Guns n Roses Will Be Forced Off Reading/Leeds Festival Stage If They Are Late


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The Reading/Leeds festival organiser Melvin Benn has warned he will be forced to pull the plug on Guns n Roses’ headline shows if they take to the stage late at this weekend’s event.

Axl Rose and co are due to headline Reading on Friday and Leeds on Sunday, and Benn has revealed there will be no repeat of the band continuing on past their curfew as they did at their shows in 2002.

Benn told the NME:  “It’s just not an option. I mean, it is certainly an option for them to go on late, but that for me is just about disrespecting their fans. There isn’t an option for them to carry on late, though.

You may remember they played Leeds festival in 2002, and they actually went on stage after their curfew should have started. They went on after they should have finished. We sort of were allowed to do that on that one occasion.”

Benn explained there will be more pressure from police this year to ensure stage times and curfews are enforced. “Unfortunately the police and the local authorities in particular have reaffirmed their position to me that the curfew has to be adhered to,” he said. “It’s 11pm at Leeds and it’s 11:30pm at Reading. The truth is that I can’t allow the performance to go on beyond that – it’s just that simple.”

Three days ahead of the dual festivals kicking off in Reading and Leeds, early weather reports suggest both sites could be relatively free of rain over the weekend.


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