• Crowding curtailed Asake’s Thursday concert short.
• License suspended “interimally” until January 16.
• Gaby Hutchinson, 23, and Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, died this week.

Brixton 02 Academy‘s license has been suspended after it was discovered that worries regarding the entrance doors’ robustness were voiced almost three years before to a concert’s tragic crush.

Asake, an afro-pop singer, had her performance cut short on Thursday because many people attempted to access the foyer.

Gaby Hutchinson, 23, passed away on Monday, while Rebecca Ikumelo, 33, passed away on Saturday.

The license for the South London venue has been put on hold until January 16.

Due to the “severity of events” and “risks to public safety” posed by “a lack of crowd control at the front doors,” Lambeth councilors met earlier and agreed to suspend the academy’s license “interimally” until a full hearing on January 16 could be held.

When worries regarding the strength of the front doors during a concert by another Afrobeats musician, Naira Marley, were expressed during the council meeting, the Metropolitan Police stated that there had been a similar crush on February 2, 2020.

The police requested that the license be suspended while they conducted their investigation by Lambeth Council’s licensing subcommittee. Instead, the owners had proposed closing for 28 days.

One performance has already been rescheduled, and a New Year’s Eve performance has been cancelled. There will be a five-show suspension between now and January 16.

At the meeting, a lawyer representing the police said the owner’s offer to temporarily close was “inappropriate and wrong”.

“It is not right, I suggest, to leave a decision as serious as this one in the hands of the licensee,” said Gerald Gourier.

He added: “Whilst what happened last Thursday of course was exceptional, no one should begin to think that it was unique or could not happen again.”

Stephen Walsh KC, representing the Academy Music Group, told councilors: “It is clearly far too early, as the police have accepted, to draw any conclusions about the causes of the tragedy, let alone to point the finger of blame at any party or parties.”

He said: “The O2 Academy Brixton recognizes the gravity of the events which occurred on the night of 15 December, and expresses its sincere condolences to the families of those who died during the tragic incident, and its genuine concerns for anyone affected by it.

“The license holder, Academy Music Group Limited, is committed to ensuring that vital lessons are learned through its own detailed internal investigation.”

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