So if like us you had tickets to see one of the living legends of music in the past five decades – Brian Wilson – at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on September 27th (ably supported by Edwyn Collins and America) you will have just received an email from Ticketmaster advising that all UK gigs have been cancelled.
It is worth quoting the press release in full:
“Due to the overwhelming success of Brian Wilson’s movie ‘Love and Mercy’ which has opened in the US to critical acclaim, Brian has had to postpone his current UK tour planned for September 2015 due to commitments in the US.
He will be back in the UK and Europe in 2016 with a string of concerts to mark the 50th Anniversary of his seminal album ‘Pet Sounds, which will be his final European tour.”
Brian says “I’m sorry I won’t be able to make these shows this year, but I look forward to seeing all my fans in 2016 to help me celebrate 50 years of ‘Pet Sounds’. This will be my final European tour. I hope you all enjoy my movie when it opens in the UK on July 10th, I’ll see you all soon, Best Brian.”
In other words Brian doesn’t really give a s**t about his fans here in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
The instant gratification – and no doubt immediate surge in his bank balance – of vacuous Hollywood idolatry is clearly of far more importance to him.
The price Brian has had to pay for his musical genius – and there is no doubt pop-pickers, the driving force behind “Pet Sounds” is a bona fide genius who has had to pay one hell of a personal price – is to have suffered all sorts of torments over the years with drug and alcohol addiction, manic depression, hearing loss, schizophrenia and who knows what else.
For long periods of time following his split with the other Beach Boys, Brian was a recluse, a hermit who lived in his multi-million dollar mansions away from the gaze of the public and the media and occasionally released another album of sheer brilliance.
However, we are sorry folks, but to treat his UK fan base with such disregard is really not acceptable, even from someone who sits on such a high musical pedestal you need the Hubble telescope to see him.
Ticketmaster are refunding all ticket holders in the next 15 days. We will be using our refund to go and see some credible Scottish indie bands who do care about their loyal fans and we will not be buying any tickets for the rescheduled gigs in 2016.
Brian mate, you’ve blown it big time.
You used to be cool, but surf is well and truly down for you and it’s a crying shame to mark your retirement from touring in such a poor way.
We are so annoyed off with this we couldn’t even be bothered figuring-out how to fit in our usual tag line about how you can never have enough vinyl…..
Radical Independent Music 
As you rightly say,Brian unofficially left the band as the driving force around the time of Smile when, his Schizophrenia was,brought on early by hallucinogenics and Heroin addiction.. .It’s surprising ,his brothers and Mike Love never received critical credit for their own written work and collaborations to keep the band running in the late 60’s early ’70’s .The albums from that period were all wounded classics Surf’s Up and Holland are for me the pick of the bunch. Only a few songs were instant classics ,but i always return to them ,instead of the lauded singles ,that I have listened to, to death.As far as the canceled gigs are concerned ,i can only suggest that it’s his new found confidence and frothing at the mouth , due to the film’s success, and, the considerably huge market of, his aging,affluent American fans.I don’t think he’ll be losing sleep over a few piddling, thousand British.
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