Deep PurpleJakarta 1975
Deep Purple’s Jakarta concerts on 4-5 December 1975 were followed by a fatal crew death and major disorder at the second show. Sources report Patsy Collins died after a fall down a hotel lift shaft, while police or military-backed security with dogs and weapons entered the audience and injured large numbers of people.
Overview
What Happened
Core Findings
Evidence Picture
Sources place Deep Purple in Jakarta for two concerts on 4-5 December 1975. After the first show, crew/bodyguard Patsy Collins died following a fall down a hotel lift shaft.
During the second show, sources describe police or military-backed security entering the crowd with dogs and weapons. Later reporting and preserved Rolling Stone excerpts describe around or over 200 audience members injured.
The death of Collins is source-supported. The claim that he was murdered rather than killed in an accident is not verified from the reviewed material.
Review Conflicts →Quick View
Incident Highlights
Chronology
Known Sequence
Jakarta stop arranged
Deep Purple added Jakarta while travelling through the region. Sources disagree on the expected original venue size and later attendance figures.
First show takes place
The first Jakarta concert took place on 4 December 1975 at the Senayan stadium complex, with very large crowds reported.
Patsy Collins dies
After the first show, crew/bodyguard Patsy Collins died after a fall down a hotel lift/elevator shaft. The exact cause and circumstances remain disputed.
Second show disorder
During the second show, sources describe police or military-backed security, dogs and weapons entering the crowd, followed by major disorder.
Injuries reported
Rolling Stone excerpts and later sources report roughly or over 200 audience members injured.
Sources use Senayan Sports Stadium, Stadion Utama Senayan and Gelora Bung Karno-related wording.
Patsy Collins’ death is supported across the source set.
Accident wording and later murder belief are both present, but murder is not verified.
The 200+ audience injury figure is repeated in later sources and preserved Rolling Stone excerpts.
Conflicting Information
What Does Not Line Up
Cause of Patsy Collins’ death
The death is verified in the source set. Murder is not verified by an official finding in the material reviewed.
Crowd size and ticketing
The safe wording is that the concerts drew very large crowds. Exact totals vary by source.
Original expected venue size
The originally expected venue size is not settled from the reviewed sources.
Unverified Details
Still Not Settled
Murder claim
Whether Patsy Collins was murdered rather than killed in an accident.
Additional deaths
Any audience fatalities beyond Patsy Collins. Later summaries mention beliefs or rumours, but no verified name or number was found in the reviewed source set.
Official venue wording
The exact 1975 wording used on the original event paperwork. Sources vary between Senayan Sports Stadium, Senyan Sports Stadium, Stadion Utama Senayan and Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno.
Original Rolling Stone URL
A directly working original Rolling Stone URL for the 29 January 1976 article was not found; the report was traced through preserved excerpts.
Jakarta Post material
Jakarta Post pages appeared in search results but returned access errors, so they were not used as evidence.
References
Source Cards
These cards summarise the evidence base used for this page. Some items support location or context only, not casualty numbers.
It appeared that he had fallen down an elevator shaft...
29 August 2023
Retrospective feature on Deep Purple’s Jakarta stop, identifying Senayan Sports Stadium, Patsy Collins’ fatal lift-shaft fall, and the second-show crowd disorder involving riot police, dogs and injuries.
Visit Source →The last days of Deep Purple
19 January 2024
Later retrospective on Deep Purple’s breakup period, again covering the Jakarta incident and reporting that riot police with machine-guns and dogs injured around 200 fans.
Visit Source →Indonesian Nightmare Strikes Deep Purple
29 January 1976
Contemporary Rolling Stone report preserved in later excerpts. It describes Collins’ six-storey fall down a service elevator shaft and police with weapons and dogs seriously injuring more than 200 people.
Visit Source →Going back to Jakarta
7 October 2015
Reports Glenn Hughes recalling that on 4 December 1975 his bodyguard was killed in Jakarta and that he planned to return on the 40th anniversary.
Visit Source →Deep Purple - Trouble In Jakarta
13 July 2014
Chris Charlesworth’s extract from his Deep Purple biography, with later comments identifying the hotel linked to Collins’ death as Sahid Jaya on Jalan Sudirman. Useful but not primary evidence.
Visit Source →Purple history – Jakarta 1975
3 December 2015
Retrospective summary of the two-day Jakarta sequence: Collins’ death after the first show, Hughes and Rob Cooksey jailed, and the second show taking place under coercive conditions before disorder broke out.
Visit Source →Konser Rock Terbesar dalam Sejarah Indonesia
14 September 2012
Indonesian retrospective giving attendance estimates, identifying Sahid Jaya as the hotel, describing around 6,000 riot police on the second night, and preserving a long Rolling Stone excerpt.
Visit Source →Maintaining the Melodies of History
29 May 2022
Profile article noting music journalist Hengki Herwanto attended the 1975 Jakarta concert and repeating Rolling Stone’s figures of 150,000 fans, 200 injured, and police using machine guns and Doberman dogs.
Visit Source →Location
No page date stated
Official hotel page used only to verify the current address of Grand Sahid Jaya Jakarta, which later retrospective sources connect with Patsy Collins’ death.
Visit Source →Stadion Utama Gelora Bung Karno
No page date stated
Official venue page confirming the present-day stadium and complex location in Jakarta, relevant to the Senayan / Gelora Bung Karno wording used across sources.
Visit Source →Indie Music in Post-Bomb Bali
2015
Academic dissertation stating that Indonesia’s first international rock concert in 1975 featured Deep Purple at Stadion Utama Senayan, with more than 150,000 attending and police severely beating spectators.
Visit Source →Recoloring the Metal Map
2015 / 2018 posting
Academic paper noting Deep Purple’s 1975 Jakarta show as a landmark in Indonesian metal history. Useful for significance, not casualty detail.
Visit Source →Religion and heavy metal music in Indonesia
2019
Academic article references Deep Purple’s 1975 Jakarta tour as an early landmark in Indonesian heavy metal history, but the retrieved view did not provide casualty details.
Visit Source →Open the Material
