30 July 2008

CASTELLON - Few stars can afford to walk out on a concert the way Chuck Berry did last Saturday. Fans in Estepona were left high and dry when the 82-year-old rock 'n' roll legend decided at the last minute not to attend either that concert or another one near León, where he was also scheduled to play on Sunday.

Instead, the star got on a plane to Chicago. The reason, apparently, was an argument with his daughter, who did not allow the octogenarian to drive as fast as he pleased on the highways of Britain, where he had performed the day before.

Berry is known for his love of speed and was seen zooming up and down Spain two years ago in his own Cadillac.

The organisers of the Estepona concert only became aware there was a problem when they realised that Berry had not landed at Málaga airport, where two limousines were waiting for him.

After calling representatives in Manchester, the curt reply was "Chuck Berry will get on a plane, but not to Málaga. He is flying to Chicago. There will be no concert."

The firms that were organising both Spanish concerts are now considering pressing charges against the musician, and have promised to refund fans. But recovering the EUR 72,000 that Berry had already been paid in advance (50 percent when the contract was signed and the rest a month before the show) could take up to three years.

"And that's if he doesn't die before that," said a spokesperson for Br Music, the organiser of the Estepona gig. "We had no time to react. We found out he wasn't coming one hour before the concert, and just because we called them up. Otherwise, we'd still be waiting."

This is not the first time that Berry has cancelled a show in Spain. In early July, he postponed a Córdoba concert because of the death of his brother.

[El Pais / Lino Portela / Expatica]