Festival Sounds
Lighthearted music festival podcast from Tilly and Bill. We love Glastonbury, we chat about loads of others too such as Green Man, Isle of Wight, Reading and Leeds, and End of the Road. We interview artists about songwriting and causes that are important to them. We chat to festival founders and people who bring festivals together.
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Festival Sounds
Security at festivals
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Our guest Keenan walks us through his journey to working security at Glastonbury, how he got into it, what it is like and who are the people to watch out for.
This is Festival Sounds. Happy New Year to Lee.
SPEAKER_00Happy New Year, Pabelle.
SPEAKER_02What a way to start 2025. We've got really cool guy, I know. He's called Keenan. He's going to join us all the way from South Africa. He has worked dozens of festivals as not just as security guard, as the supervisor and team leader, the guy in charge of the security guards. And not just that, he's worked in the control centers for festivals as well.
SPEAKER_00He sounds super interesting. I can't wait to ask him what's his craziest thing he's ever seen at a festival, or you know, crazy coolest thing you've ever seen at a festival. And just delve more into security life because I don't really know much about it.
SPEAKER_02I'm going to ask him who the troublemakers are. Because you've that's what you really want to know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And does he enjoy conflict? Do security guards want that conflict, or are they just trying to have a quiet shift? Are you curious about that?
SPEAKER_00I'm very curious. And also how we got into it, because like that's not something I've ever considered in my life. So how how do you become a security guard?
SPEAKER_02These are the questions Festival Sound should be asking. When someone says they're a security guard, why are you a security guard?
SPEAKER_00Why are you a security guard? What do you become five choices did you make that ended up being a security guard at a festival? Yes, exactly.
SPEAKER_02It's going to be a good episode. This is Festival Sound. This is Festival Sounds. I'm Bill Al. And I'm Tilly. And we have our wonderful first guest of 2025, Keenan. Hello, Bill Al. Hey Tilly. Great to be on.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for coming.
SPEAKER_02So, Keenan, when we first met, you were actually running a team of security guards at Worthy View at Glastonbury. And someone had come over to me to say how impressed they were with you. Because you had challenged someone in authority on their behavior. And they said, This is a very impressive young man. So I came over with a pack of biscuits and went, Hey buddy, how do you how are you? Do you want to have a chat? And that's how we first met. Do you remember that?
SPEAKER_03I do remember. I do. And it was very touching because yeah, we don't always get the very best um remarks, sometimes behavior working in security. And I think I had said to you then that when someone treats you nicely, particularly, particularly if it's another sort of member of staff or someone you're working with, it is something that's brought up when we kind of debrief or uh talk amongst our talk amongst ourselves. So um yeah, very grateful for that biscuit then. And for meeting you.
SPEAKER_00The age-old way to make friends, just offering up biscuits.
SPEAKER_02You can't go wrong with it. It works with the stewards because you're meeting people for the first time, you're probably going to do three shifts together. And it's a nice way to do an introduction, and they think, I'm just glad this guy isn't a dick. You want the supervisor to be at least tolerable, and that's what I'm aiming for. Not everybody, even those who work at the festival, are necessarily that nice. Because if you're saying you had a debrief and you said nice things, I'm sure there's a debrief where you don't say nice things because people have been unpleasant.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, in a couple of festivals, and it's important to obviously to note that it's not it's not everyone, of course. And you do have you know nice people such as such as yourselves, um, but also people who aren't so nice as well. So sometimes you'll get people who people who don't otherwise sometimes appreciate the role that security has to do, because security by its very nature is contentious, literally. If you are almost certainly dealing with people who have some kind of a dispute, and yeah, sometimes that can be quite a difficult thing to uh to navigate. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02When we met, you were what, 22, something like that? Uh recently graduated. How did you get into security?
SPEAKER_03I was studying at university, and uh one of the big security companies in the area that's based in Lancaster was actually a sponsor of the rugby club, rugby team, rugby union team. And so, as normal student sponsorships go in return for the club receiving some money from um the security company, they were allowed to basically speak to us and try and recruit us for um the kind of events and security company I work for had about 50-60% of its operations in kind of events and festivals, which is something really exciting, particularly you know, to young uh I don't know, kind of strong, boisterous uh rugby players at university.
SPEAKER_00It was something that sounded really interesting, sounded like I'm just it's like a school of bouncers, that's what I'm picturing. They're like it's like bouncer training.
SPEAKER_03It certainly was that it's uh you know, to an extent. I mean, especially, I mean, if if you are a security company looking for, I don't know, kind of stereotypically, you know, young, strong people, then you know, where else to look than uh than a rugby club, I guess.
SPEAKER_00Uh burly men is what is what they're looking for.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, yeah. And so um from there, I I essentially said, well, it sounds like um an interesting opportunity. You know, uh make a bit of money over the summer, might get a chance to go see these festivals, you know, essentially for free. Turned what started out as maybe like a small opportunity just to see what would happen, uh, turned into a two and a half year period doing something I really, really enjoyed. Um, that's essentially how I got set up. So I I started out as a steward, um, which is an unlicensed kind of position. You can't really engage with people too much in a type of security type of way. Um, and then decided to do my license and then worked in that capacity for about two and a half, two and a half years. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02It must have been a very difficult offer to turn down as a student if someone says to you, come to festivals and we'll give you money.
SPEAKER_03For sure. Honestly, like it's it's really great.
SPEAKER_02And if somebody is giving you grief, you get to rugby tackle them and you get to say this to a rugby player, and where do I sign is going to be the answer.
SPEAKER_00It's so interesting that well, I I think it's interesting that you said, like, obviously you're interested in music and stuff. Because I don't know if it's just a misconception I have, but I always like think of security as not being as interested in the music as like, say, a steward. I like I think of them at festivals as maybe kind of being maybe more there for the money than the festival side of it. Um, so I yeah, I I'd never really thought about obviously security are going to be into music and into festivals. Like, that's why they're there. So that makes a lot of sense.
SPEAKER_03Yes, exactly. There are lots of kind of opportunities like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02The first thing I do when I go over to when I start my shift as a volunteer, I go over to the security guards in that area and I say, Thank you for looking after my stewards for me. Um, because look, I'm not gonna do it. Like you said, I'm a steward in a tabard. I'm I I'm gonna make some digs at someone's uh dress sense if they're being mean and do have do some psychological damage, but the actual physical welfare, the security guards are they have your back.
SPEAKER_00I was not doing any tackling anytime soon.
SPEAKER_02I I will raise my voice and and and give them give them a very stern look, a glare. And so that's the first thing I do because I genuinely appreciate that that team of security guards, particularly uh particularly an overnight shift when it's it can be really quiet and you're isolated, these men and women have your back. But I'm assuming you're not always perceived that way.
SPEAKER_03Uh no, certainly, certainly not. And and just before I go into that, that part about you know um thanking security officers, if there's anyone you know who's who's listening to this podcast, and you know, if if you if you genuinely have felt you know quite reassured and and and felt safe like in their presence and stuff like that, it is very much appreciated to approach them and just say you know a quick thank you. Doesn't have to be much, but I I promise you, as we kind of referenced you know, before the podcast and in the beginning, it it really does go a long way and it is you know talking about me. I'm grateful for it. Um in terms of the um oh yes, have I ever been um seemed to be an adrenaline junkie? Am I just there to rugby tackle people and make sure people have a miserable time, grab you by the collar, fling you out and and all that? Um definitely for sure that that has happened. Um I can remember a couple of times, yeah, not just in events and festivals, but also in nightclubs. Um there is an assumption that you're just there to like fling people out, that you know, people are kind of misbehaving, not in a way that requires you to be thrown out of the nightclub, but that involves me going up and saying, you know, hey, you know, put that away. You can't vape inside, we have to confiscate that off you. Then there might be a comment like, Oh fuck off, you're gonna are you gonna beat me up? No, yeah, what what are you gonna do? What you know, kind of putting the arms up and trying to instigate you into fighting as well. Um, so yeah, and and you could just kind of have to prove people wrong because um yeah, a a really big yeah, that that assumption is that yeah, we we might be there to just kind of like fight. But I can assure you, when I kind of went in, I realized that, especially all during the training, and it was really, really emphasized that putting your hands on someone really has to be the last um kind of resort that really the best type of um conflict resolution is one that involves no um kind of hands at all. I can actually remember during my training, I have a small anecdote actually, it was it was fantastic, it was quite funny, but it was great. So, during one of the aspects of um getting your license, so the kind of assessments you have to do to get your license as a door supervisor is physical intervention and conflict management. And when I was doing my training, we had an instructor there, he was many, many years of like Brazilian jujitsu and stuff like that, working security, really nice guy. And he used me as a kind of dummy during one of those lessons for like conflict management. Um, you know, who wants to volunteer? I said, Me, me, I'll do it. I just I thought it was fun. And he said, Okay, I'm gonna show you a really crazy way to like resolve a dispute. Just just wait for it. And then he tells me, grab onto my um not my shirt, my arm, says, hold on to my arm really tightly. I I grab it, says, really, really tightly, make sure you've got it on. Like something's gonna happen. I said, Okay, yeah, I've got it, I've got it. And then he looks at me and he kind of shouts, let go, and I let go. And then he turns to the class and says, best way. That's how you did it.
SPEAKER_00I bet you're expecting to be like flipped over, like literally body slower. That's it.
SPEAKER_03Genuinely, honestly, especially when I kind of knew about like his profile as someone who'd been doing like I think it was judicial martial art. I thought, oh my god, am I gonna be like flung out? But when he did that, he emphasized like in a serious way, like, really, like, if you can like end you know hostility purely by words, not by physically intervening with someone, then that is the best way, best way to do it for sure.
SPEAKER_02And there you were, Tilly, making fun of me using my big voice.
SPEAKER_00Your big boy voice.
SPEAKER_02Honestly, I'll put my shout at you. And then what are you gonna do, mister?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Someone needs to tell your mum.
SPEAKER_02Oh, I I definitely stop. I you can't say I know your mother because it sounds like the start of a very, very bad day and you're representing organizations. I do think of those jokes.
SPEAKER_00I'm always so impressed by like like just having the ability to de-escalate situations is so impressive. So I I feel like I need I need to go on this training that you're talking about. I need to learn how to de-escalate because it's hard, especially when you've got people who are like angry or have maybe been waiting out in the sun all day and like have problems with their tickets or like something. There's always a reason to be angry. So that's it's so impressive that like that's something that you can do.
SPEAKER_03For sure. Like there's all manner of problems that people kind of go through in terms of like being hungry, like you said, waiting out, particularly if people have problems maybe like getting in. Some of the biggest fights I think I've encountered are people who have actually haven't entered the venue yet, whether it's queuing, whether it's oh, my ticket doesn't work properly, and stuff like that. And then the kind of like almost looking for a fight a little bit. So yeah, you definitely definitely get that. But de-escalation is a real skill, and um, outside of security, just real good in your in your um normal life as well, just kind of interacting with people, sure.
SPEAKER_02I have to say the most annoying people I've encountered are the ones who have a legit ticket, but for some reason are being difficult on their first entry into the festival. That's always the most annoying people. And they're normally speaking with an unnecessarily posh accent there, they're the worst ones.
SPEAKER_00I'm allowed to say that. They're like, don't you know how long I've been waiting? And I'm like, yeah, everybody else around you has also been waiting a long time.
SPEAKER_02You're not the only one. You don't need to join in on this, but it's the posh holes I have a problem with.
SPEAKER_00Are you thinking of one festival in particular? Because I know I am.
SPEAKER_02Anyway, we we we digress. Those frustrations then are that you're you're dealing with as when you're a security. Are there some festivals that are better than others? I'm not asking you to name the terrible ones because I appreciate it's your profession, but does the type of clientele affect it? And is it necessarily what you think it is? Are the troublemakers the people you think they are gonna be?
SPEAKER_03I think for yeah, uh I think sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't. Um, just to go into a little bit more detail, sometimes we are told in the kind of brief, so we'll usually get there maybe a day or two before the festival. And I suppose we're talking about like the summer kind of camping festivals, which is what my company kind of did a lot of. And sometimes we were told by like the managers right at the top when we were given, you know, kind of like a tour through the grounds and stuff, they would say historically this um festival might have this kind of problem, or we have people who do try to jump over fences and kind of do that. We do have instances relating to this or that, and we have to kind of deal with that. So we do get a heads up in that sense, which is quite good. But other times it is really quite unexpected. Um, and I remember one, um, obviously, like you sort of referenced before, I wouldn't mention it by name, but uh, it was a festival that happened in the south. Um I wouldn't say where, but it had a fairly big kind of population um of people that went like 40, 50,000. And we were told it would be mostly populated by young people. Of my kind of two and a half year period working, it was definitely the largest kind of um largest kind of festival that attracted people who were between, I'd say, something like 18 and like 22. It's quite a young person's festival. And yeah, I can remember.
SPEAKER_02Like Tilly is what you claim. Troublemakers like Tilly.
SPEAKER_01Troublemakers. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I know the type.
SPEAKER_03I'm sure Tilly is I'm sure Tilly is absolutely perfect, and she would not have been uh one of the people.
SPEAKER_00I I always thank security. Thank you very much, Belle. Yeah, get a couple of Stellas in there, she changes, right? I roll up the sleeves and it's time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, honestly, but yeah, it was it was at this festival that we had like a number of problems. And I was and I was told it would be, you know, like a bit jumpy, but I didn't think it'd be anything worse than we normally have. But the worst incident I could remember is actually when there was um, and we again we were told this is something that happens. So the camping areas where people set up their tents were kind of sectioned off by these giant hedges, and every year it was said that these kind of wars, quote unquote, or camp wars, something like that, would occur. And people would literally pick up the first thing they could find and lop it over these fences without any care in the world as to who it would hit, and maybe you know, it would be just like really irritating stuff if it was something small and I don't know, just papers and small things like your lettering, of course it's not acceptable, but you know, whatever it's irritating more than anything. But people who go and start throwing pieces of like camping equipment or like nearby kind of hard objects that they can find is terrible. And it actually happened to me. There was a kind of fight that broke up, and when security were called, I was working um in response at the time, which just means that we're kind of roam about in response to emergencies, and people kind of started flinging stuff at you, and it was really unexpected. And yeah, we had a couple of problems that like that that did occur during that festival, and I found it to be in the time that I worked in security, probably the the toughest one ever. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Do you look forward to a rainy festival because it's going to be more chill, or does that not make a difference?
SPEAKER_03Um, I I think I look forward to and dread rainy festivals for different reasons. I think it would be more chill in terms of people are not very mobile, supposedly either that means they're stuck in their tents but wanting to go out, or they'll stay under their kind of roofed um um, how do you call it, like arena or stage, particularly if it's gazebo? Or gazeebos, precisely, yeah. Um, so that usually means people unless you're particularly adventurous, or you know, you come with your wellies and your umbrella and all the rest of it, will pretty much stay where they are. On the flip side, it makes security much tougher because especially again, if you are someone who's entrusted to be a response unit, and it's your job to kind of roam about in large areas, or if you have to respond to a fight, someone's passed out, there's been a theft or an assault or something like that, then it can be really tough um to move about.
SPEAKER_02So maybe the kind of immobility is not something to always cheer, except when it when it affects security, maybe everybody it's funny because we focused on the the aggression and the conflict management, but you've mentioned something there, which is welfare and people are poorly, and actually you're the ones quite often who are there to help. That's your role. And how much of that is pushed on you by festivals to say, well, actually you are the face of the festival and the welfare of you know the welfare of our clients is in your hands.
SPEAKER_03Um I'd say in if you ask me particularly, I have never had a problem providing welfare, and I've usually been quite proactive about it.
SPEAKER_02And I suppose we're talking about welfare as opposed to immediate like medical care where you're you've always got people who've looked they've done too much drink, done too much drugs, and they just need someone to get them to medical. You you have that. We we've seen it.
SPEAKER_03Yes, precisely, and it's and it's a really important function, particularly because, and this kind of this half goes back to the idea of um conflict management, right? As in the kind of you know, tell someone, you know, don't touch me as opposed to like putting your hands on them. Like if you're able to solve uh a welfare incident like that, precisely, for example, someone being a little bit too drunk, um, you can prevent it from becoming something that's seriously worse. Like if you can see someone's becoming a bit rowdy, you can see maybe they've had a little bit much to drink and stuff like that, you know, try and intervene, make sure they, you know, aren't served anymore. Um, try and get them to drink more water. Um, if there are people who are irritated by you know the drunkard, try and kind of pull them away. That's all part of the part of the welfare, for sure. And uh, you know, the same thing might go for drug use, trying to take people to um medical attention. Um, if you see something wrong, for sure, it is something that's quite big, and I think something that's quite imp important in the long run because it actually prevents more serious um issues from from cropping up later.
SPEAKER_02On the handing out water, have you ever done the gig at security where you're in front of the stage, in between the stage and the crowd, handing out glasses of water now? Are those jobs any fun at all? Because you've got your back to the artist. I don't know. I've always wondered whether those security guards are having a good time.
SPEAKER_03Well, I know that um uh yeah, paying too much attention to the artist. Well, I suppose it's Depends where you are. If you're on the front of the stage, then you probably would be told off by a supervisor if you're looking at the artist too much because they'd say, Well, you're not paying attention to if someone needs uh needs anything. But of course, we are all entirely human. I put my hand up, of course. You know, if you have you know good artists or something like that, you would want to like see what they're doing, particularly if it's something, you know, quite whatever. But um, but yeah, no, handling our water for sure is like really necessary function. And you know, we I have had a couple of moments where people do pass out either on the barrier or kind of just behind, and then you know what turns into you know really nice time with uh um you know the artist singing or or doing whatever turns into quite an emergency because now you've got to go out into the um into the crowd and kind of pick this person up. Um but for sure, I mean, yeah, you you would like to be looking at the artist for sure.
SPEAKER_00It just reminds me, Bill, of um when we were at Glastonbury and our our friend randomly, like some person picked him up and and he just began crowd surfing. And the look on the security people's faces, they were all absolutely like you could see them panicking. And and poor James, he he didn't know what was going on. He he was like giving them the thumbs up. He was like, I'm fine, I'm fine. But yeah, I I just can only imagine that ever the thoughts going through those security people's heads when they saw this like poor little man getting crowd surfed across, they were probably like, oh my god.
SPEAKER_02It's look if you fall in that crowd, you you vanish. You're trusting the people around you to pick you up. That's a scary moment.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yes. I was gonna say that there's also quite a lot of really, really um um not panicked. Obviously, you have to be quite professional over the radio, but urgent radio chatter when something like that happens, particularly if it's quite condensed or if the crowd's quite a bit active, or there is really strict instructions that people can't be like, you know, crowd surfing stuff like that. There will be calls saying whoever's on you know, kind of stage, you've got to get there, you've got to indicate. Maybe you have to stand up on the barriers and kind of do an indicating. But because obviously it's so loud and there's music pumping, um, no one can hear you. And I mean, people might even be really irritated saying who's this idiot in the high-vis or kind of the high-s, you know, kind of blocking me from seeing the art is, but really we're trying to make sure someone doesn't, you know, experience something quite terrible.
SPEAKER_00I've always wondered, is is the radio chatter when there's a flare, is does it go crazy? Because I like you know, when there's like either one of those paint flares or or the light up ones, I don't really know what they're called, but um is it because I I always you always see security like always looking around. So I always is the radio chatter crazy when there's a flare?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, for sure. I I'd say I'd say there is. I mean, if it's um and obviously we're we're assuming like um a really kind of full arena stage, then then for sure. But I have seen I have seen it um a flare kind of pulled up in um in an arena or a gazebo where there actually isn't that many people there, and obviously like it's it's noted vibe, but it's not you're like what the vibe's not there, bro.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Like if there's not that many.
SPEAKER_00You just give them a big thumbs down, you're like disappointed.
SPEAKER_03Just really, really kind of poor form. So for that for those times, it'll it'll be less kind of we need to get that down right away. Someone go over and stuff. So more something like um Kenan or you know, call sign, someone's got a flair, just confiscated. It's a bit sad, it's a bit deflated. I just put this guy into this.
SPEAKER_00I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.
SPEAKER_02Do you have a cool call sign? Do you have a choice?
SPEAKER_03Oh, I I would love to have like my own personalized call sign. It would be absolutely fantastic, and I could just have it as mine, but but no, at least for my security company, and I mean I've been kind of outsourced to others as well. The kind of standard um where you're given your call sign is where you're kind of based or what you're doing. So the naming kind of codes things like Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta.
SPEAKER_02I can't remember what it was called. It's not the phonetic alphabet.
SPEAKER_00Is it the NATO alphabet? Or I just made that up.
SPEAKER_03I don't know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, is it I don't know.
SPEAKER_03I think it's called something like that. Yeah, I don't know. I can't remember exactly something like that, yeah. So if you were if you're doing searches, you might be called, for example, Sierra, like the supervisor would have Sierra One, and then everyone would be Sierra 234. If you were on main stage, it might be Mike or stuff like that. But I do remember one time when I was working a marathon and it was coming towards the end of the shift, and I went from being a kind of static super, sorry, not supervisor, static sort of security person to being asked to fill in for a role for a supervisor who had to leave kind of later. And I kind of just asked, just before I left like the main control stage, I was like, okay, so technically my my call sign's changing. It'd be pretty nice if I was called kilo tanga, you know, KT, which is like my personal. That's cool. And I think I was given kilo, which I could settle with, and I was very happy with. So I was called kilo. I love it.
SPEAKER_00I love the idea that like they're like, Mike, Mike, come in, and it could be some like hello, like a little a little old lady, like hello. Yeah, I if someone was saying Mike over the radio and that was supposed to mean me, I would so forget. I'd be like, who's Mike? Why are they why they want Mike?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, no, exactly. It's it's um it's something you have to kind of get used to. Because I think there are a couple of them. Mike is one, Oscar is another one, Charlie is another one. Those are all parts of the official alphabet, but they're also common like boys' names, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, I feel like I would just be like, who's Mike? Who's Oscar?
SPEAKER_02So at Boom Town this year, I was downtown camping supervisor. And I was like, that's not a bad name.
SPEAKER_00Downtown.
SPEAKER_02That is a very cool, that is a very cool supervisor. Right, I'm downtown. Yeah. It was just a lot of tents, just people sleeping in fields. That's that's all it was, but still.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, but it was downtown, and it was your downtown.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. If you could pick pick your nickname, what what would your nickname be? Like literally anything. It doesn't have to be like the NATO alphabet.
SPEAKER_03If I could pick a nickname, like over the radio.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it has to be like I would say I would say like one syllable, because if if it's like if you're like super kind of fragile, like no one's gonna have time to say that.
SPEAKER_03No, no, no, no, for sure. Slightly concerning name, but it would be Maverick. That is a good one.
SPEAKER_00Oh, but then so would goose would be a great one. You'd have to have a goose to your maverick.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely, yeah. Like if we were like a roaming team, and I might be the supervisor's maverick, and then the kind of partner is the is the goose.
SPEAKER_02That would be what he's a meter behind you in his in absolute lie.
SPEAKER_00I think he's always making a sound, just like your exit's eye. Oh, that would be so good.
SPEAKER_03Oh gosh.
SPEAKER_00See now, like if you had a buddy, you'd have to do like a little duo name. Like it would have you'd have to you'd have to collaborate.
SPEAKER_03It has to be.
SPEAKER_02I think we've digressed from what was the incredibly serious role to do at festivals to the do you have someone you could call your goose?
SPEAKER_00Who's the goosey on that rig?
SPEAKER_02I think that's a sign we should probably ask our final questions and wrap up.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02So when we met, you were early 20s, you were already a supervisor of other security guards, which is phenomenal. And I think it says a lot about how you carry yourself as well. Have you done any other gigs other than being a supervisor? Is there anything else that goes on at festivals that you get involved with?
SPEAKER_03Yes. So actually, for the build-up or the build period for Glastonbury and also for one or two festivals, kind of in my last year, in that year, um, I was working in security control, which for me was a combination of both really challenging and stressful, but also incredibly rewarding. Um and just as a kind of um explanation for anyone who might not know, working in security control obviously means that you sit in a control room with, for example, event management, representatives of like the event, um, representatives from police, medics, traffic control, Oxfam, actually, now that I think about it. Oxfam in the house. Woo woo! And um essentially you um you there's no kind of on the ground rotations and moving about, but you're sat in a chair or pacing about, you know, perhaps if if if it warrants it, um, giving radio instructions and working with the manager to not just kind of rotate people if they need to be rotated, obviously on the um instruction of the client, but also being able to solve problems. And I found that really cool because I first started out as a logger, so you had to learn by osmosis, you had someone else kind of on the radio, and what a logger was was essentially going on the Excel spreadsheet and kind of logging calls because as one can imagine, um for security and for other types of you know services at an event, you have to kind of log when things happen. So every time there's a call switching someone around, if um someone's reported a fight, if someone's been reported to um being taken to the medics or drugs have been confiscated, you have to log in every single bit of that because if there's any kind of dispute as to when it happened or how it happened, then they will obviously go back to control. But working as a controller, I think, was was really, really cool, dealing with like a lot of issues like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That sounds really cool. I'm picturing this room surrounded by screams and like super serious. Yeah, I'm picturing like a submarine and I'm picturing like radars, like and I know it's not that, but I'm picturing like beeping, I'm picturing like flashing lights, buttons, like because I can see why it'd be mad serious in there, because you've got the population of a small town or a in the case of Glastonbury, a city, and you are trying to make sure that everyone's okay. That is it really stressful, that environment. In fact, is that more stressful than being on like out with people?
SPEAKER_03I I I would say that it's more stressful, and of course it's entirely dependent on people. The people who are listening to this, you know, who might work in security and find that actually being on the ground dealing with situations could be quite tough. And I have dealt with very tough situations on the ground, but I remember remarking to um a good friend of mine in security when I kind of did my first couple shifts as security, and I said to him, um, which I think is relevant, that when you're working on the ground, no matter how tough a situation you're dealing with, you can always reference control. Like when we talk over the radio, you you kind of give your call sign and then you'll you'll say who you're giving the message to. And if you're giving a message to control, which is this kind of almost God in a sense, I like I like to say, because they're kind of just there. You don't see them, but they give you instructions in your head, and you have to go and you know do things. And um when you're on the ground, you can ask control for help. Control, can you please advise me? Where do I need to be next? And they give you, but when you're in the control room, like you are the final point of core. So not having that insurance, you know, not really being able to reference someone else, particularly if the managers are on the ground and stuff like that. Um, you really have to have really strong decision-making skills because you can't rely um on anyone else, particularly if you're kind of stretched for um for staff. So, you know, the client you know will only be able to pay for a certain amount of security personnel up to a finite number. But actually, if there are multiple fights, multiple issues, and stuff like that, you have to strategically, a bit like a game of chess, really, move people about in certain ways. But when people kind of move, you have to ensure that um their place is kind of taken over by someone, or certain people can't be moved at all, for example, because they're protecting, you know, important work and stuff. So yeah, I I found security control more um stressful for sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I I I get that. Because we've been told, haven't we, Tilly, that there's some things that we don't get to decide, and we have to relay it to our control, who then really relays it to festival control, like you're mentioning it, and and then that comes back to us, and they say, Yes, you can close this lane. Like, really? Well, it it comes down to if something goes wrong, that a process was followed, we have a record of what was changed, and this is why the decision was made. And for a lot of people who just show up at a festival and think everything just works, I think it's really interesting to know the amount of effort that goes into keeping everybody safe. And uh I I think it's you know, we we poke fun at festivals and we especially poke fun at them when things go wrong, but the absence of things that have gone wrong at a festival in terms of people's safety is is quite an achievement, actually, and and it's a rare case where I'll give them credit.
SPEAKER_00Good job.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, next episode we'll just weigh into them for some have been wrong, but but they do yeah, the the it's it's phenomenal the amount of effort that goes in, and I'm always in awe of it.
SPEAKER_00Well, my last question. I've been I've been sitting on this for the the whole episode, so I do apologize, but I'm gonna have to ask what's the craziest thing you've seen work in security because it's my favorite question ever.
SPEAKER_03Oh I think I've seen several crazy things. I suppose you're looking for something that's kind of more upbeat than like somber. Looking pretty much.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we'll go for like like maybe like a funny, a funny, crazy. Yeah, like finish on a high.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, finish on a high. Yeah, no, definitely not the one I had immediately on my head, for sure.
SPEAKER_00When to be fair, when you were speaking about wellies earlier, it reminded me of um our first, well, my first Glastonbury in 2019, Bail. I don't know if you remember, when um we had a runner at Glastonbury, and the security guard managed to catch up with him, but wearing wellies, and we were dead impressed with this security guard who literally like was wearing the biggest wellies I've ever seen in my life. Like he literally looked like he looked like a cartoon and he still managed to catch up with this guy. We were I think we all clap, we were in the standing ovation when he came back. We were like, great job.
SPEAKER_03Great job, honestly. I think I I think honestly, in light of that, and it's and it's not the kind of copycap, but honestly, when I think about it, I think it would have to be chasing a runner. And it is funny because some people really just kind of like like it's it's it's not really they're not they don't really notice what they've done. They're just kind of, oh well, you've caught me, haven't you? Like I remember because I was supervised, like you said, of Worthy View in Glastonbury, and and obviously we did have a couple of runners, and unfortunately, some of them so successful managed to go through. And I remember hering after this guy and a small like thing of security. Obviously, you've got to leave some people back, right, to monitor tickets and stuff, all the while panting over, giving kind of instructions over the radio. Sorry, not instructions, but performing control, control, currently in pursuit, wearing, I don't know, brown hair or um IC2 or whatever. And you eventually catch the guy. Where is he?
SPEAKER_00Dunk dunk goose.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. Oh my gosh. Yeah, well, in in I think I had several gooses with me, and then and luckily they managed to help me find the guy.
SPEAKER_02And when you kind of catch them, they're like that, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Exactly, yeah. Yeah, it's a bit like, yeah. It is a bit like, oh, that's a bit shit, isn't it? And like I almost want to laugh because it's like I've been chasing after you, and I would probably get in trouble if you went through and stuff, and it's like, oh well, better luck next year.
SPEAKER_00I love the idea that it's like almost like a playground game. They're like, oh, you caught me. Guess I have to go home. Like that must be a really that for them that must be humbling. Like they're like, oh, guess I gotta leave.
SPEAKER_03Exactly. Honestly, and not knowing sometimes what the the trouble might have been uh might have been caused or what might have happened if we moved, but you know, it's kind of like after the shift when you're you know you kind of sat down, you're in the mess tent and stuff like that, and everyone kind of shares their day, you know, 12 out shifts and everything, and you go and say that, and you go and like share that story. Then everyone laughs, and it is it is it is funny, like afterwards.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, oh I'm always so impressed every time like security managed to catch a runner because I I can never like I never even realize what happens. People shout runner, and I'm like, huh? What? And then by that time, like about five security have already absolutely zoomed past, and it's so impressive.
SPEAKER_03Out of the past, chasing him down, yeah, for sure. And we don't usually stop until we've managed to catch them, as long as they're in eyesight, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02I imagine being a rugby player helps and that's a choice.
SPEAKER_00They're like picture them as the ball, and they're like exactly for sure.
SPEAKER_03I think the rugby scores came in really useful then.
SPEAKER_02You've been listening to Festival Sounds. Please give us a follow on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to your podcast. And why don't you visit festivalsounds.co.uk. We've finally got our website up and running.
SPEAKER_00How exciting. And tell a friend about us. Why not? Spread the love.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Share this episode with one of your friends who's going to a festival next year. And maybe they'll enjoy it and you'll help us grow the show. And we appreciate that. Big love.
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