Asake Laments Disruption of London Show

Ferdinand  Ekechukwu

Wave-making singer/songwriter Asake yesterday issued an emotional statement after fans were left injured at his gig last Thursday in London. The incident occurred during the last of three sold-out performances at the 02 Academy in Brixton. The breakout star was forced to cancel his sold-out show at O2 Academy Brixton midway through after crowds of people, many of whom did not have tickets, attempted to gain access.  

The Nigerian Afrobeats singer, 27, in the statement said his heart is with those who were injured during his performance in London on Thursday, December 15. Asake is touring his debut album, ‘Mr. Money with The Vibe’.

Taking to his Instagram story last Friday, Asake wrote: “My heart is with those who were injured last night and caused any form of discomfort. I pray you will get well soonest. I am also in the process of reaching out to the individuals. I still do not have the full brief from the venue management themselves as to what led to the disruption at the entrance of the Brixton Academy, but we are thankful that all was peaceful at the end.”

According to reports, ticketless fans tried to breach the venue doors, forcing the sold-out show to stop halfway through on Thursday night.  Social media footage shows a large crowd building up outside the venue. Another video from social media appears to show people trying to evade security. Four people were critically injured and four others were hospitalised following a crush at the concert venue in south London.

Police and other emergency services were called to the O2 Academy in Brixton following reports that a large number of people were attempting to force entry into the venue. Metropolitan police noted that serious crushes at UK gigs are very rare, hence, the incident was described as upsetting.

The police arrived to find a number of people with injuries believed to have been caused by crushing.

Detectives are investigating the circumstances which led to four people sustaining critical injuries,” the Metropolitan police said. “Two less seriously injured people were treated at the scene while the eight others were taken to hospital by ambulance. No arrests have been made. This is an extremely upsetting incident which has left four people critically ill in hospital. A police investigation has been launched, and it will be as thorough and as forensic as necessary to establish exactly what happened last night,” Commander Ade Adelekan said.

He added that specialist officers will examine the scene and CCTV, but appealed for anyone with information to come forward. The O2 Academy Brixton has a standing capacity of nearly 5,000 people, according to its website. Asake’s debut album ‘Mr. Money With The Vibe’ broke streaming records and emerged as the biggest Afrobeats artiste.

On Friday, September 30th 2022, Asake put out the ticket for his first London show which was held on October 3rd and the ticket sold out in five minutes. This led Asake to put out another date for 15th December which sold out in minutes and led to the announcement of another 17th December show which like the two dates also sold out in minutes.

Asake admitted that he might have downplayed the level of acceptance and patronage he enjoys in the UK where the album reached NO.1 on the UK Apple Music Album Chart and spend multiple days atop the chart.

2022 has been an incredible year for the artiste, real name Ahmed Ololade, who has enjoyed an unprecedented run he capped with his record-breaking debut album ‘Mr. Money With The Vibes’. His music has travelled internationally where it found an impressive audience in UK and the US. Everything that concerns the artiste is here to stay.