Plug pulled on Sir Paul McCartney

bazster

Last night Sir Paul McCartney joined Bruce Springsteen on stage towards the end of The Boss' headlining performance at Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park.

And after he played two songs with The Boss, the plug was pulled. Literally. At the late, late hour of 10:40 on a Saturday night. This left McCartney and Springsteen unable to even thank the 60,000 people who'd got to the show in the pouring rain and stood there ankle-deep in mud all day, and The Boss unable to perform his tribute to the late Clarence Clemons - a tribute that has been performed on every other show to date on his world tour.

Only in Britain could such a performance be summarily cut-off by a combination of pettifogging officialdom and craven promoters. Well done Westminster Council and Hard Rock Calling, you have made London the laughing-stock of the world.

prowla

I nearly went on Friday but it was raining.
And I would've had to leave by then anyway to get my last train home.
Maybe bands should stop thinking it is cool to run late.

bazster

10:40 was late when I was nine years old.

I was at both The Boss' shows in Paris last week, one finished at midnight, the other finished at 00:30. About a month ago I was at the show in San Sebastien, it finished at 1:00a.m.

London is a joke, and I for one will not be going to any event in Hyde Park again.

paddyrg

For most London boroughs, the licence curfew is 10.30 at which point it becomes an unlicensed event. They will pull the plug if you are holding an unlicensed event of course. Sounds like they were running late illegally, and simply should have cut a track earlier on in the show, or gone on stage on time. Everyone else manages it just fine, and it sounds like they were given a buffer 10 mins which was generous. The promoter is going to be seriously in the soup for this, and quite possibly fined (going rate for Wembley curfew extensions is ~£100k as a guide), as well as finding it harder to get a license for a repeat event next year. Licensing is an important business.

Don't blame the council for this, they have to look after the residents interests first and there are so many events in London they have to treat them fairly or face the consequences of a sudden outpouring of 40000 people onto services which are due to close down, and the ensuing chaos and policing costs. As the compound is in a Royal Park you probably have an extra layer of bylaws and stuff to deal with too. Ultimately it was down to Springsteen and McCartneys people to get the show off stage by curfew, which in the case of those two guys, means it was down to themselves. They are seasoned pros, they can afford watches, they know about curfews, so frankly it was down to them pushing their luck that ended up disappointing their fans.

bazster

Pettifogging officialdom and craven promoters, like I said. They'll be lucky to ever get a top headlining act at this show again, so what's that gonna do for the finances of Westminster and it's businesses? I spent yesterday afternoon in a restaurant and then a pub in the area, and nearly every customer was on their way to the show. Well tough luck folks, you will not be seeing that kind of business again, because the bands and the fans will be heading for cities that are not so up themselves. Nice one Westminster: take careful aim, shoot foot.

System

You posted on the wrong thread?

dacouch

The licence was until 10.30, the performers and organisers knew the cut off time.

As mentioned before the local councils obligation is to the local residents.

Hyde Park events breached their licence conditions 24 times last year so Westminster are cracking down.

katejo

Frapachion wrote: »

If you try and travel anywhere near London on a train you get a "penalty fare" too, best to stay away.

Not if you buy an Oystercard and add the necessary money to it.

custardy

Frapachion wrote: »

If you try and travel anywhere near London on a train you get a "penalty fare" too, best to stay away.

without a ticket, you get that all over the UK.

Pollycat

Frapachion wrote: »

If you try and travel anywhere near London on a train you get a "penalty fare" too, best to stay away.

This poster has an issue with being issued with a penalty fare:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4070703

Actually, if you follow the rules laid down by the public transport company you are travelling with, you won't get a penalty charge - whether you travel anywhere near London on a train or up in Scotland on a bus

Lifeforms

Just out of interest, when was it due to start (time listed on tickets) and when did they actually start? (main headliner on stage to start performing)