Concert Organisers Praise Tyneside Crowd

Organisers behind Saturday's Kings of Leon show at Newcastle's St. James' Park have praised concert-goers after the hugely successful event put the stadium firmly back on the music map.

Tens of thousands of music lovers descended on the home of Newcastle United Football Club for the US rock band's performance - the first European date of the band's Mechanical Bull Tour - which was complete with spectacular pyrotechnics and lasers.

The concert, which has become the first at St. James' Park since Rod Stewart made an appearance at the ground in 2007, also featured standout sets by British support acts Twin Atlantic, The Horrors and White Lies.

John Irving, finance director at Newcastle United, said: "Tonight's event is the culmination of 12 months of planning and it has been an ideal reintroduction of concerts to the stadium. The crowd, as always at St. James' Park, make it a special venue and they were on top form this evening.

"Our aim was to put the St. James' Park back in the music industry's thoughts and with the unique line-up we managed to secure, the unique configuration of the stadium and the appetite for big music acts that exists here, we are in a fantastic position as we look to secure more for the city and the region in future."

Steve Storey, head of safety and security at Newcastle United, said: "There is a huge amount of planning required across a number of organisations to make a concert of this scale work and the network we have in place has helped us to deliver it very successfully.

"I'd like to thank everyone who came to the concert for assisting us in achieving that. Music concerts present very different challenges to hosting football matches but the crowd contributed to a very smooth night and a memorable one for all the right reasons."

To find out more about concerts at St. James' Park, please visit www.nufc.co.uk/concerts.