ALICE Cooper and Blondie's Pandemonium Rocks sideshows in Newcastle have been combined into one concert following sluggish ticket sales.
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The two legendary US rock acts will perform on Tuesday April 23 at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre with support from Psychedelic Furs and Wolfmother.
Previously, Blondie was scheduled to play on Monday, April 22 with support from Wolfmother and Cosmic Psychos, followed by Cooper on April 23 with UK hard-rockers Deep Purple and Perth band Gyroscope.
The ill-fated Pandemonium Rocks tour has suffered repeated blows ever since NSW Premier Chris Minns made the decision in January to cancel the rock nostalgia festival from the Sydney Domain due to fears it was disrespectful to the Anzac Day marches.
The Andrew McManus-promoted festival was subsequently moved to Cathy Freeman Park in the Sydney Olympic Park Precinct at Homebush.
There have also been numerous reports that the Pandemonium tour was about to be cancelled or that the line-up would be reduced.
The latter proved true on March 28 when Pandemonium announced it was scaling back its line-up from two or one stage, but fans were not told which acts had been dropped.
It's since been revealed that punk luminaries The Dead Kennedys and Gang Of Four, '90s rock band Placebo, Deep Purple, and Gyroscope have been cut from the Pandemonium tour.
Deep Purple and Gyroscope were booked to perform in Newcastle.
Only last month Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover told the Newcastle Herald that the Smoke On The Water hit-makers were excited about linking up with their "old friend" Alice Cooper.
"Playing live is still a buzz, absolutely," Glover said. "It's not a job really, it's a dream job."
However, on Sunday Deep Purple's social media channels were far more sombre.
"It is with great disappointment that Deep Purple will not be performing at the Pandemonium Festival shows (or Newcastle side-show) in Australia this month," the statement read.
"Deep Purple never wants to disappoint, and so this is a difficult piece of news for us to share with our fans."
Promoters of Pandemonium, Apex Entertainment, released a statement on Monday afternoon confirming the changes to the tour, including the Newcastle sideshow.
"We acknowledge the current state of the Australian economy and the cost of living crisis, of which we're constantly reminded of by the media," the statement said.
"This cost of living crisis has impacted the live music touring industry significantly and forced many other festivals and tours sadly, to cancel. Pandemonium is not one of those and despite aforementioned national issues our festival is moving forward."
It's been a difficult six months for live music in Australia. Newcastle music festivals This That and Groovin' The Moo were both cancelled due to poor ticket sales and Byron Bay's Splendour In The Grass suffered the same fate two weeks ago.
Josh Leeson
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
Josh Leeson is an entertainment and features journalist, specialising in music, at the Newcastle Herald. He first joined the masthead in 2008 after stints at the Namoi Valley Independent and Port Stephens Examiner and has previously covered sport including the Asian Cup, A-League, Surfest, cricket and rugby league.
