Fan left red-faced after Red Hot Chili Peppers mix up

The real deal: Flea and Anthony Kiedis of the Chili Peppers (Image credit: Getty)

Duncan Robb from Derbyshire thought he had unearthed a Valentine’s bargain when he found tickets priced at £30 each to see Red Hot Chili Peppers in Belfast.

He purchased tickets for himself and his girlfriend and booked return flights, but just a few days before the show last Saturday, he discovered he had in fact purchased tickets to see Scottish bagpipe ensemble Red Hot Chilli Pipers instead.

But despite the mix up, the couple decided to attend the show anyway.

Robb says (via The Scotsman): “When I clicked on and got tickets in row Q and for £30 each, I thought, ‘What a bargain – there must not be many tickets left’ and snatched them up straight away.

“Also, I saw the date was February 10, so I could make it into a Valentine’s weekend and kill two birds with one stone. Fast-forward a month and we get the tickets through the post. Up they went on the board and still nobody had noticed my mistake.

“It was only until the Wednesday before when my girlfriend wanted to know who was supporting them as she couldn’t find anything about the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing in Belfast.

“We just had to laugh about it – what else was there to do! The only saving grace was that we had found out three days before and not while we were in the arena.”

Robb later posted footage of the show on Twitter to prove they were there.

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers call their crossover of rock and pop “bagrock” and describe themselves as having “bagpipes with attitude, drums with a Scottish accent and a show so hot it carries its own health warning.”

Their agent Douglas Gillespie said: “We’re always extremely careful in all advertising. We’ve made sure to put kits and bagpipes on all the pictures.

“We would never ever try to pass ourselves off as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, we respect them too much.”

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.