A GIG in Angel went horribly wrong after football fans turned on the lead act, forcing them from the stage.

Bruce Foxton, the bass player of From the Jam, and former member of The Jam, stormed from the stage at the O2 Academy, declaring the much-anticipated gig cancelled after just four songs. The former Stiff Little Fingers member and Tottenham supporter, was heckled and booed by Arsenal supporters in the audience, after he apparently refused to let the supporting act, Riders of the Night, appear onstage.

Michael Joyce, known as Mick the Bins, singer and song-writer for Riders of the Night, said: “The day before we were meant to perform at the gig we were told that we weren’t allowed to play. We were given all sorts of reasons for their choice and they even told us it was because we were hooligans.

“That’s just not true. I suppose that is to do with our football support but we had 50-year-old fans in the audience and they definitely can’t be classed as hooligans.”

Over 100 tickets had been sold to Riders fans, who were outraged at Mr Foxton’s behaviour. They proceeded to hurl plastic beer cups, pints of alcohol and football-related abuse at the musician, who began to try and remonstrate with the rowdy crowd over his microphone. Mr Foxton’s shouts were ignored by the majority of the audience and the lone Tottenham fan was drenched with beer, before fleeing from the stage.

Mr Joyce said: “There were around 150 people singing and he [Foxton] just couldn’t handle it. The rest of the band were left on the stage when he ran off. I don’t think they thought it was that bad.

“We had worked really hard to put together a set that had non-football songs in it. We even had a Christmas song that we were really looking forward to performing and there were loads of Islington locals who wanted to see us. The people of Islington let him know what they thought about him.”