Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Quick Wikipedia edit gets Peking Duk fan backstage

By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 4 December 2015

A fan of Australian duo Peking Duk managed to get backstage at one of their shows this week by quickly editing their Wikipedia page to show that he was related to one of the group.

The band were surprise guests at a launch party for Heineken’s James Bond brand partnership. Apparently about to leave the event after their performance, fan David Spargo decided to chance his arm and see if he could get backstage to meet him.

The security guard, dubious of Spargo’s claim to be Reuben Styles’ step-brother, asked for proof. Spargo fumbled with his phone for a moment and showed that the duo’s Wikipedia page lists him as a family member – the sneaky edit having been made during that fumbling. And so it was that he was waved through.

“Peking Duk’s set finished and I was about to head home”, Spargo told The Guardian. “Then I just had a lightbulb-above-the-head kind of moment and thought, yeah, I’ll give it a crack. No harm in trying, is there?”

After being taken backstage, he was told to wait for someone to collect him, at which point doubts started to creep into his mind: “I stood out there for five minutes and I started to think this isn’t going to work. Then Reuben pops his head out and is like, hey bro, come on in”.

“It was probably the most genius, mastermind move that I’ve ever witnessed”, said Styles’ bandmate Adam Hyde. “We ended up having a bunch of beers with him and he was an absolute legend. He wasn’t a creep or anything. He was like the most normal dude we’ve ever met. That’s what makes it more hilarious”.

“He is 007”, added Hyde of Spargo’s efforts, ensuring that everything stayed on brand. “He’s probably still drinking, the dirty dog. That, or trying to infiltrate someone else’s green room”.