Hard Rock Calling: the Plug has been Pulled on Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen

Fans at the Hard Rock Calling event were left reeling from the news that the plug had been pulled on both Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney. It was a snub for the E-Street Band and their fans were angered by the decision. ‘The Boss’ was summarily silenced together with Sir McCartney because they breached a council curfew. These actions have been likened to a Police State.

- Nobody is big enough to break the rules: The event in Hyde Park (London) was thrown into disarray when two of its leading acts were banned. Ironically Bruce Springsteen’s own guitarist had complimented the gig as one of the greatest ever. Nearly 80,000 rapturous fans were stunned when bureaucracy silenced their idol. Their delight quickly turned into resentment and anger.

There were bitter recriminations from both members of the E-Street band and the fans who had waited for this moment for so long. They said that England was now effectively a Police State. Music lovers had waited for 50 years before they could witness Paul McCartney singing alongside Bruce Springsteen but their dreams were quickly shattered. The council imposed a curfew on Saturday night (which the duo breached). Some people might have thought that one of the most celebrated British musicians would be immune from censure but clearly they would have been wrong in this assumption.

Are we dealing with the English version of the Gestapo?

When confronted with public anger, the authorities defended their decision. They had to prematurely end the Hard Rock Calling music festival because the event license had those requirements. Officials admitted that the cancellations were unfortunate but said that they were helpless when it comes to enforcing rules that are meant to protect Public Health and Safety. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson joined the fray when he criticized the decision which he deemed to be ‘excessively efficacious’.

Meanwhile Bruce Springsteen delivered an epic three hour performance during which he belted out a number of hits including ‘Because the Night’ and ‘Born in the USA’. Afterwards he welcomed the 70 year old McCartney. Bruce paid tribute to his colleague by saying that he had been waiting for that joint appearance for five decades. The headline concert had already exceeded the curfew by eight minutes. The pair did not mind and they continued to sing rendition of hits from the Beatles catalog including ‘Twist and Shout’ as well as ‘I Saw her Standing There’. The fireworks overhead and the driving rain turned this into a somewhat chaotic affair.