass on the top of their head.

[Babyquack]

Getting out from front after Pulp had finished in 2011 was mad

[Matt42]

My friend told me that the worst he's been in was the build up to kings of leon in 2009, the prodigy in 2009, Dizzie in 2010 and Muse and arctic monkeys in 2006.

[jump]

My friend told me that the worst he's been in was the build up to kings of leon in 2009, the prodigy in 2009, Dizzie in 2010 and Muse and arctic monkeys in 2006.

[TheBoz]

For me it was between Pulp and the Strokes. I was 3rd person back and the crush and crowd movement was awful. People falling down left, right and centre. It's the only time i've got myself pulled out of a crowd.

[VCK]

I've always made a point to avoid going too close to the front when there's a band on that I know will draw a huge crowd, even since I saw the Manics at a gig in 2007 and spent most of the gig trying to fight my way out into somewhere more spacious. The worst I've been in was Feeder in 2008, it got pretty lairy down there at times, but not to the point where I was struggling to breathe or anything.

[Areophobia]

I was right at the front for Arcade Fire in '10 which was fine, the Libs just before was an absolute nightmare from what I recall.

[Tobieski]

Wasn't really a crush or anything but some pisshead punched my mate straight in the face during Modestep last year, had to carry her out of the crowd (the dance tent was packed), not the best of experiences

[Dead throne]

This!

It was awful jesus! This girl tried to get out of the crowd and turned sideways, and these guy's elbows went straight into her back and her chest, crushing her right infront of me.. They pretty much crushed her and she screamed with a really horsey noise. She passed out and she had a huge black bruise right in the centre of her chest. We all (including me) picked her up and transported her over the barrier.

[Dead throne]

And I agree Shikari '11 was ridiculous. Can't remember half the set as I spent the whole set just trying to stay on my feet and stay breathing. The crowd surfers took a right beating in the end from people at the front who were just drowning in people.

[VCK]

The idea of being bang in the middle of a crush at a festival scares me. I remember RATM in '08 and The Prodigy in '09 both having to stop their sets to tell people to move back. In particular, there were so many horror stories about The Prodigy. My mate passed out twice because he was down near the front!

I think it's the idea that it would be so hard to get out because the crowd at the Main Stage at Leeds is so huge. A few years ago I went to see Morrissey at the O2 in Leeds, and me and my mate gradually moved closer to the front, to the point where we were getting pretty crushed but I wasn't panicked at all, probably because I knew that if I wanted to get out of there I could easily. But instead I chose to have a good old pogo to Irish Blood, English Heart.

I've been near the front for acts that have drawn smaller crowds, such as Ian Brown and Eagles Of Death Metal and it's been fine, the odd bit of shoving but nothing intensive. But I just know I'd be panicking if I was near the front for The Prodigy.

I think it's a Leeds thing as well. When I was at Glastonbury in 2009, I was right near the front for The Specials and Blur who both drew large crowds, The Specials I was just a few rows from the stage, and there was no problems at all, apart from people attempting to skank.