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CHANGE CITY :
Illness forces Kraftwerk to miss Melbourne Global Gathering
Created On November 23rd, 2008 by i_have_ADD
to listen to their music now on 
The first ever Global Gathering tour of Australia kicked off yesterday in Melbourne, but all did not go to plan with German electro godfathers Kraftwerk missing their headline set to due a sudden and very serious illness.
“Last night at the Melbourne Global Gathering event Kraftwerk band member, Fritz, was very unwell and was attended to by our onsite medical team,” read a statement, issued today by Future Entertainment. “On advice of the doctor, he did not play at the event as was transported to hospital for observation. Subsequently, Kraftwerk did not perform and the Gorillaz were moved to the main stage to play the closing set.”
“Rhymefest, one of Mark Ronson’s MCs, made the announcement to the waiting crowd,” the statement continued. “We’re happy to announce that Fritz has been cleared to fly and will be playing at the Perth event today. Kraftwerk and Future Entertainment apologise to Kraftwerk fans who missed out on seeing this legendary outfit perform in Melbourne.”
Stay tuned to ITM this week for updates on Global Gathering and post-event coverage of the tour’s first weekend in Melbourne and Perth.
> MELBOURNE PHOTOS – SEE WHAT WENT DOWN!
matzta73 says...
I can see within the next few years the future of these dance events are getting out of hand like Gloablisation is (look at what has happened with the credit crisis)... it will all implode and will go back to where it all first started (clubs).
angy says...
Whoah...
A New Sky says...
I was at that show, and was pretty disapointed as Kraftwerk were the main driving force behind the reason I purchased tickets. Ralf Huetter suggested a possible Melbourne side show in the near future though... so fingers crossed....
realkirill says...
ggggggggggggaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy.... couldnt care less about kraftwerk... but for fudges sake... youre an electronic group, u press play on a cd and stand around in front of a some pretty lights pretending to fiddle with knobs and keyboards, pulling a sicky is a nono.... and theres 3 others!
brenly says...
and the gorillaz were freaknnnnnn SHITE too!!!
tben says...
how does someone have a 'sudden and very serious illness' then get cleared to fly off immediately to a string of transnational gigs?
gracearcasm says...
I was so upset about this last night, it was probably the only time I was going to have the opportunity to see Kraftwerk.. That said, it meant that I got to enjoy the full 3 golden hours of A
ryan xxx says...
suck it melbourne
bluepeople says...
f@#king wankers. i was there freezing and rocking my arse off and your going to tell me he was unwell. i was in the rain all day to hear that shit. f@$k of kraftework and dont bother coming back
lpeake says...
Yeah, I was there, gutted when I heard this, glad to see he's ok. Fingers crossed for a side show!
Bromantis says...
robots don't get sick, what a load of bullhickey.
A New Sky says...
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=3hIzQU0rAXQ ^there is a video i posted of the announcement... pretty disappointing but hopefully it just makes the gig they do to make up for it even better.
JekDaFunk says...
First of all last night they said it had to do with him having a heart attack, and now he is clear for perth? clearly this has just been a clever ploy on behalf of Future due to the weather and lack of ticket sales Global was shocking on so many fronts, first you had the weather screwing things, then you had bad allocation of set times, the gorillaz were average and then the one act that everyone came to see gets canceled.. its weak, unprofessional and clearly the focus of the company is in the wrong direction I feel ript off, big time
St_Jude says...
holy fuckah! thank goodness he's right for perth!! *crosses fingers* and *touches wood*
fricster says...
Shattered actually. So bad about fritz's health - but having waited all day in the shocking weather it was such a let down. I really hope that they can come back to Melbourne. I am glad he is on the mend and can play in the other states. Lucky them!
Fiaz says...
what the f*** is wrong with some of you people? get over yourselves.
kamshaft11 says...
Above
jacquelinepee says...
my god, hope they are all good for sydney!!
amanda fantastique says...
ahaha.. its all fake, shit organisers, they pulled out cause they didnt want to play to a crowd of 100 people
brenly says...
REFUND!!! :D
em_bem says...
What's with all the complaining?? I don't know about anyone else but I just appreciate that it wasn't disgustingly crowded and everyone was rocking it in the rain and having the time of their lives anyway!
A New Sky says...
This was band was the reason I went to Global, Kraftwerk had better come back to Melbourne as stated on the night, otherwise I want a refund.
StrayPixel says...
Have some compassion for the guy, he suffered a minor heart attack!
Rysh says...
He promised they would come back... i was a few metres from them at the very front when they announced it, he said they would come back... They seriously better come back ........
winterkiss says...
what the hell is wrong with you people?? They're old men! He had some heart attack or something, and he didn't even come on stage last night for Perth. His son took his place. It was amazing. Finally got to see my idols live and I feel so privileged. I'm sure no one could complain last night :)
Ben Royal says...
winterkiss says... on November 24th, 2008 what the hell is wrong with you people?? They're old men! He had some heart attack or something, and he didn't even come on stage last night for Perth. His son took his place. It was amazing. Finally got to see my idols live and I feel so privileged. I'm sure no one could complain last night :) If he didnt play in Perth why couldn't the 3 of them have played in Melbourne?
A New Sky says...
True dat, Ben Royal. Or they coulda just put one of the robots on in his place.
TheWalkingDisaster says...
unbeleivable "fans" you all are. a heart attack is pretty serious. shame on you all
A New Sky says...
@ TheWalkingDisaster ^ Don't get me wrong, if the guy's sick, I'd rather wait and see Kraftwerk when their fit and fighting, and I'm not doubting that at the time it may have seemed serious. However he's been cleared to fly and play 3 more shows in Australia, one in NZ, and two in Asia, clearly it's not as serious as a heart attack, otherwise they'd have flown him back to Germany and cancelled all the shows. The only time a heart attack was officially mentioned was on the night itself when it was cancelled, before he was admitted to the hospital to verify the cause of his illness, and it has not been brought up since. It's obviously not a heart attack cause it's not even mentioned in the above article.
moky says...
i was backstage when he made the announcment i was told of this hours b4 yet every 1 was lyk "ur kidding".. i was shocked as well but hey no biggie as long as he makes a full recovery im sure kraftwerk will be back once again :)
TheReturn says...
Another rumour ghoing round is that …apparently they partied too hard in their dressing room beforehand.