Tom HallThe coroner overseeing the death of Radiohead drum technician Scott Johnson, who died following a partial stage roof collapse before a gig in Toronto in 2012, has slammed ‘inherent deficiencies’.
The 33-year-old, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, had been setting up for a gig by the Oxfordshire band. The scaffolding fell at the Downsview Park venue an hour before the gates opened for the gig, killing Johnson and injuring others.
Famous musicians and friends attended Johnson’s inquest in Doncaster yesterday.
The inquest heard evidence that the top of the stage was overloaded by about 16,000lbs and the stage set had not been assembled correctly.
Coroner Ms Nicola Mundy said: “Inadequate advice coupled with wholly inadequate construction techniques led to the collapse of the roof system which led to Scott Johnson’s death.
“It’s quite clear from what I have heard that the design and construction itself had inherent deficiencies within them.”
Scott Johnson’s father Ken Johnson, an expert in the scaffolding industry, attended along with Radiohead’s drummer Philip Selway, Keane’s Richard Hughes and Paul Bonney of The Australian Pink Floyd Experience.
A previous inquest into Johnson’s death resulted in a set of non-binding recommendations to update best practice for the live entertainment industry.
Radiohead drummer Phil Selway paid tribute to Mr Johnson at the inquest. He described him as a “lovely person, very sunny and very professional. It came as a big shock and we still feel the loss.”