WEYMOUTH Pavilion has axed a fourth musical act from its summer schedule.

Kings of Swing, which celebrated the music of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr, was pulled from the Pavilion's schedule following dismal ticket sales.

The loss follows TV series spin-off Heartbeat, appearances by Pop Idol star Rik Waller and a 'Kylie and Robbie' tribute.

Wet and Wild foam parties in the Ocean Room were also scrapped after just three people turned up.

But council bosses defended their choice of acts and said that people were simply turning their back on traditional theatre entertainment.

Pavilion representative Nicky Jenkins said only about 150 out of 1,000 seats were booked for Kings of Swing, which had two more shows to go.

She said: "The show was fantastic and people came out raving - unfortunately the artists were not making the money they needed.

"There is a 12-piece band plus five singers, not to mention the backstage crew, which is a lot of money to find. It was their decision.

"It's down to the nature of the business at the moment - people simply are not going to the theatre and you never can tell how a summer season will go.

"This year, audiences want comedy and Jim Davidson and Joe Pasquale have either been sell-outs or almost sold out.

"People don't seem to want music-based shows."

Pavilion theatre manager Colin Worth said: "Anything that is not a 'name' or is a tribute act is struggling.

"We have to appeal to a wide audience and at the moment people seem to want to see well-known original acts. This is at no financial loss to the council, although we take a percentage of ticket sales.

"We cannot go spending taxpayers' money subsidising shows that are not selling tickets and the promoter has to judge whether the show is covering expenses."

He said the Robbie and Kylie and Rik Waller shows were an attempt to capture the youth market, but were not economically viable.

He admitted: "This is an unusually high number of shows to lose and there is nothing we hate more than having the theatre and Ocean Room dark.

"But it was Heartbeat's decision to pull out, and the Kings of Swing have pulled out of other venues, so it's not just us.

"We said no to the Kylie and Robbie tribute, and Rik Waller - who only sold four tickets for the first show and none for the second.

"The foam party was different and managed entirely by an outside company that failed to pull in the punters."

A spokesman from Handshake Entertainments Ltd, who staged the Kings of Swing show, said shows were axed at Weymouth and Yarmouth but the rest of the UK tour was still on.

Full refunds will be made to everyone who bought Kings of Swing tickets.

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