UB40 gig made punter's ears bleed

[gibbothegreat]

Whilst nothing new, found the last sentence interesting - peak limit of 140dB? Isn't that pretty much instantaneous damage without protection?

BBC Story

Music at a UB40 concert was so loud it was "altering heart rhythms" and caused a fan's ear to bleed, it has been claimed. Anna Webster said she left Monday's gig in Cambridge along with up to 30 other people because of the noise.

 

A spokesman for the band said he was "sorry that Anna's night was spoiled".

 

He said no-one told the band's crew on the night that the music was too loud. Ms Webster has been offered free tickets to another gig as an apology.

 

She said she left the concert, at the Corn Exchange, before the reggae veterans had finished the first song.

 

"It was just horrendously loud - the bass was vibrating even in the foyer," she said.

 

"There were so many people walking out because they couldn't deal with it. It was vibrating through your whole body - it was actually altering heart rhythms."

 

Ms Webster, from Willingham in Cambridgeshire, said the noise caused her ear - which already had a perforated drum due to a condition from childhood - to bleed.

 

Angela Paffett, from Alconbury, who was also at the gig, said: "The bass crashed into you like a steam train. I had a pain in my chest."

 

Stella Jackson, from Arsley in Bedfordshire, also left early. She said the gig was a "waste of money" and gave her a headache.

 

A UB40 spokesman said he spoke to Ms Webster after being contacted by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and apologised to her if her evening was "spoiled". He said she was happy with the offer of VIP tickets to a gig in Wolverhampton.

 

He said he believed "the vast majority of people were not affected", adding that the band's sound engineer had been informed about the complaints.

 

A Cambridge Corn Exchange spokesman said the venue always worked within "strict health and safety guidelines" and ear plugs were made available for people on the night.

 

He said the responsibility for the concert's sound levels lay with promoter DHP Concerts.

 

DHP Concerts said sound levels were the responsibility of the band's crew.

 

 

Health and safety law at the venue states that the continuous sound level should not exceed 107 dB, with the peak sound pressure level not exceeding 140 dB.

[Simon Lewis]

140dB peak was the "third" action level in the original Noise at Work regs and under the "new" Control of Noise at Work Regulations (2005) the action levels are:

 

 

lower exposure action values - LEP,d or LEP,w of 80 dB(A)

- peak sound pressure of 135 dB©

 

upper exposure action values - LEP,d or LEP,w of 85 dB(A)

- peak sound pressure of 137 dB©

 

There is also an exposure limit value of:

 

 

exposure limit values - LEP,d or LEP,w of 87 dB(A)

- peak sound pressure of 140 dB©

 

Bearing in mind that a peak pressure detector responds in under 100 microseconds, it's easy to see how apparently high values can be achieved. A normal drum kit might show 105dB A weighted fast response but 130dBC peak....

 

In this news report the 140dB peak is the exposure limit value set out in the regulations.

[kerry davies]

A sudden burst at 140 will almost certainly permanently damage hearing, that's why those guys on carrier flight decks wear industrial scale super ear muffs. The physical effects of a large amount of speaker surface moving to produce those levels is quite disturbing even with plugs'n'muffs.

 

The idea that both the venue and promoter believe that they are in the clear on this is quite funny and laying responsibility on the band crew is hilarious. The "follow the money" principle dictates that they will be the ultimate "employer" of the crew and as such share responsibility for the risk to which they put punters who paid them.

 

E2A, Simon, I once measured 140 A weighted fast response, not peak, at a monitor desk while threatening to sack a humhead unless he cut it right down. There are some seriously defective ears out there and I never fail to be surprised just how young some of them are.

I agree that someone, somewhere does not understand venue imposed limits and have just quoted the max reg figure.

[Brian]

The acoustics in the Corn Exchange are a bit 'challenging' to say the least. Some engineers get a good sound: other don't and it's very easy to have it way too loud on the arena floor whilst hardly registering up on the tiered seating.

 

When I go to a gig there where I suspect the band will be loud I *always* take good quality ear plugs.

[the kid]

IS there not a reg somewhere that says if you are playing "loud" music you should free and obvious ear plugs for audience. Employees should obtain them free from the employer.

[kerry davies]

IS there not a reg somewhere that says if you are playing "loud" music you should free and obvious ear plugs for audience. Employees should obtain them free from the employer.

Read and learn. Read the quote from the venue in Gibbo's post as well which states that earplugs were offered to the punters by the venue.

[Ynot]

I can't help but keep coming back to the big question - WHY??

 

I like a good volume like the best of us, but so many gigs I've been to have just been FAR too loud by anyone's measurements.

 

It's not just the old-fart head that says this as I've thought so for many many years...

 

 

 

[Shez]

It's a reputation thing for some bands. We get Motorhead through DMH most years; I don't stick around during the show as I know what they're like. The drummer's monitor rig on it's own is more powerful than some gig's main FoH PA in there! I imagine they all suffer from a certain degree of hearing loss...

[sam.spoons]

I had a drummer with a '60s band (so he was in his 60s too) demand more drums in his monitor (just drums, nothing else.......) I had a JBL722 running on the edge of clipping (and feedback) about 18" from his left ear and it still wasn't loud enough for him. On paper that would be peaking at 130+dB. To his credit though, when I told him that was all he could have he never mentioned it again and just got on with the job.

[Stuart91]

I couldn't help but feel that this was a bit of a non-story: "Loud bass at reggae gig shocker". It could almost be an oblique PR piece. Until today, I wasn't aware that UB40 had reformed, never mind that they were touring. You can't buy this kind of publicity.

[Dave C]

. Until today, I wasn't aware that UB40 had reformed, never mind that they were touring. You can't buy this kind of publicity.

 

Had they actually de-formed? I thought the singer just left...

[Judge]

UB40 are the Status Quo of reggae.

And Quo are the pantomime horse of rock n roll.

That aside, it is very disturbing that some engineers use the PA as a weapon. And this syndrome does not just apply to noobs taking out their first big touring rig. I have been at plenty of shows where older and experienced engineers felt somehow obliged to drive the rig close to clipping at all times. Hey, just because a system CAN go that loud, doesn't mean it should.

Unless of course its Motorhead, when everything should be louder than everything else.

Seriously, that used to be the brief for incoming new sound guys. Probably still is. "If there aren't red lights flashing allover the board you are doing something wrong"

 

edit: I loved the bit in the article where they said to her, "we are sorry you had such a bad time at one of our shows. Here are tickets to another one, so you can repeat your miserable experience in slightly different surroundings"

[Seano]

Unless of course its Motorhead, when everything should be louder than everything else.

 

Lemmy: "Can you hear that horrible noise in my wedges?"

Monitor Engineer: "Er... no."

Lemmy: "Neither can I, turn it up!"

[Doug Siddons]

Unless of course its Motorhead, when everything should be louder than everything else.

 

Lemmy: "Can you hear that horrible noise in my wedges?"

Monitor Engineer: "Er... no."

Lemmy: "Neither can I, turn it up!"

 

I thought more recently The Prodigy had stolen Motorheads crown.

 

Shez's comment reminded me of a Drum and Bass festival I worked a fair few years back, tech crew refused to go on stage whilst it was running because of the volume of the monitors, the Dj's were ok because they were wearing headphones!

[OllieDuff]

1397654313[/url]' post='497863']

The acoustics in the Corn Exchange are a bit 'challenging' to say the least. Some engineers get a good sound: other don't and it's very easy to have it way too loud on the arena floor whilst hardly registering up on the tiered seating.

 

When I go to a gig there where I suspect the band will be loud I *always* take good quality ear plugs.

 

The question would then be (and it could be a moral or legal question) is: is it reasonable for you, the punter, to have to supply hearing protection because the promoter/venue/band have not taken sufficient action to reduce the noise to an acceptable level? It may be a challenging venue, but if I had a pound for every time someone posted on the blue room that implementing a certain control measure would be "too hard" and were promptly eviscerated by the other members...