New Trance Music

Drama Llama Rears Its Ugly Head at PlanetLove 2009

Organisers Cancel ATB’s Set for Paul van Dyk?

via: http://www.trancepodium.com/forum/topic,11624.0/

The ugly side of the industry revealed itself at Planet Love 2009 when apparently Paul Van Dyk refused to play after ATB (Andre Tanneberger), leading the the organisers cancelling ATB’s set altogether.

According to ATB, Paul has always had something of a bad attitude towards Andre. With no word about why Paul acted the way he did, Andre was the first to make a statement via his Myspace Blog immediately after the incident:

Facts about the Planetlove festival and Paul Van Dyk…
You won..t believe what you will read now.
I..m just back in my hotelroom (05.09.2009, 10:30 PM), but actually I should be on stage at the Planet Love Festival in Belfast now.
The reality is, that the organizers just told me and my manager one our ago at the festival, that Paul van Dyk told them, that when I play (my contracted playtime was 10-12 PM) my set right before his set 12-2 AM, he will not play! So the organizers decided to throw me out of the lineup!
I just want to let you know, how people in this scene and business works and of course this will have consequences to all concerned parties!
I..m so sorry for all the fans out there, who wasn’t able to see me.
Andre

I think it wasn’t a good idea for ATB to actually go into the details of what happened, the apology for not playing to his fans should have been the end of it. After ATBs post, PlanetLove organisers released an official statement to share their side of the story:

ATB refuses to play Planetlove
It is with regret that I have to pen one of the worst unprofessional incidents we have encountered in almost 25 years of booking artists.
At 7pm on Saturday evening we respectfully asked ATB to help us with the smooth running of the show by playing his set at the festival from approximately 9pm to 11pm instead of his requested time of 10pm to 12midnight and he point blankly refused.
Instead he arrived at the site and chose to verbally abuse and threaten Judith, so much so that he had to be asked to calm down by his manager and security called as Judith feared that things would escalate further.
The facts are very simple. ATB chose not to play at all to the same crowd, in the same arena for the same two hour set rather than play one hour earlier!
I ask any rational person to try and relate to this.
He was paid in full, in advance, as where his flights and transport. He was treated with courtesy and respect but rather than play one hour earlier than he wanted to he hurled abuse, issued threats, wouldn’t play the new time and proceeded to blame PVD and was so convinced from the outset that it was PVD’s doing that he even tried to coerce Judith into writing down that it was PVD’s fault. Paul Van Dyk did not even arrive at the venue until 11:45pm.
Never before has an artist refused to help with the smooth running of our shows and try and dictate what they should do. At the end of the day this show was about all artists and the people who went to enjoy them, not about one individual.
My thanks to the other artists, in particular Judge Jules, who did adapt to the time changes which facilitated the production crews the time to change over the defective generator during his set which was causing the problem in the first place. It is my belief that because of Jules help in the set time before 12 midnight that the change over was done in such a professional manner that I believe the crowd were not even aware that there was a problem. So simple when people work together.

And then ATB came back with this on his Myspace Blog again:

Hi @ all,
as I see in some forums the organizers now try to tell the people that I refused the gig. Thats very funny and I..m very happy to have two witnesses that the organizers told me that I..m not allowed to play in front of Paul van Dyk.
They tried to give me a settime from 8:30 till 10 because they supposedly had trouble with some late DJ..s! But I was not able to play at this time because I just arrived in the hotel!
As we asked at 9:30 for a transportation to the Venue a guy from the organization told us, we don..t have to go to the venue because my show is cancelled. The reason: I did not took the playtime 8:30 – 10! This was a shock!
Anyway, we decided to go to the venue and talk with the organizers personally.
I TOLD THE ORGANIZERS, THAT EVEN IF THERE HAVE TROUBLE WITH THE SET TIMES I..M OPEN TO PLAY A SHORTER SET FROM 11-12! THATS ONE HOUR LESS! BUT THEY TOLD ME, THAT THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO GIVE ME THIS SET TIME; BECAUSE OF PAUL WOULD CANCEL HIS SHOW THEN!
But one thing in the organizers statement is right! I was not in a very good mood… and I think everybody can understand that.
Of course the organizers never would tell the truth about having no balls to tell Paul van Dyk that they are the organizers of this event… not Paul van Dyk.
Since 10 years I have the same question! What is Paul van Dyk..s problem with my person?
Andre

What a messy disgusting tale of yuckiness. I don’t really know who to believe. ATB has some solid points to his story and PlanetLove never said why they wanted him to play early?