Collie Buddz last night said he was happy to have the Premier introduce him ¿ but some of the reggae star's fans were not as pleased.

Several concert-goers contacted The Royal Gazette to criticise Dr. Ewart Brown's appearance at the Snorkel Park event and to refute claims from his Press Secretary that there were only 'patches of hecklers'.

"No one was there to see the Premier. When he came on the stage everyone just started booing and yelling 'get off the stage!'" said Jason Fostine-DeSilva. "Everyone was saying get off the stage. I actually felt bad for the Premier. It was so loud I couldn't even hear what he was saying."

Selange Gitschner who was also at the concert said everyone around her was shocked to see the Premier on the stage and booing just erupted from the audience.

"The MC got up on stage and was getting everyone excited for what he called an 'honoured guest' we were blessed to have," she said. "The lights went down and when they came back up and the Premier was on stage everyone just started boo-ing."

Collie Buddz said he only found out minutes before the show started that the Premier was going to introduce him, but didn't have a problem with the appearance.

He said: "When I got to the show, one of the security teams said Ewart Brown was going to roll through and wanted to say 'what's up'.

"I said cool. A couple of minutes later he rolled in, we were talking.

He said 'I'm going to introduce you on stage, I've got something special lined-up' and that's all I know."

Asked whether he knew the Premier was going to take his shirt off to reveal a t-shirt with "Blind to you haters on it" Collie Buddz said: "He mentioned it. I had heard someone say his favourite song was "Blind To You". He didn't ask, but I knew.

"I thought it was pretty cool that he showed his support. I don't know if it was the right atmosphere and it was obvious by the crowd's reaction."

Yesterday, the Premier's Press Secretary tried to downplay the negative reception of Dr. Brown saying there were only patches of hecklers who were haters and only helped send a message.

The concert on Saturday night which was held by MRF and Animal Promotions was the second event for Collie Buddz who performed earlier that night at the Island Soccer League's (ISL) match. UBP Senator Gina Spence-Farmer, who coordinated the talent for the ISL event, said last night she was pleased with the turnout. There were over 3,000 people with a real cross-section of Bermuda. There wasn't a seat in the bleachers for a family-type show. I was very pleased," she said.

But while controversy swirled over political involvement at the two concerts, Collie Buddz stressed that he was apolitical and was indifferent to who introduced him ¿ it could have been John Swan or Michael Dunkley.

"Again, I'm apolitical. I don't care if it was Michael Dunkley or John Swan introducing me. It didn't matter. He's not the Premier for nothing and he runs the country. He took time out to come down there and show support. This was one of the best times I've had on stage in my career really. It felt good to be back. I hadn't performed since New Years. Thank you to all the fans who supported me and the next time will be even better."