Rolling Stones Face $320,000 Fine for Exceeding London Curfew (Report)

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LONDON - The Rolling Stones are facing a fine that some estimate could reach $320,000 (200,000 pounds) after the rock band played past a strict London noise curfew Sunday night.

The legendary band on Sunday performed at the O2 Arena here to kick off its "50 and Counting" tour that celebrates its 50th anniversary. The 2 1/2 hour gig ended with "Jumpin’ Jack Flash," with the Telegraph on Monday reporting that they had planned to end with "Satisfaction," but cut the classic due to the curfew.

On Tuesday, the Telegraph said the Stones were now facing a fine for wrapping up the concert around 11 p.m.

The curfew calls for Sunday performances to end at 10:20 p.m., with time for a "quick" encore after that, effectively requiring musicians to leave the stage at 10:30 p.m.

The size of the fine wasn't immediately clear, with the Telegraph putting it in the five-figure pounds range.

Tabloid The Sun even estimated it at $320,000.

The band’s agent, Bernard Doherty, told The Sun: “It means a big fine - but the guys just do their thing. There wasn’t a janitor standing there, jangling his keys, saying. ‘I want to go home’.”

According to reports, lead singer Mick Jagger said out loud on stage Sunday that his band members had better “get a move on" due to the noise curfew.

The estimated fine is, of course, much smaller than the short tour's projected revenue. It was expected to bring in $25 million (£15.6 million) before a fifth gig in Brooklyn was added to concerts in London and New Jersey.

The London curfew earlier this year made headlines when two other music legends ran afoul of it. Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney had their microphones cut off on stage in the British capital's Hyde Park after Springsteen had exceeded the curfew.

"When did England become a police state?" Springsteen guitarist Steven Van Zandt tweeted after the incident, and Springsteen made fun of the curfew during performances elsewhere in the days following the interruption.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com
Twitter: @georgszalai