As repugnant as the sexual abuse allegations against lead singer Till Lindemann are, it wouldn’t be surprising for Rammstein to return to the Quebec stage given the colossal sums the controversial German band’s concerts bring in.
This is what host Mike Gauthier suggests, recalling that Rammstein’s last performance in front of 44,000 people in Montreal, at Parc Jean-Drapeau, in August 2022, generated revenue of $ 8 million.
“If people who decide whether or not to take a concert are unscrupulous, they will say that they will make money because Rammstein attracts crowds”, believes the one who has accumulated 35 years of coverage of the music scene.
The question that promoters will ask themselves is: are the negative reactions that the announcement of a Rammstein concert would provoke worth 8 million?
“It becomes a question of morality. If you books Rammstein, you have to expect reactions on social media and questions from journalists, ”says Mike Gauthier.
Even after #MeToo
According to the latter, it is the serious accusations of sex crimes that are surprising in the Rammstein case. Singer Till Lindemann allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted selected young female spectators, German media reported.
“I’m surprised they continued to do this after #MeToo,” he says, lamenting the omerta that continues around these actions.
However, beautiful girls being invited backstage to party with performers is part of rock and roll folklore.
“I remember rock band tour guys walking around with passes backstage in the crowd. They spotted the pretty girls who would please the members of the group. What happened afterwards, did the artists take advantage of it, we do not know,” says Mike Gauthier.
The newspaper revealed this week that Rammstein’s entourage had asked the Festival d’été de Québec to find him girls during his visit to the Plains of Abraham in 2010. The FEQ organization refused, but a party still took place.
Call for boycott in Switzerland
In addition, associations for the defense of women and political leaders are mobilizing to force the cancellation of concerts by Rammstein in Switzerland.
“These accusations of sexual assault must be taken seriously! The only responsible thing to do in this context is to cancel the concerts, ”said Thomas Bruchez, vice-president of the Swiss Socialist Youth with the Keystone-ATS agency.
In the turmoil, Rammstein kicked off a summer stadium tour of Europe in Munich on Wednesday while denying allegations against his 60-year-old singer.
“These accusations are invariably false,” assure Till Lindemann’s lawyers.
“We will immediately take legal action for all such allegations,” they threaten.
– With AFP
