Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
🎵 The soundtrack to Santa Cruz summer starts May 29. Event Santa Cruz Midtown Fridays returns with FREE live music every Friday through Aug 28. Full lineup + info: eventsantacruz.com/event/event-santa-cruz-midtown-fridays-summer-block-party-2026
Lol Tolhurst from The Cure shares a wild story from one of the most chaotic moments of his career.
During a show in Athens, Greece, tensions exploded when thousands of fans were left outside after more tickets were sold than the venue could handle. What started as a concert quickly turned into a riot-like scene, with rocks being thrown, police clashing with the crowd, and complete chaos surrounding the stadium.
Backstage, members of The Cure and Depeche Mode suddenly found themselves caught in the middle of it — and had to make a quick escape together in a truck while the situation escalated around them.
This story is also featured in Lol’s memoir Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys, and hearing him tell it live hits even harder.
Filmed live in Santa Cruz at Event Santa Cruz
What actually happened (quick context you can pull from)
The show was in Athens, Greece, at the Panathenaic Stadium.
Capacity was around 50,000, but thousands of fans couldn’t get in due to counterfeit/oversold tickets.
Outside turned chaotic—fans were throwing rocks, ripping up pavement, and clashing with police.
There were injured police and water cannons used to control the crowd.
Depeche Mode were playing, and The Cure (including Lol Tolhurst) were backstage watching when things escalated.
Both bands literally escaped together in a truck, with people banging on it as they drove through what felt like a riot.
🎵 The soundtrack to Santa Cruz summer starts May 29. Event Santa Cruz Midtown Fridays returns with FREE live music every Friday through Aug 28. Full lineup + info: eventsantacruz.com/event/event-santa-cruz-midtown-fridays-summer-block-party-2026
Lol Tolhurst from The Cure shares a wild story from one of the most chaotic moments of his career.
During a show in Athens, Greece, tensions exploded when thousands of fans were left outside after more tickets were sold than the venue could handle. What started as a concert quickly turned into a riot-like scene, with rocks being thrown, police clashing with the crowd, and complete chaos surrounding the stadium.
Backstage, members of The Cure and Depeche Mode suddenly found themselves caught in the middle of it — and had to make a quick escape together in a truck while the situation escalated around them.
This story is also featured in Lol’s memoir Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys, and hearing him tell it live hits even harder.
Filmed live in Santa Cruz at Event Santa Cruz
What actually happened (quick context you can pull from)
The show was in Athens, Greece, at the Panathenaic Stadium.
Capacity was around 50,000, but thousands of fans couldn’t get in due to counterfeit/oversold tickets.
Outside turned chaotic—fans were throwing rocks, ripping up pavement, and clashing with police.
There were injured police and water cannons used to control the crowd.
Depeche Mode were playing, and The Cure (including Lol Tolhurst) were backstage watching when things escalated.
Both bands literally escaped together in a truck, with people banging on it as they drove through what felt like a riot.
