h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I was a young man I worked in a Theatre Restaurant in Birmingham. We used to have some of the top artists of the day perform but few of them would cause a sell out for any night never mind every single night.

Management used to give out free tickets to staff to bulk uup the audience but we rarely knew people rich enough to be able to afford a restaurant meal mid week even if the entry was free. The bar sales increased but food sales remained static.

Then management found out that some staff members were selling their tickets.

All free tickets were stopped just as Frank Ifield was due to appear.
No audience padding = no audience.

On his first night there were only 2 people in the club that could seat 1,100. When he saw this he could not sing.

The management quickly handed out a free half of beer to all of the staff (maybe 60 or 70 people) and made us sit at the front tables and applaud.

By the end of the night we all had armfuls of free tickets to distribute.

Awww - poor guy!

The last concert I went to was like that, we had free tickets because they'd sold maybe five and didn't want to disappoint the artist. He was previously with a rather well-known band, and is now trying to start a solo career as a comedy singer-songwriter. His act still needs a *lot* of work

Vestboy - same experience, but it got off to a better start.

Landestheather Detmold, new actrice fresh from the Academy was all nerves and the Intendant was in doubt whether to give the premiere to her understudy. OK, in a small town there´s a good old boys´ network and we could get the bunches of flowers for wholesale prices. I won´t mention her name, she got more or less got married off the stage during her next engagement and probably is a grandmother by now - but after getting more curtains than the leading Lady she never knew fotlights fever anymore. ( , Barbara, wherever you are)