Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney Cut off on London Stage After Exceeding Noise Curfew

4:41 AM PDT 7/15/2012 by Georg Szalai

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Bruce Springsteen Stevie Van Zandt - P 2012

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The music stars' microphones were unplugged around 10:40pm during a Saturday night Springsteen concert in Hyde Park.

LONDON - Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney had their microphones cut off on stage in London's Hyde Park Saturday night after Springsteen had exceeded a noise curfew, the Guardian reported.

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Springsteen started playing at the concert entitled "Hard Rock Calling" around 7:30pm and was scheduled to play until 10:15pm. He performed such hits as "Born In The USA," "Glory Days" and "Dancing in the Dark." He then welcomed McCartney to the stage to sing Beatles hits "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout."

But before they could thank the crowd, their microphones were turned off around 10:40pm, and the music stars had to leave the stage in silence, the Guardian said.

London's Westminster Council later said in a statement that the "Hard Rock Calling" organizers had cut the power as they wanted to be seen "sticking to their license for the event." London has been strict on outdoor events to avoid noise complaints from residents.   

Springsteen had earlier in the night also brought Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello and singer John Fogerty on stage for a few songs.

  At one point, Springsteen spotted a man holding up a sign asking him to play the song "Take 'Em As They Come." The sign also listed other concerts around the world where he had requested it.

According to the paper, Springsteen then held up the banner on stage, praised the "big investment" the fan had made to see him perform and said: "Tonight, my friend, this is your lucky night. You're going to hear this damn thing." He added: "It's a completely obscure track I wrote for "The River" when I needed some rock songs."  

On Sunday, Paul Simon will play on the Hyde Park stage.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai