April Fool’s Day is over in New Zealand, and it may have cost some radio DJs their jobs. Seems the good people on Auckland’s “Rock FM” thought they could promote an acoustic Foo Fighters gig at a local venue, where the expecting masses would then by raspberried by DJs as the band’s music played on a boombox. Tee hee! Only it turns out there were a lot more excited Foo fans in the area than the “about fifty” they expected to dupe.

The station began promoting the false concert – an intimate acoustic show by the American rock act at Auckland venue the Powerstation – yesterday morning. They expected around 50 people to turn up for the show this morning – April Fool’s Day – at 8.15am. Instead of an appearance by Dave Grohl and the rest of the popular act, the station planned to play a Foo Fighters album on a tape deck.

But by 5pm yesterday the station was overwhelmed by inquiries and pulled the stunt. It confessed that it was an April Fool’s Day gag and apologised to listeners. Programme director Brad King said the station received inquiries from fans, record labels and promoters. People were booking the day off work and planning to drive or fly to Auckland, he said, and more than 2000 people could have turned up at the venue.

It caused “absolute carnage,” King said. “This is what happens when fools plan April Fool’s jokes. Word spread beyond far and wide.”

King has been quoted as saying “heads have rolled,” but there’s no specific word on whether the DJs or the promotional department that came up with it have actually been fired.

Radio station ’sorry’ for Aprils Fool’s stunt [Stuff.co.nz]
Radio Station Apologizes over Foo Fighters prank [Yahoo! UK]