Glasgow gig with Hozier and Kodaline raises awareness for disabled music fans

Geoff Ellis, the man behind T in the Park, has said helping to organise a gig for disabled music fans has opened his eyes to their needs.

Able2UK's The Accessible Concert 2016 was held in Glasgow with Hozier, Kodaline and Prides on the bill.

Geoff, who is also CEO of DF Concerts, told Newsbeat: "It's been more difficult than I envisaged but it's been rewarding at the same time.

"We're more aware of the various needs of people with disabilities."

Mark Wahlberg spoke to Howard Thorpe on FaceTime backstage before the gig

The T in the Park organiser first got involved with the gig when Able2UK's founder Howard Thorpe approached him at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Glasgow in 2012.

"I wouldn't say we treated them as an afterthought before but it's certainly enhanced our understanding of what the needs are for disabled customers.

Geoff Ellis has organised T in the Park since becoming chief executive of DF Concerts in 2001

"I hope the legacy from this is that people, when they have a disability, will feel more comfortable about going to a concert and they'll think, 'Maybe the venue will care about me.'

"You can't do everything for everybody. That would be impractical but everybody can do a bit more than they currently do."

Organiser Howard Thorpe wants the event to become an annual event.

"I've been going to gigs and festivals for over 20 years," he said. "In that time I've seen a huge improvement but there's still more to be done.

"A disabled person can have learning difficulties, can be deaf, a whole spectrum of conditions, [it's] not just people in a wheelchair."

Music fan Kate Walsh agrees with Geoff and Howard.

She has hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy, so needs to use a wheelchair.

Kate goes to some gigs as a mystery shopper for Attitude is Everything, an organisation which aims to "improve deaf and disabled people's access to live music".

She says her main concern is inconsistency in venues with some being "really good" and others having nothing for disabled people.

At the Able2UK gig, she told Newsbeat: "Based on my experience concerts are 80% there. They're not quite perfect yet."

Academy Music Group, which owns O2 Academy in Glasgow as well as more than 20 other venues around the UK, has told Newsbeat it was "delighted" to host the concert but acknowledged "not all venues are perfect".

It puts that partly down to the age of many of its venues, some of which are listed, comparing them to modern venues which are designed to accommodate people with disabilities.

Sir Elton John, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, Radio X presenter Chris Moyles and rockers Royal Blood filmed tributes for the event

Kodaline, who played at the Able2UK gig, said they were impressed by the changes that had been made to the venue for the event which included ramps around the venue, a large viewing platform and on-stage sign language translation.

Singer Steve said: "We were here last month. We played our own tour and it's amazing to see how they've completely transformed it."

Guitarist Mark said: "We've probably done, I don't know how many, hundreds of shows over the last few years but this is the first one we've done where people with disabilities are at the forefront."

But the transformation came at a price.

The large wheelchair platform reduced the venue's capacity and the cost of the gig was much higher than a normal show.

All the artists performed for free and the venue didn't take any money either.

The law says people running gigs must make "reasonable adjustments" to make sure that everyone can enjoy the acts.

Lots of venues and major festivals are also signed up to Attitude is Everything's charter of best practice, which means they agree to meet a certain level of accessibility for disabled fans.

But Geoff Ellis doesn't think the level of facilities and access for disabled fans at Able2UK is something people should expect to see happening at every gig.

"On this scale it can't be repeated, because it's just not viable.

"The artists aren't earning any money out of it, the revenues from the ticket sales are barely covering the additional costs, nobody is really getting any income form this.

"It's the music industry. We might have charitable intentions but at the end of the day everybody has a business.

"But it's great - we're still able to highlight the issues people face. I think what can be done is changes at each gig because of awareness. A lot of it is psychological."

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