Jamie Webster has described the "horrific" situation he was placed in at his sold-out M&S Bank Arena gig on Saturday, November 19.
The Liverpool-born singer spoke to the Have a Word podcast, after fans attending the gig reported chaotic scenes, including congestion at entrances and at bars, as thousands of people arrived to watch the homecoming show. Some 11,000 people made their way to the sold-out concert to watch the 28-year-old singer perform at his highly-anticipated hometown show.
However, reports quickly surfaced online of long queues once fans entered the arena, as well as "overcrowded bars and flooded toilets". Jamie Webster announced on stage that police were at the concert before he was forced to cut his encore, and played an apparent shortened set as concern grew among the crowd.
READ MORE: Jamie Webster confirms new date for huge On the Waterfront Pier Head show
Now he has spoken in more detail about what happened that night. He told the podcast: "There was congestion at one of the bars and people had, from inside the arena, phoned the police and said 'look, it's not safe by this bar here'. Apparently what happened is that the e-bars went down, the internet went down and everyone was forced on this one bar which was by the only entrance for standing, so people were stuck outside trying to get in, and people couldn't get through."
Jamie said he had someone from the venue in his ear telling him to walk off stage and cut four songs him his set. He added: "I was just like 'nah. I'm not doing it, I'm not coming off stage. I've worked all my life for this moment, I'm not doing it.'
"My manager got onto the thing into my ears and said 'This was all while I was on stage with the crowd in front of me. It was f***ing horrific. When we got off [stage] I was still livid.
"You can imagine, you plan a show, you promote a show, you have all these ideas for it, then all of a sudden, on the night, in the moment, someone tries to take, does take, a bit of it away from you."
When approached about the new comments, the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) said they had nothing to add from its previous statement, which can be found below.
An ACC spokesperson said: "On Saturday night [November 19] we hosted a sold out Jamie Webster concert at the arena. There were reports of overcrowding at one of the floor bars, however the crowd congestion was resolved and people were dispersed.
"Merseyside Police received a report of concern for safety at the venue just before 9.30pm and attended the venue for a short period whilst our events security dealt with the incident. The event was deemed safe to continue. The process for checking tickets is a rigorous one and we understand all appropriate checks were made on the night. The safety of our customers is of the utmost importance; we take any incident seriously and a detailed investigation has already begun.
"We sincerely apologise to both the artist Jamie, who was playing the biggest show of his life, and to his fans for any aspects of their experience which fell short of their expectations. We wish to thank Jamie and his promoter for their support in removing the encore to ensure the remainder of the show continued to operate safely."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Strictly Come Dancing contestants who are no longer with us
Cost of staying at Channel 4's Escape to the Chateau venue
Martin Lewis warns workers to look out for 'X' on payslip
Gemma Atkinson's two-word response to Gorka's risqué routine with Helen Skelton on BBC Strictly
Correct way to make poached eggs with 'perfect every time' method
