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THEY TRICKED THE VENOM
What the English company Red Door Production offered when they arrived in Brazil in July seemed like a one-way ticket to a kind of rock nirvana: the necessary infrastructure to host artists of the caliber of The Smiths, The Cure, Dire Straits, Motörhead, and Slayer in our country. All these artists had been promised for the course of 1987. The initial battering ram would be a Brazilian tour with Venom and Exciter. Had paradise finally arrived?
Hell would be the most appropriate word. Through excellent sources fond of anonymity, we discovered that the plans of the British Chris Vaughn, Terry Hewett, and Louis were merely sandcastles, quickly swept away by successive waves of bad faith, bounced checks, and widespread swindling. Venom and Exciter came. But that was all. All that remained were piles of unpaid bills and efficient disappearances, courtesy of the English businessmen.
Chris was the first to arrive, in July, promising the moon and the stars in terms of structure, promotion, scenery, and equipment. Later, the other two partners arrived. The three received enthusiastic support from various Brazilians, all interested in the growth of our participation within the international rock market. Among them were companies such as Rede Bandeirantes de Televisão, some FM radio stations, stores in Rio de Janeiro (Heavy) and São Paulo (Rock Story), and, lastly, the Rock Brigade fan club, the latter committed to including Brazilian groups in Venom and Exciter's pending tour. By September, the support team already included the Continental label (Venom's) and Woodstock Discos (Exciter's), although both demonstrated difficulties in providing biographies and photos of such new artists. The English, in turn, lacked promotional material. Only through the English magazine Kerrang! was it learned that Venom had become a quartet and would be bringing two new (and then unknown) members to Brazil. But weren't the English the ones transforming the promotional structure in Brazil? Indeed...
The second blunder occurred when the list of venues for the shows was released. By opening the tour in Brasília, the English band was ruining the image of metal. Brasília is, notably, a city of nu-rock, not metal! And, on the eve of the premiere, the English were frantically searching for equipment. Well, weren't they going to teach the Brazilians about organization? Weren't they going to bring top-notch equipment?
Another point: after the show in Brasília, the first wave of bounced checks appeared, presented as payment for expenses related to lodging, transportation, and food. When the tour arrived in Rio, however, the English promised to settle any and all outstanding debts, as they believed in a very full house at the Maracanãzinho. And what about the working capital, the necessary fuel for emergencies of this kind? There wasn't any. And even so, the metal troupe was installed in the sophisticated Hotel Nacional! The gossip crowd estimates that 75,000 cruzados were spent in just three days in the Marvelous City.
The 20,000 people who could have filled the Maracanãzinho arena never materialized. Instead, there were only 3,700 stragglers. The Rio show was almost cancelled, and Terry nearly came to blows with a local promoter. The work environment, it was clear, was far from ideal.
In São Paulo, things got really complicated. Press conferences were delayed and almost cancelled, and there were problems at the airport. To top it all off, Terry and Louis each took a liter of "disappearing tea" and only reappeared hours later... in London! The net then closed in on Chris, the unwitting heir to a pack of "junkies" and bills to pay. The newly inherited offspring generated problems galore: at the time of the Corinthians show, Chris received a visit from the Federal Police, eager to give good news to the English club's creditors. It was known that the large audience of 10,000 people could represent a solution to Chris's debts, and the federal authorities wanted to leave with their expenses settled. While the "conversations" were going on backstage, the show was being delayed by two hours. There was even talk of canceling the São Paulo show. But the likely reaction of 10,000 people gathered in a veritable metallic sauna prompted greater caution.
The show in Porto Alegre ended up being canceled, despite more than four thousand tickets sold and the expected influx of Argentinians. Venom and Exciter then packed their bags and headed home. But they left behind some compulsory "agios" to clear their credit: equipment rental expenses were paid with some of the equipment from the English and Canadian artists. Some of Venom's amplifiers, for example, stayed with Tibério, the drummer from Harppia.
And the Brazilians who trusted the English trio got burned. To this day, they're still struggling to pay hefty bills. So, folks, keep your eyes open and your nose high when it comes to adventurous pirates. The bill might just fall on your lap!
Gilles Phillippe/Leopoldo Rey