Plan B Forum

Springsteen and McCartney silenced at long London gig

Rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney had the plug pulled on them after over-running at a concert in London's Hyde Park.

Headline act Springsteen welcomed Sir Paul on stage for renditions of the Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There and Twist and Shout.

But their microphones were turned off before they could thank the crowds.

Springsteen had exceeded the time limit for the Hard Rock Calling event after playing for more than three hours.

"It made for a slightly bizarre, anti-climactic end to what had been a fantastic show," said Stephen Robb, a BBC reporter who was at the event.

"The band obviously couldn't tell from on stage that the sound had been shut off.

"It just looked a bit like everyone was milling about on stage having forgotten how the show should end."

Guitarist Steven Van Zandt, a member of Springsteen's E Street Band, was angered by the forced curtailment, accusing "English cops" of preventing "80,000 people having a good time".

"When did England become a police state?" he wrote on Twitter.

"English cops may be the only individuals left on earth that wouldn't want to hear one more from Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney!"

According to Westminster Council, however, the decision to end the concert was made by its organisers and not local authorities.

"Concert organisers, not the council, ended last night's concert in Hyde Park to comply with their licence," said Leith Penny, Westminster Council's strategic director for city management.

"Licences are granted until certain times" - in this case 22:30 BST - "to protect residents in the area from noise late at night."

In a statement on the Hard Rock Calling website, the Live Nation company said it was "unfortunate" that the "three hour plus" performance had been "stopped right at the very end".

"The curfew is laid down by the authorities in the interest of the public's health and safety," the statement continued.

"Road closures around Hard Park are put in place at specific times to make sure everyone can exit the area safely."

Speaking on LBC on Sunday, Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the decision to end the concert as "excessively efficacious".

"If they'd have called me, my answer would have been for them to jam in the name of the Lord," he told presenter Kay Burley.

Springsteen and his band had earlier performed such hits as Born in the USA and Because the Night before an estimated crowd of 65,000 people.

He had also invited Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello on stage to perform two songs, while singer John Fogerty joined him for one.

Springsteen delighted one loyal fan who displayed a banner urging him to play a lesser known track, Take 'Em As They Come.

The artist said: "Tonight, my friend, this is your lucky night. You're going to hear this damn thing.

"It's a completely obscure track I wrote for The River when I needed some rock songs."

Grunge band Soundgarden appeared on Friday as part of this year's Hard Rock Calling concerts, while Paul Simon will take to the stage on Sunday.

Gob wrote:
Rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney had the plug pulled on them after over-running at a concert in London's Hyde Park.

loCAtek wrote:Wait ...10:40 p.m, is considered late over there!?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has criticised promoter Live Nation for attributing the curtailment of Bruce Springsteen's Hyde Park concert on Saturday to "health and safety" issues.

Fans were left bemused when the Hard Rock Calling event was abruptly ended in order to meet a 22:30 BST curfew.

One of them was Kevin Myers, deputy chief executive of the HSE.

In a web posting, he said the promoter was "disingenuous" to give health and safety as the cue for ending the gig.

"The fans deserve the truth," he wrote on the HSE website. "There are no health and safety issues involved here.

"While public events may have licensing conditions dictating when they should end, this is not health and safety and it is disingenuous of Live Nation to say so."

A Springsteen fan who was a member of the audience on Saturday, Mr Myers goes on to suggest 'The Boss' knows something about the issue himself.

To support his argument, he invites readers to "look at the words of Factory from Darkness on the Edge of Town referring to the toll that factory work can take on the health of blue collar workers".

Springsteen's guitarist Steven Van Zandt was also angered by the concert's abrupt curtailment, using Twitter to express his dissatisfaction with "English cops".

According to Westminster Council, however, the decision to end the concert was made by organisers "to comply with their licence".

In a statement on the Hard Rock Calling website, Live Nation said it was "unfortunate" that the performance had been "stopped right at the very end".

It said a 22:30 BST curfew had been "laid down by the authorities in the interest of the public's health and safety".

Country trip Lady Antebellum supported Springsteen on Saturday and have added their voices to those bemoaning his enforced silencing.

"I'm sure there was definitely a reason," said singer Hillary Scott. "I hear they had a very strict curfew in Hyde Park."

"When did England become a police state?" he wrote on Twitter.

Scooter wrote:That's why he has an entire production staff managing the concert. Either they weren't doing their job, or he thought he was too important to obey his contract.

Gob wrote:

Gob wrote:
Rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney had the plug pulled on them after over-running at a concert in London's Hyde Park.

Mercy killing?