They Went for EASY MONEY in A Dictatorship… Someone Ended Up DEAD!
The story behind a series of concerts that ended in murder and tragedy.
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Deep Purple’s Jakarta nightmare is one of the most shocking stories in rock history. What started as a lucrative live concert opportunity on a Deep Purple world tour quickly turned into a deadly mix of corruption, chaos, military pressure, missing money, and a mysterious death that still fuels debate decades later. In this documentary-style rock history video, we break down the full Deep Purple Jakarta incident, including the fake venue, the massive crowd, the police and military presence, the death of bodyguard Patsy Collins, and the terrifying fallout that left the band stranded and traumatized.
In the mid-1970s, Deep Purple were one of the biggest rock bands in the world, but their trip to Indonesia became a story of deception and survival. Promoter Danny Sabri reportedly promised a small theater show, but the band arrived to find a massive stadium, a far larger audience than expected, and a situation spiraling out of control. The Jakarta concert disaster involved a disputed payment, a chaotic performance, a bodyguard’s fatal fall down an elevator shaft, and claims that the whole event may have been a setup.
This video explores the Deep Purple 1975 tour, the Come Taste the Band era, the Mark IV lineup, and the dark events that unfolded in Jakarta before the band made their way to Japan. We also look at the conflicting accounts surrounding the death of Patsy Collins, the accusations of corruption and extortion, and why this concert became one of the most notorious live music stories ever told. If you love rock and roll history, band drama, music documentaries, true crime stories, and forgotten tour disasters, this deep dive is for you
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@Klaa-2
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Promoters are so slimy, this is even dumber than thinking Hendrix touring with The Monkees was a good idea…
@PaulMichael1960
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
I saw them when I was 15 years old in January of 1976, less than two months after Patsy Collins died. Nazareth backed them up. Tommy Bolin was amazing on guitar.
@fleadoggreen9062
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
We were gonna go backpacking thru there this winter ,dang !
@paulmea3166
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Somehow pinched a nerve? He did it shooting up.
@jacobkyle4573
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
The British government or American government (depending on what record companies were owed the money) should have gotten involved, this was an international grievance.
@tistick
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Tommy must have been jonesing in indonesia.
His arm was bad heroin.
@derekwilhelm1555
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Id believe it was murder cuz i dnt believe your so drunk you cant tell the difference between an elevator shaft n a hallway or door way my dad is an alcoholic n every now n then gets on a bender and as shitfaced as he get he can still comprehend what hes doing
@westie420uk
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
0:58 Im calling it a minute in the death(s) were caused by the fire they saw that led to Smoke on the Water been written
@finemelon
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
This story sounds like one of them on the cover of the crazy magazines you would get at the front while buying groceries in the eighties and nineties the stories where only halfway true or not true at all but this is true but sounds to crazy to be true .
@Jackylone-
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
I saw interviews from Jon & Glenn about this incident many years ago in a documentary I also member reading about this in a rock magazine back in the day.
@NicS-q8n
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Don't even know if it's possible to fall down an elevator shaft . Sounds like something else happened
@samright4661
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
I didn’t know this happened wow !
@johnskerlec9663
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
You can never trust a Corrupt Dictatorship. The regular folk want to rock but the controllers want to screw everyone over. Big warning.
@ssn0651
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Same country, same time obama lived there
@evanmichael3153
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Look up the Deep Purple documentary Phoenix Rising documentary. Glenn talks about that craziness 👎😔
@Kat-tr2ig
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
I have heard many, many things about Indonesia….and NONE of it is ever good. From bands playing there to tourists going on holiday to people travelling for business, everyone has said the same: it's hell on earth.
@l.salisbury1253
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
DAMN!! This is worse than Altamont…!!
@rumormill3863
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Always remember: Never go to Indonesia 😮
@WesleyG_777
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Ahhhh gotta love a good ol' dictatorship! What a crazy story! Thanks for sharing this. Never heard this one!
@SuperStrik9
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Love Mk 4 Deep Purple. Come Taste The Band is a great album. RIP Tommy Bolin.
@OldStoner-o2r
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Saw Purple in 74,amazing night of shrooms and heavy rock.
@karengarrison3666
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
What a wild story, truly horrific 😥
@thecolorgreen7046
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
At the 8 minute mark: "Somehow Tommy Bolin pinched a nerve in his arm"…..UH,…..probably numb arm(s) from collapsing veins – I knew someone that had this same issue – he's dead. Bolin was a full-on heroin junkie by that time, and died one year later of a heroin/cocaine overdose in December '76. Inevitable…..and such a waste.
@PJski
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
That's a side of Bali you don't read about in the tourist pamphlets…
@mrdeatheli
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Great story, Syd!! Thank you!!
@hiddentechno8266
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
How about covering the story of Mark E Smith from The Fall getting beat up by Cypress Hill?
@robwalsh9843
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
I could imagine never wanting to play live music ever again after such an experience.
@PunksAllDeadBestGenocide
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Hahahaha I want that type of judge in my town, kind of Clint Eastwood.
@LeviathantheMighty
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Indonesia is so corrupt. Too many parts of it are absolute hell.
@idol-threat
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Best story lately.
More like this please.
Maybe one on the Pantera & Metallica show in 91ish?
@Aval3666
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Thats bullshit, I would've never went back to that country. In fact I would have made it a point to tell every traveling band to stay away from that country. I know there are fans who had nothing to do with it but the amount of disrespect and scare tactics that were put on the band is just unacceptable.
@genedunlap8384
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Hardrock yes metal no they were a hard rock band yes, they did a metal song but were late to the metal party really never acceded by metal fans as a metal band that being said it does not take away from them as a grate rock band
@AndyMangele
August 2, 2026 at 11:17 am
Moral of story: don't go to Indonesia or any islamic country for that matter!