Paolo was not drunk says his record company

7:10pm Monday 23rd April 2007

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By Sarah Hilley »

PAOLO Nutini's record company has strongly denied he was drunk at his Oasis gig in spite of complaints from fans.

Some audience members felt that the Scottish musician's performance was awful and walked out after only a few songs, saying the star appeared over the limit.

But his record company insists Paolo was completely sober, and the star's individual style on stage and Scottish accent may have been misinterpreted.

A spokeswoman for Atlantic Records said: "He certainly wasn't drunk. He is from Scotland and has a strong dialect."

Tour manager Karon Malcolm said: "If people aren't familiar with him on stage, it may seem a little strange.

"The second Paolo starts performing, he bends over double - that is how he is."

The 19-year-old singer also had technical problems with his sound equipment, which proved a distraction.

He uses in-ear monitors, which allow him to hear his singing but one side wasn't working. "There were a couple of technical faults with his sound.

"For the first couple of numbers he was struggling. It was putting him off. Eventually he had to pull them out," said Ms Malcolm.

The Oasis concert venue had several complaints, which it passed to the star's management.

But Oasis manager Owen Williams said many devotees stayed until the end and had a good night.

He said: "There was a group of people who were disappointed and left early, but there was also a larger group who seemed happy and stayed until the end.

"We fielded complaints from some people who left early and said he looked the worse for wear.

"Those who stayed until the end seemed to have a good evening.

"When he was doing autographs Paolo seemed fine. I think the youngsters enjoyed it."

Readers who attended the gig have expressed their disappointment on the Swindon Advertiser website.

Sarah from Swindon said: "I am so glad I only live in Swindon.

If I would have had to travel to see a man who acted more like Rab C Nesbitt than a musical performer I would have been very cross!"

Michelle Toms, also of Swindon said: "I was near the front. I couldn't understand him. He did look tipsy and sounded like an old man."

Others felt the young singer did not deserve such harsh criticism.

Tanya of Swindon said: "I am horrified at some of these comments. Paolo was wonderful.

"Any true fan who has seen him more than once would know he performs like this. He has an extremely strong Scottish accent - not something we should slate for not understanding, don't be so closed-minded Swindon."