The father of an Oasis fan who died at one of the band’s recent reunion shows at Wembley Stadium has paid tribute to his late son.
The band played the fourth of five shows at the London venue on Saturday night (August 2) as part of their comeback tour. Towards the end of the main set, a man in his 40s died from injuries consistent with a fall.
The fan has been named as 45-year-old Lee Claydon, a landscape gardener from Bournemouth.
Speaking to The Guardian, Lee’s father Clive paid tribute to his son – who was 30 years younger than him. Clive described Lee Calydon as a “a hard-working family man” who “loved his kid”: “He was a lovely bloke, loved to be with his family… He had everything going for him. I am so devastated.”
Following the news of Lee’s death, other fans on social media have speculated the cause of the fatal fall, including excessive use of alcohol or even drugs. Addressing the speculation, Clive Claydon told The Guardian: “He doesn’t take drugs, he may have had a couple of beers but who hadn’t there? People have said horrible things but it was just an accident.”
Elsewhere, the Claydons have launched a GoFundMe set up to raise money for his family during this tough time. The fundraiser campaign – which is still active – has currently raised over £13,500 of the targetted £20,000.
Oasis said in a statement on Sunday: “We are shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan at the show. Oasis would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved.”
Fans who were at the show have said that conditions in the stands “seemed unsafe”, sharing concerns with the Guardian over the allegedly “lax” security and the level of alcohol consumption. The amount of beer being drunk and thrown made the floors slippery, according to those who spoke to the publication.
A spokesperson for Wembley Stadium told NME: “Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard. We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Ground Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”
The Metropolitan Police urged anyone who “may knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage” to come forward.
Meanwhile, it later emerged that a fan had missed the entire show in Manchester he had a ticket for after he was knocked unconscious by a security worker that was trying to keep out gate crashing fans.
Joel Garner, 34, is said to have had a seizure after being knocked unconscious and was rushed to the medical centre, before being taken to the hospital.
