Camden News: Cold snap | Guitarist breaks arm | Robert Chesterman | The Brent Flood

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Camden News - by TOM FOOT
Published: 18 December 2008

Robin Chesterman with his arm in a sling.

Cold snap puts an end to band’s festive plans

Guitarist breaks arm in a ‘blizzard of fake snow’

A INDIE band has been forced to cancel a series of pre-Christmas gigs after their lead guitarist broke his arm in a blizzard of fake snow.
The Brent Flood were leaving the Purple Turtle venue in Crowndale Road, Mornington Crescent, on Wednesday night when he skidded outside Koko.
The club, where Madonna and Prince have performed, had been blowing artificial snow into the street all night for a corporate Christmas event.
Robin Chesterman, 25, said: “It’s going to be at least five weeks until I get the cast off. We can’t perform anything live now for a while – any live gigs are out the window. For a band like us it’s typically hard to make any money at all. Christmas and New Year is the one time we’d expect to actually make a proper profit. So to lose out on that is quite a big deal really.”
He added: “There was fake snow everywhere before we went into the gig – but when we came out it was still being pumped out.
“I was just walking to my bike around the corner and I slipped and landed on my arm.”
Mr Chesterman, who was given his first guitar as a Christmas present 12 years ago, staggered into Koko’s around 11.30pm on December 10 clutching his arm.
Club bosses rushed to book him a taxi to the University College London Hospital, Bloomsbury where he spent four hours in accident and emergency.
Brent Flood were formed in 1997 when vocalist Jay Marsh, 24, met Mr Chesterman in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Recent releases on the band’s label Animal Farm include the album Not So Chiselled Now and the single Pleasureseeker. Somewhat accident prone, half of the band members have suffered hernias.
Mr Marsh said: “I’d say we’re out of pocket by at least £600 – and that’s just for the two gigs we had booked before Christmas. We are contractually obliged to produce eight tracks for our label by January for our new EP. It looks like I’m going to have record Rob’s guitar stuff, which is a bit ridiculous.”
A Koko spokesman said: “It was more bubbles than snow. It was for a corporate party. We did help him with a taxi to the hospital – we will always go out of our way to help people as much as possible.”

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