Balding rock fan ‘beat ANOTHER bald concertgoer after complaining about glare from his head’

Accused: Andrew Ridley, 56, is on trial charged with causing GBH with intent

A rock fan was ‘viciously’ attacked at a gig by a man stood behind him who had complained about ‘glare’ from his bald head ‘spoiling the view‘, a court has heard. 

The man was knocked unconscious and suffered a bleed to the brain as a result of the incident.

Andrew Ridley, 56, from Northfield, has denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent and an alternative charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Philip Beardwell, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said that on April 19 in 2019 a rock bank called Monster Truck had played at the O2 Academy in the City.

The alleged victim had gone to the concert, which was quite busy, along with his brother while the defendant was also there.

Mr Beardwell told the court: ‘It seems that they were standing watching and there was a disagreement about who could see what.

‘It was over lights shining off heads, something rather trivial you may think.’

Mr Beardwell said that the verbal disagreement then became physical with the alleged victim pushing the defendant.

Ridley responded by punching him and the complainant fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious, the court heard.

‘Ridley got on top of him and continued to punch him,’ the prosecutor said.

He said as a result of the attack the victim was taken to hospital where he was kept in for three days.

His most serious injury was a bleed to the brain revealed by a CT scan while he also suffered swelling across the left side of his forehead, cuts behind both eyes, a chipped tooth and swelling to his jaw.

When later quizzed Ridley said: ‘He hit me first so I hit him back.’

Giving evidence the alleged victim said he had also gone to the rock concert with three friends.

He said: ‘It was standing. The only thing I can remember is having a conversation with a man behind, he either tapped me on the shoulder or nudged me.

The alleged victim and Ridley were at the O2 Academy watching a band called Monster Truck

‘He said that he could not see the band because of the glare off my bald head. It was offensive to me, a perfect stranger to say something like that.’

He said that the man had made the comment about two or three times and that the next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital, the court heard.

In cross examination he said he could not remember pushing the man although someone had told him he had done that and that he had taken the comment as an ‘insult.’

His brother said that the music had been very loud and that there had been a couple of hundred people at the Academy.

He told the court he had seen his brother push the other man who had struggled to remain on his feet.

However, he said, the man had then punched his brother to the head with full force and that he had gone straight to the ground.

He said he had been ‘shocked’ and that someone else had pulled the man off his brother, the court heard.

While Jeremy Wood, another concert goer, said he became aware of a disturbance behind him and said: ‘I saw a man assaulting another man viciously.’

The trial continues.