Under The Counter thinks himself something of an expert in the RTD category, given that he himself is always ready to drink.
So he wasn’t surprised that Four Loko is sponsoring this year’s Trnsmt festival; UTC enjoyed necking a cold can or two at this year’s SLR Awards, after all.
What caught him off guard, however, was news that Trnsmt is actually the UK’s safest music festival, with a crime rate of only 1.6 incidents per 1,000 attendees.
The Auld Boy’s surprise at this finding was very much coloured by his one and only outdoor musical experience. Way before Trnsmt’s precursor T in the Park was even a thing, he attended the ill-starred 1980 Loch Lomond festival, held in Balloch Country Park. This was most notable for running battles between rival gangs of punks, skinheads, mods and rockers. ‘Bottles fly at Loch Lomond,’ wailed the Sunday Post from its front page. UTC had a great time nevertheless, despite someone using his tent as a public lavatory.
You’ll find none of that shocking behaviour at Trnsmt though, mainly because there’s no camping at the event.
At any rate, it compares very favourably to Britain’s least safe festival, Creamfields, which endures a whopping 23 incidents of crime per 1,000 attendees. The electronic dance music extravaganza takes place in the sleepy Cheshire village of Daresbury, roughly halfway between Liverpool and Manchester. Readers can draw their own conclusions.
Under The Counter advised Four Loko to avoid sponsoring Creamfields, suggesting Treasury Wine Estates’ red wine brand 19 Crimes might be a better fit.
