UK's ROCK & BLUES CUSTOM SHOW: Business As Usual

One Percent Entertainments Group, which organizes the annual UK festival Rock & Blues Custom Show (described as a "three-day festival of motorcycles, rock music and drinking" that regularly attracts some 15,000 people) , has released the following statement regarding this year's 25th anniversary of the event, also known this year as "RBCS 25":

"As of today, the 28th May 2008, the event premises license as been reissued to Amber Valley District Council and we fully intend to be moving the event back to its spiritual home of Coney Grey Showground Pentrich Derbyshire. One Percent Entertainments Group and its legal representatives will be fighting this license application all the way over previous representations made from the Derbyshire constabulary as to why we formerly withdrew our application for RBCS 25 at Catton Hall. Since then we feel those concerns do not exist.

"We would like to again thank the many thousands of people who have emailed their best wishes and continued support towards this 25th milestone event. We appreciate that lots of people have been confused about what as actually been going on in the background but it has been difficult due to legal reasons to fully explain everything but we want to thank everyone for their patience and we want to reassure anyone who has purchased tickets for this event that they will remain valid for the event which will take place on the same dates as previously advertised, which are 24th 27th July 2008.

"One Percent Entertainments Group are completely and utterly dedicated to making RBCS 25 work and run again this year as one of the safest festivals in the UK and are drafting in some of the UK's leading public entertainment specialist company's in the country to ensure its smooth and orderly running, 'no news there then, just business as usual.'

"We would like to remind the general public that this event has an impeccable safety record and in 24 years of history as never suffered any occasions of public disorder. The event website will be up and running again in its entirety later this week where you can keep up to date with developments as they happen."

The UK media reported earlier in the month that British police shut down the 25th anniversary of the Rock & Blues Custom Show fearing that Hells Angels will seek "high-profile retaliation" for last summer's daring UK motorway murder of a Canadian member of the world's largest motorcycle gang.

The police pressure on organizers and municipal licensing officials is evidence of their fear of a brewing biker feud in Britain after the murder of Gerard "Gerry" Tobin last August.

Mr. Tobin, 35, who left Calgary in 1999 to start a new life in England, was shot off his Harley-Davidson motorcycle last August on a busy highway. Police say the shots came from inside a car that followed him from the Bulldog Bash in Warwickshire.

Investigators believed he was targeted because he was wearing his Hells Angels motorcycle club insignia on his back, signifying full membership in the gang.