band; tickets; drugs; lawsuit; judge

FANS SUE BAND

Creed Sued by Creed Fans

You would think that bands would realize that many of the illicit substances they take, along with completely legal substances, are going to affect the way they perform… and not in a good way. There are plenty of cautionary tales of bands that were on top of the world that imploded due to these types of problems, and many believe that’s what happened with Creed.

A Bad Performance

Four fans who went to a Creed show in 2002 were convinced that there was a problem with the singer Scott Stapp, and they were so upset over the performance they saw that evening they filed a lawsuit against the band, as well as its management and Ticketmaster.

The fans said that it seemed as if Stapp was intoxicated or highly medicated during the show. He was not able to sing any of the songs properly, and that he would leave the stage multiple times for long periods and would then roll around on the stage as if he was in pain. In fact, they also said that he seemed to pass out on the stage at one point during the show. They wanted to have reimbursement for their tickets, as well as parking fees. In addition, they asked that the judge think about a class action lawsuit.

Later, the band released an apology to those who attended the show, which said, “The band has heard that you are unhappy with the quality of the recent Creed show in Chicago. We apologize if you don’t feel that the show was up to the very high standards set by our previous shows in Chicago . . . There has been much concern about Scott’s health, and we want to assure everyone that he is doing very well and is taking a much-needed break at home in Orlando. For now, we hope that you can take some solace in the fact that you definitely experienced the most unique of all Creed shows and may have become part of the unusual world of rock and roll history!”

While it is certainly disappointing to see a bad show of any type, the judge in the case did not agree that they should be given their money back. The judge dismissed the case and said that “as long with they took the stage, Creed could play one note, thank the crowd, and walk off and it would hold up as an appearance.”

This a semi-apology in the eyes of many, as it did not really make any apology for the condition of the singer at the time of the show. Of course, today, many know that Stapp was struggling with addiction at the time and has gone through major ups and downs in his life. In fact, in 2014, he was homeless and staying at a Holiday Inn, claiming that someone had taken all his money. It was not until relatively recently that he came back into the spotlight and said that he would be replacing deceased singer Scott Weiland in the band Art of Anarchy.