Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong has issued a statement explaining why the band performed after an acrobat died before their concert, insisting they weren't aware of the tragic accident.
On Friday (07Jul17), an acrobat named Pedro fell to his death while performing at Madrid's Mad Cool Festival. Green Day were scheduled to hit the stage right after the acrobat performed and their set was only postponed by a few minutes because of a "security issue."
The band subsequently faced criticism for performing. However, Armstrong is now insisting they didn't know about the death and thought the delay was because of a minor issue.
"Green Day did not hear about the accident until after our show was over...," the statement on the band's website reads.
"We were in a back stage compound about a half mile away from the main festival stage. We were warming up ready to go at 11:25 pm. 15 minutes prior our tour management was told by local authorities to wait to go on stage because there was some sort of security issue."
"Security issues are a normal occurrence and procedure at any show.. we were NOT told why which is also normal," it adds. "We waited as we were instructed..."
The band learned of the tragedy after returning to its "artist compound," but Armstrong insists the group wouldn't have played if it knew beforehand.
"All of us were in disbelief. I don't know why the authorities chose not to tell us about the accident before our concert," the statement continues. "All we know is what was said after our concert. This has never happened in the 30 years Green Day have been performing live. If we had known prior to our performance we most likely would not have played at all. We are not heartless people. The safety and well being at any of our concerts absolutely comes first. What happened to Pedro is unthinkable. Once again we are heartbroken for his friends and family. We are also shocked and heartbroken for anyone that had to witness this tragedy..."
