It appears that local residents surrounding Northern Ireland’s Osborne Park don’t have a good appreciation for rock music. Rather than enjoying the background music of rock icons Foo Fighters, they phoned in and filed dozens of noise complaints.
The Fooies were playing their set on day one of the Tennent’s Vital festival and the sheer volume of their sound gear resulted in phone call after phone call of locals who couldn’t handle it, some from up to 4 miles away. One resident described how she “heard every ooh and ah and beat of the drum,” while another complained that her “windows shook” during the ordeal, adding: “just thought I was at the concert, that’s how loud it was. It was really impossible to do anything else at home”.
According to NME, local councillor Claire Hanna bore the brunt of the calls complaining about teenagers and their rock ‘n’ roll music. She commented that “it was exceptionally loud. I welcome that we have concerts of this level but we do have to balance it with the right of people to enjoy a quiet night at home. Most residents understand that people want to enjoy a night out but a second night at the same level might provoke a few more calls.”
The UK usually has fairly strict rules when it comes to noise levels, with many venues cutting the power to give those nearby some peace after a certain time. As great as the Fooies are, it’s a wonder why they’d let this fly, but pull the plug on something like Bruce Springsteen jamming with Paul McCartney.
