Customers demand refund after Beatles gig in Winchester Cathedral

On Saturday, a cast of West End singers and a live band performed in what was promised to be a jam-packed evening consisting of more than 40 Beatles hits.

The event, presented by Concerts by Candlelight, invited music lovers into the cathedral, but the evening did not live up to what was expected with sound and visual complaints from attendees resulting in more than half of the crowd leaving before the end of the concert, with some leaving within 10 minutes of the start.

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The audio was described as muffled and distorted, with one concert-goer describing it as "a wall of sound which we couldn't distinguish through the noise".

Afterwards, attendees jumped on social media to voice their frustration, with people saying they had left within 20 minutes of the performance starting and many demanding a refund.

Brian Glanville, 77, from Eastleigh, said he had been left disappointed by what promised to be a good evening.

Brian, who used to work as a sound engineer, said: "The sound system being used was being amplified through a tannoy, and it made it impossible to distinguish between any of the instruments or hear the lyrics to the songs being sung. We couldn't really hear anything.

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"Within 10 minutes of the performance starting, people were getting up and leaving, and by the halfway point I expect there were less than 50 per cent of people left. I've never seen so many people leave in a hurry, which is a shame because the musicians were clearly very talented but the sound systems did them no justice.

"I don't think they did a sound check because if they did they would have known what it was going to sound like. We stayed for the first half but then left, and I have never been so keen to leave anywhere.

"That said, the cathedral has held its hands up and apologised to everyone for how the event panned out, and has been giving out refunds. I got in contact with the cathedral to voice my experience. They thanked me for my opinion and said they are doing all they can to make things right, which is commendable."

Bill Walker, who also attended the event, said: "The cathedral was full at the start but more than 50 per cent of the paying audience had walked out by the start of the second half. Another one of the reviewers estimates that 80 per cent of the audience had left before the end.

"In truth, I feel very sorry for the cathedral but the fact is that it was a shocking evening, despite being a virtual sell-out and full to capacity."

A comment on the events page on Facebook said: "Sorry but it was awful, couldn't see a thing, the screens for viewing were no use unless your head could swivel 360. All we could hear was a deafening racket, left after 20 minutes. Total waste of time and money."

Another said: "Awful evening! £50. Going to try and get my money back. So disappointing, my mum came from London to watch it. Couldn’t hear, or see anything other than very disappointed people."

Another user commented to say they had received a refund. The comment said: "Just to let you know I got a full refund. The cathedral was hugely apologetic. It will take 10 working days to get the money back. But for those that left please try. They have had loads of people complain."

Commercial director of Winchester Cathedral, John Blake said: "We are very disappointed that the quality of the concert that we hosted on Saturday fell short of the Cathedral’s and our guests’ expectations.

"There were some areas of the Cathedral where the acoustics and sound levels were not satisfactory. We recognise this and are working with the Beatles by Candlelight production company and our sound engineers to understand what went wrong and to ensure this does not happen in the future.

"We are corresponding with everyone who has given us feedback and are grateful for their patience and understanding. We are doing our utmost to make this right."

Concerts by Candlelight have been contacted for a comment.