The microphones were turned off late into Bruce Springsteen‘s headline appearance at Hard Rock Calling yesterday after another typically mammoth set from The Boss ran over the festival’s curfew time.
Earlier this year, the future of big-time gigs in Hyde Park was thrown into doubt after local residents complained about excessive noise and disruption. An agreement was eventually reached which allowed shows to carry on at the London venue, although the capacity and volume of shows were reduced, while threats of more severe penalties were made should the new regulations be breached.
And with Springsteen running into his third hour onstage last night (July 14th) after he was joined by Sir Paul McCartney for performances of ‘I Saw Her Standing There‘ and ‘Twist and Shout‘, the plug was pulled before the veteran rock stars could offer their thanks to the crowd. (Video)
“It made for a slightly bizarre, anti-climactic end to what had been a fantastic show,” Stephen Robb, a BBC reporter who was at the event, has said.
“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.”