Lethal Bizzle bottled at Download Festival

'We got set up' moans grime star

Jun 15, 2008
25 Comments
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Lethal Bizzle was pelted with bottles at Download today (June 15).

The UK grime star appeared at the metal festival's Tuborg Stage at 13.20 (BST), and there was a large crowd waiting for him. However a large number of them were not there for the music.

As soon as the backing tape started, a torrent of bottles – and tubs of Muller Rice which were being given away free onsite – were thrown in the rapper's direction.

Though he ploughed through with the set, Bizzle was visibly wrong-footed by the abuse, saying to the crowd: "We got set up didn’t we? We got set-up, motherfuckers! But we’re still gonna play!"

When the bottling did not stop, Bizzle became more agitated. At one point, he stood on the speaker stack, picked a bottle of vodka from his pocket and joked: "my bottle's glass."

However, at no point did it look like he was going to actually throw it, and the set concluded without further incident.

Keep up with this weekend's (June 13-15) festival action as it happens on NME.COM. For news, pictures and blogs keep checking the NME.COM's Isle Of Wight Festival page and NME.COM's Download Festival page for live coverage from both sites.

Watch an interview with Lethal about the bottling, below:

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Comments (25)

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Simun

Jun 16, 2008

i hate how close minded metal fans are, i bet if they just shut up and listened they wouldn't think hes that bad, there's worse at the festival like the fucking joke of a band the offspring

deanglover

Jun 16, 2008

narrow minded swines, then again if it'd have been a half decent grime act, not a spesh like lethal bizzle it might not have happened.

thekillersandthewombats

Jun 16, 2008

jesus christ another reason why Downloads shit. Not only do they get shit emo/metal crap when they do get a good artist they fucking bottle him

doherty49

Jun 16, 2008

lmfao haha well done to everyone who did it. jay z beware because the same thing is gonna happen to you an glastonbury

doherty49

Jun 16, 2008

lmfao haha well done to everyone who did it. jay z beware because the same thing is gonna happen to you at glastonbury

doherty49

Jun 16, 2008

lmfao haha well done to everyone who did it. jay z beware because the same thing is gonna happen to you at glastonbury

IndieWriter

Jun 16, 2008

well it was to be expected80,000 dirty smelly metalheads aren't gonna enjoy someone with talent and charisma are they?ridiculous booking!

dcajoe

Jun 16, 2008

God, that article's depressing. Why does Download attract such ignorant people? If you don't like it, go and watch someone else!

binstig

Jun 16, 2008

doherty49 you're wrong, because for every dickhead like you willing to throw bottles there is about 1000 fans going to Glasto looking forward to Jay-z. Grow up.

cultureslut87

Jun 16, 2008

I wonder if Doherty49 has ever been to glastonbury. Just in case for their information, it's big, very big and lots of bands play, thats one thing you should try and remember, LOTS of bands. If you have actually got the time and make the effort to go and bottle jay-Z then you obviously are only at glastonbury for that one reason. There is so so much you could be doing rather than that, for example exploring because whats that? its big! huge in fact! or perhaps go to one of the other stages seeing as there are so many of them and see another act. christ i can't even believe this jay-z thing is still going on, as Binstig said: grow up and realise glastonbury is called a festival of contemporary performing arts for a reason, not a rock festival, it isn't reading, leeds or download where it is so small that people do actually have the time to formulate petty plans to bottle people

hunterdoug

Jun 16, 2008

bloody hell, of course bizzle was going to get screwed over at download, its download, its a rock festival, its like if korn turned up at creamfields or somewhere like that, its bizzle and the organizers fault for actually thinking that it would work, you dont go to download for lethal bizzle. and whoever was saying that they are close minded metals fans as if it was a bad thing, thats what they like, thats why they go to DOWNLOAD and not coldplay live in hyde park! ffs think about it! some of you lot are on here just for the sake of arguing, whats the point?

Prockerz

Jun 16, 2008

Metalheads are always the first to complain about being outsiders and being picked upon by certain sections of society, but then put them all together, and the pack mentality that they supposedly disapprove of kicks in. What would they have done if Bizzle had got in the crowd? Doesn't bear thinking about. I was into metal (still am a fair bit) and went to events like Download for years, but always found the fans to be the most disappointing thing about it all.

hunterdoug

Jun 17, 2008

all i am saying though, that if you choose to go to download, then you are going to a metal festival, people pay to be there, its not like its a free thing that all people are expected to be at, so there shouldnt be much diversity, they pay to go to a rock/metal festival, if you want to go and watch lethal bizzle you should pay to see him, go to a festival that he is going to fit in at, not a rock set, it just doesnt fit, i'm not saying that bottling him is fair, it was just going to happen.

hunterdoug

Jun 17, 2008

oh, and that comment about leeds, yeah maybe the odd person like 50 cent got bottled in the past at leeds, but back then leeds wasn't playing that sort of music, so to the fans he shouldn't have been there and it was a wast of the organizers cash to get him there, nowadays he would probably fit in fine so why not?! also, for a guy who claims to have been "shot" 9 times, a couple of cans of carling surely doesn't bother him!

shifty82

Jun 17, 2008

Interesting comments - lets look at them shall we. Firstly "dirty smelly metalheads aren't gonna enjoy someone with talent and charisma are they?" - that's a joke, a guy who talks over a backing track isn't fit to be in the same vacinity as the musicians who have been mastering their instruments, some of them for decades. I was at the Bizzle set at Download, there was absolutely no stage show, no talent and as for charisma, I seem to recall long pauses of silence between tracks as some 'incredibaly talented' guy set up his next backing track. "I hate how close minded metal fans are, i bet if they just shut up and listened they wouldn't think hes that bad, there's worse at the festival like the fucking joke of a band the offspring" - uhhhh no mate - I listened and he was shit, especially the closing track where he shouted the lyrics to "dancing with the rude boys" into a mike with no backing track and pissed off. I've heard better at my local Kareoke. Good point about the Offspring though!"Why does Download attract such ignorant people?" - Maybe it should be like V festival which attracts chavs who go to drink and fight. Great point mate - ever been to festival?

shifty82

Jun 17, 2008

Oh and cultureslut - if Glastonbbury is so big and Reading Leeds etc is so small - how come Glastonbury can bearly give tickets away this year let alone sell them - sounds like the quality of of the acts is dire......again!

toomuchmetal

Jun 17, 2008

I was there watching, I was one of the majority of people who were rockin out to Bizzle, it was awesome, there was a small crowd of twats at the far side of the stage, welcome to their opinion but who should really keep their distance if they hate him that much. Lethal Bizzle was probably the the Third best act I saw ALLL weekend, thats after Kiss and A Day To Remember, yeah there are small mided metallers, as there are small minded everyone elsers, but all in all it was great, and the way the journalist has written about Bizzle there is bull, it makes it sound like he spat his dummy, when all he was doin was taking the piss, it was a decent performance... 50cent and Leeds/Reading... now there is a wankerxXx

cultureslut87

Jun 17, 2008

probably because the people who complain about the line up and weather aren't going fortunately

psycho_logical

Jun 18, 2008

haha, you cardigan wearing idiots.firstly let me start off by saying.."smelly metal heads"? I would love to see you actually say any of this to any of us! secondly, if you knew anything you'd shut the f*** up and go back to listening to your radio friendly c***. death rapper necro, played download last year, and was happily received by the people who went to watch him. I have respect for lethal, but the fact is, its not cause he's rap he got bottled, it's cause he's grime and radio grime at that! Im with the fact that download as of 2007 now sucks...but reading/leeds, glastonbury is just as s*** since 1998..well ive never liked the idea of glastonbury.Now go style ya hair into that "i just got outta bed, im so random' student look, get that russell brand outfit on and go suck a d***!

fredator

Jun 18, 2008

"went to events like Download for years, but always found the fans to be the most disappointing thing about it all." are you kidding me?! ive been to download 5 times, never a trouble. ive been to reading once, and leeds once, BOTH of them times my tent has been robbed and i have been started on at LEAST once. so ive got to disagree with you there mate.

fredator

Jun 18, 2008

"jesus christ another reason why Downloads shit. Not only do they get shit emo/metal crap when they do get a good artist they fucking bottle him" first off, only a small majority of the crowd bottled him, infact he even had an encore because the crowd wanted more!secondly, i heard him before that 'police on my back song' say, okay, i hate the police, you hate the police, then the song was about him running from the police when he was stealing cars, that is not a reason to hate police, and thats not a good example to set to any listeners. so no i wouldnt say he was a good artist, id say hes rather dumb and irresponsible, and if hes willing to say he robbed peoples possesions and the police were WRONG for chasing him, then he deserves more than afew bottles thrown at him.

sanity

Jun 18, 2008

I was at Download, and there was a quite a bit of bottling, but it's not really what the festival is about. People who bottle aren't exactly praised, and I for one was enjoying Bizzles set. There are always going to be people who are ignorant towards other genres - and clearly some of the comments here are hypocritical.Everything is just a matter of opinion. People at any festival like and see who they want too. Others are selfish and decide they want to ruin everyone else's fun, it happens.To the person who says The Offspring are a joke of a band; I'm pretty sure if they were they wouldn't be headlining a festival of 80,000 people!Also, anyone who is basing their opinions on the festival, and "metalheads" from this article need to stop relying on the media to tell them what too listen to.

devilish_uk

Jun 19, 2008

This article is a LIE! I was at Download this year and watched the whole of the Bizzle set from near the soundstage. Yes, he did get stuff thrown at him, and yes the reason was because a section of the crowd didn't like him/didn't think he should be there. BUT, Bizzle himself stated before the show that he didn't know why he'd been invited, so when he said "We've been set up!" he was making a joke, as he continued to do for the rest of the set. Within about five minutes he had won the majority of the crowd over, and although *some* bottling continued during the set, much of this was because he was more or less inviting it - he wasn't whining and complaining about it, he was making it part of the act, dodging and volleying the incoming, and receiving cheers from the crowd when he caught stuff. Basically, the crowd was pretty good-natured, Bizzle handled himself expertly and won most people over in the end, even if they did still leave a bit bemused as to why he was there.

Jude806

Jun 19, 2008

Read his latest blog on the subject at Guardian Online.http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/06/lethal_bizzle_i_was_bottled_at.htmlShameful. We think if we don't see it that racism is diminishing. Same as ever, innit?

fredator

Jun 20, 2008

okay, let me apologise about psycho_logical's comment on behalf of all download go'ers.him and his friends were probably the minorty of people throwing things at lethal bizzle.he sounds more like a chav defending metal to me, not a true metalhead, but every group has their dicks hey?just asking you to ignore his comment as he is a fuckwit.