Will Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney finish their set at Hard Rock Calling 2013?

Great news that The Boss has booked a return to this year’s Hard Rock Calling at the festival’s new Olympic Park site.

Big question now is: will Bruce Springsteen get Paul McCartney back up onstage to finish the set so rudely interrupted at last year’s Hyde Park shambles?

Given Bruce’s sharp sense of humour, it must be s-o-o-o tempting.

Promoters Live Nation quit Hyde Park amid friction between fans and the neighborhood’s well-heeled residents, many of whom gripe about the late-night noise, leading to confrontation.

Springsteen had already exceeded the 10:30 p.m. curfew by half an hour when he welcomed McCartney on stage last July.

They sang Beatles hits I Saw Her Standing There and Twist and Shout, and were ready to launch into a third song.

But jobsworths turned the microphones off, and they were forced to leave the stage in silence.

Springsteen will headline the second night of this year’s two-day Hard Rock Calling on Sunday June 30, with an already strong supporting bill including The Black Crowes and Alabama Shakes.

The Saturday June 29 gig will be headlined by Kasabian, with Paul Weller, Miles Kane, Kodaline, The Cribs, Klaxons and Tribes on the bill.

“Last year, Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band made international news and history when their Hard Rock Calling encore with Sir Paul McCartney was unceremoniously cut short due to a noise curfew at Hyde Park,” says CEO of Hard Rock International, Hamish Dodds.

“This summer we are giving Bruce and the band the opportunity to finish what they started and make history again with a celebrated performance at Hard Rock Calling.

“Additionally, we are looking forward to christening Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with a Saturday line-up of some of Britain’s hottest talent, including headliner Kasabian, Paul Weller and more.”

Live Nation Entertainment is holding a series of concerts at the former Olympic venue this summer, including the Hard Rock Calling and Wireless festivals, after securing exclusive rights to the venue.

The 560-acre site of the London 2012 Summer Games is due to re-open to the public in stages between July and early 2014.

Hard Rock Calling and Wireless 2013 to be staged at the Olympic Stadium

THANK God someone has seen sense.

This year’s Hard Rock Calling and Wireless festivals will be staged in London’s Olympic Stadium instead of Hyde Park.

It finally brings the curtain down on the park’s dismal recent record as a major venue.

The Still Got The Fever blog started life last year to protest about the ludicrous decibel level limit set by the authorities, which meant thousands in Hyde Park struggled to hear Bruce Springsteen.

A council curfew imposed because of complaints about noise also meant that The Boss and Paul McCartney were silenced when some jobsworth ordered that the plug be pulled, sparking worldwide condemnation.

Well, the good news is that promoter Live Nation has secured an exclusive deal to host gigs at the Olympic Stadium in east London.

And first up will be Wireless and Hard Rock Calling in July.

Live Nation has struck the deal with the London Legacy Development Corporation, which is tasked with securing the future of the Olympic Park complex in Stratford.

“Our vision for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has always been as a destination for world-class sport as well as major cultural and leisure events,” said London mayor Boris Johnson.

“The confidence shown by one of the world’s leading live entertainment promoters to relocate two of its biggest music festivals from the centre of the capital is a ringing endorsement of out legacy plans.”

Live Nation will also host a number of big-name gigs concerts in the main stadium, with the first thought to be planned for early July.

The fantastic London 2012 opening ceremony showed just what could be done in the stadium.

So come, on Roger Waters. Bury the hatchet with the rest of the guys and let’s have the big Pink Floyd reunion.

“Live Nation is delighted to have won the inaugural contract for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,” says John Reid, president of concerts at Live Nation Europe.

We’re delighted, too. Cancel that order for hearing trumpets ...

Beware the curse of Hey Jude

It’s the curse of Hey Jude.

On Friday night Paul McCartney was bamboozled by a sound delay glitch that threw him off his stride.

He ended up having to quickly catch up and miss part of the verse.

It was part of a shaky performance during Danny Boyle’s spectacular opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Earlier this month, he’d been considering playing Hey Jude at the end of his ‘surprise’ spot at Bruce Springsteen’s Hard Rock Calling.

But Westminster jobsworths pulled the plug, meaning he was unable to continue in London’s Hyde Park.

Back in June he dropped Hey Jude from the set he played for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert.

Word is that he knew he’d be playing it at the Olympics gig, and didn’t want to tempt fate.

And, of course, in 1985 his microphone cut out as he sang the song as the finale to Live Aid at Wembley Stadium.

That left him singing to himself until someone managed to pop the plug back in.

So be warned next time you think of singing Hey Jude.

St Jude, you’ll recall is the patron saint of lost causes.

And given Macca’s straining vocal, he might well offer up a prayer or two.

John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen duet on Rockin' All Over The World - good quality official audio

Our good friends at Absolute Radio have posted a free-to-air live recording of John Fogerty’s Rockin’ All Over The World duet with Bruce Springsteen in London’s Hyde Park.

It’s great audio quality, officially sanctioned and includes a bonus performance of The Old Man Down The Road – all accompanied by a photo gallery.

Check it out by clicking here

There’s also a brief backstage interview with John on the site.

Click here to watch.

Thanks guys!

Never mind the Springsteen curfew, pull the plug on professional fans

So Bruce Springsteen finally got to finish his Hyde Park Calling gig - in Dublin.

Arriving on stage at the RDS Arena carrying a gigantic switch, he pretended to turn the power back on before announcing "Before we were so rudely interrupted..."

Then he launched into the last minute of Twist and Shout, the song he was playing with Paul McCartney when the plug was pulled on the Hard Rock Calling show.

During another marathon gig (which ended within the stipulated time, I notice) the Boss also held up a sign proclaiming: "Only the Boss says when to pull the plug".

And at the end of the set a bogus policeman brought proceedings to a close.

A nice touch - but it wasn't the curfew that threatened to ruin the Hyde Park gig for many.

It was the fans. Or rather the loud-mouthed morons masquerading as fans, but who had no interest whatsoever in seeing or hearing Springsteen sing.

Yes, you. You know who you are.

You with the jug of Pimms; you with the VIP Experience Pass; you with the iPad.

The combination of a ludicrously low decibel limit set by the authorities and the self-important bellowing of festival socialites at times drowned Bruce out.

Some areas of Hyde Park became no-go zones for genuine fans as the booze flowed and the conversations got louder and louder.

So while Springsteen was sharing poignant memories of the late Clarence Clemons with his saxman nephew, I was hearing about Sebastian's sales figures.

(We'll call him Sebastian. I didn't quite catch his name. But he was in earnest conversation with a similarly slick adman, perhaps a banker. Certainly something sounding similar).

While The Boss was introducing Empty Sky, I was hearing about Sharon's sex life as she bared all to a stranger she'd met, and would probably bare all again later.

Some sad people pay to listen to that sort of thing, don't they?

As Bruce explained how Thunder Road was the first song he'd ever played on UK soil, I was listening to four burly, boozed-up middle-age muppets talking about a mate's stag do.

And so it went.

Six times I moved to different areas of the crowd; six times I ended up with inconsiderate idiots more interested in the sound of their own voices than what was happening onstage.

They'd paid £65 for the privilege and they were going to be heard.

It was only when I arrived at the left-hand side of the stage that I found myself in the good company of fans who sang along with all the barnstormers, listened intently to the more reflective songs, cheered and danced to the music.

The sightline was rubbish, a sort of sideways glance at the video screen. But I didn't care, I could hear Bruce Springsteen at Hard Rock Calling.

Which had been the plan, really.

The problem with gigs like this is that they've become big occasions to be seen at, much in the same way that Ladies Day at Ascot has little to do with horse racing.

Well-heeled professionals pay over the odds for tickets, with little or no interest in the artists appearing at the event. They're there just for the bragging rights in the office.

Strangely, it's not a problem encountered at that heavy metal mecca, Download.

Maybe it's because the music's bloody loud; maybe it's because the fans are more committed; perhaps it's a class thing. Download is downmarket.

Whatever, let's stop complaining about the curfew confusion. Let's pull the plug on the 'professional' fans who couldn't give a toss.

Sebastian, Sharon, Stags, do us all a favour. Shut the proverbial up.


(By the way, you can read my review of the gig at http://bit.ly/NpSquE)