One of the guitarists, Steve Van Zandt, ranted, 'We would have been off by 11 if we'd done one more. On a Saturday night! Who were we disturbing?'
- Jul 16, 2012
AceShowbiz - Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney's duet was cut short when concert promoters decided to pull the plug, literally. For going past its 10.30 P.M. curfew, the Hyde Park gig on Saturday, July 14 went silent at the very end just when the two stars appeared ready to launch into another number. The Boss was trying to talk to the audience without amplification.
"It was unfortunate that the three hour-plus performance by Bruce Springsteen was stopped right at the very end but the curfew is laid down by the authorities in the interest of the public's health and safety," concert promoter Live Nation said on its website. According to Guardian, a spokesman said a record 76,000 people had had "a fantastic time".
However, one man is unhappy by the interruption. One of the guitarists, Steve Van Zandt, tweeted in anger, "One of the great gigs ever in my opinion. But seriously, when did England become a police state? We break curfews in every country but only English cops needs to 'punish us' by not letting us leave until the entire crowd goes. Is there just too much fun in the world? We would have been off by 11 if we'd done one more. On a Saturday night! Who were we disturbing?"
He continued, "The cops got nothing more important to do? How about they go catch some criminals instead of f**king with 80,000 people having a good time? English cops may be the only individuals left on earth that wouldn't want to hear one more from Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney! I'm sorry but I have to be honest I'm pissed. Like I said, it didn't ruin the great night. But when I'm jamming with McCartney don't bug me!"
Westminster council's strategic director for city management said in a statement, "Concert organisers, not the council, ended last night's concert in Hyde Park to comply with their licence, which allows them to run the concert until 10.30pm. Licences are granted until certain times to protect residents in the area from noise late at night."
Meanwhile, London mayor Boris Johnson told LBC radio, "It sounds to me like an excessively efficacious decision. You won't get that during the Olympics. If they'd have called me, my answer would have been for them to jam in the name of the Lord." Springsteen and McCartney played The Beatles hits "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout".
