Reveller ‘lost it’

A SHETLAND guitarist who struck and spat on a bouncer because of his aggressive behaviour during a Halloween concert was fined at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Thursday.

Admitting assault, Andrew Clubb, of Houlland, Brae, told the court that he “lost it” after watching bouncers throwing people out “for no apparent reason” while popular seven-piece band The Revellers performed at Mareel on 26 October.

The 39 year old denied a suggestion that he was taking revenge after being thrown out of a concert at Mareel the previous weekend for throwing a cup at the stage.

“I wasn’t upset about the weekend before, but I felt the security staff were being aggressive and totally over the top in the way they handled the audience that evening and I was quite frustrated about it,” Clubb said.

“There were a number of occasions I saw them grabbing people and throwing them out for what I saw as no apparent reason and jumping over barriers into the audience knocking people’s drinks out of their hands. I just felt they were acting aggressively.”

Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie had said the audience were “quite alarmed” when they saw the guitarist spit and strike the bouncer.

“He seemed to have some sort of grievance about the way the security staff had been conducting themselves during the evening,” the fiscal said.

“I think the reality is that he had been removed himself the weekend previously for throwing a plastic cup on the stage when watching another band and he felt aggrieved by that and when on stage the following week he felt he was in a position to abuse the staff and he chose to do that.”

Fining Clubb £150, Sheriff Philip Mann said he hoped this was the first and last time he would see him in court.

“You simply can’t behave like that,” he said.

Clubb said that no one was more fed up with his behaviour than he, but he had “just lost it”.