Controversy Surrounds Slipknot Show Cancellation

LONDON--Shock rock group Slipknot has been given no official explanation why a show at Ireland's Point Theatre, scheduled for Wednesday (8/30), was suddenly cancelled.

A spokesperson at the band's label Roadrunner Records told SoundSpike, "We are referring people to the promoter MCD for an answer, as they haven't given us one. They told Ticketmaster that the concert was cancelled due to poor ticket sales, but… three-quarters of the tickets had been sold."

MCD have said in the press that the cancellation was due to "logistics problems." However, the decision to cancel the gig, which was announced at the end of June, followed concern from the National Parents Council of Ireland that a Slipknot show would not be suitable for a young audience.

John Whyte of the NCPI told nme.com, "I objected to the way in which the concert was being promoted and the suggestion that there would be a staged row taking place and also the fact that basically the stage would be used as a public toilet, basically. I contacted the Point and told them that for such a reputable venue, if such obscenities did take place, I felt they were lowering their standards." Whyte added that since the Slipknot gig had been cancelled, that the organization had received "numerous obscene messages on our answering machine."

This is not the first time that Slipknot has had U.K. appearances cancelled. HMV record stores pulled the plug on a handful of in-store signing in January due to safety concerns.

Slipknot was the top winner at this year's Kerrang! Awards, where they won Best Single, Best International Live Act and Best Band in the World.