DIAMOND FANS IN TICKET CONTROVERSY
Greg Hilton
6 March1976

Singer Neil Diamond arrived in Adelaide yesterday amid controversy about ticket sales for his concert at West Lakes football stadium tonight.

Diamond, dressed in a. denim jumpsuit: covered with badges seemed unaware of the controversy when he arrived about 5pm to be greeted by about 200 fans.

For several weeks there have been complaints about the ticket sales but matters came to a head yesterday when the Prices and Consumer Affairs Branch was called in to investigate complaints from Diamond fans.

Ticket buyers complained to the branch that tickets entitled them only to sit in a reserved area, not a reserved seat.

Several people are understood to have returned their $15.30-a-seat tickets yesterday for a refund.

It is understood the Prices and Consumer Affairs Branch will not take action.

About 12.000 tickets for the concert, have been sold.

Promoters had expected between l5,000 and 20,000 people at Football Park.

A spokesman for the promoters, Paradine Patterson, said there had never been any suggestion that people were buying reserved seats for the concert, they were only buying seats in s reserved area. Diamond played cat and mouse with his fans at the airport after he arrived yesterday.

Instead of walking through the terminal, the dark-haired singer walked into the TAA terminal through a back door and waited for the crowd to disperse.

While they waited at the front door of the terminal, he came back on to the tarmac to get into one of three waiting limousines.

At the last: minute, how- ever, he left his entourage and strolled about 100 metres to a group of young girls waiting on an observation deck. Diamond spoke to them and signed several autographs before waving and going back to his car.