Back in March, Tone Deaf reported on the less than spectacular turnout during the Spectrum Playground festival, a free event organised by newspaper giant Fairfax Media and mega-bank ANZ as part of the former’s big push into the events sector.

The free Spectrum Playground event took place in Sydney’s Domain, a venue with a capacity of tens of thousands, having previously hosted up to 100,000 for Tropfest and various music festivals. But the event saw an attendance of just a few hundred.

We normally don’t think it’s funny when a festival or concert has a lacklustre turnout. After all, live music doing well is good for the Aussie music industry and the economy in general. But as this was a joint venture between a media colossus and a bank, we felt free to gloat.

That’s why we must confess we feel a little conflicted about the following story, because while we like to see concerts doing well, even when they’re overseas, and we feel like hypocrites if we laugh, we’re really fighting the urge to just find this whole thing funny, if only for the photos.

It goes like this: East 17 were one of the many, many boy bands the UK managed to pump out in the ’90s. In contrast to the pretty boys of Take That and Boyzone, East 17 were street smart bad boys and had shaved heads and tattoos. It was like if the Backstreet Boys just had five AJ McLeans.

[include_post id=”440899″]

After breaking up in 1999, the group reunited in 2006 and it appears things aren’t going all that well for them. As The Independent reports, three fifths of the original lineup performed at Dublin’s Academy over the weekend, an 800-capacity venue that was almost completely empty.

According to The Independent, a grand total of 30 people showed up, with most backtracking their way out the door when they saw the dead scene happening inside the venue. However, one fan, Tom Flynn, was determined to keep the party going.

“I made the most of it after I was told I wouldn’t be getting a refund,” Flynn wrote on Twitter following an awkward, slightly sad, but undeniably hilarious selfie he took during the gig. “An hour later but the lads did the best they could.”

According to The Sun, the delay was due to the fact that the members were waiting/hoping for more people to turn up. “They looked so ridiculous performing to nobody,” Flynn told the paper. “Tony Mortimer and Brian Harvey, who sang all their big hits, aren’t with the band any more.”

“So you just have the guys that did the dancing, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell, with a new singer called Robbie Craig.” Readers can check out Flynn’s snaps, which he took “minutes before and during their gig” below. Feel free to laugh, but give it a little ‘Aww’ too.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine