Bruce Springsteen jibes at music bosses during epic London three-hour set

06 July 2023 , 22:02

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Bruce Springsteen jibes at music bosses during epic London three-hour set over powercuts (Image: Getty Images)

Bruce Springsteen joked about music bosses cutting the power once again during his epic three hour set in London this evening.

The Boss was playing London’s BST Hyde Park for the first time since 2012 when they pulled the plug after he breached the curfew.

During a blistering performance of Glory Days tonight (Thursday 6 July), he had the 70,000-strong crowd in hysterics saying: “It’s time to go home….I’m telling you they are going to pull the f****** plug again.”

The Mirror was told this week how he was scheduled to start at 7pm to ensure the 10.30pm curfew wasn’t breached.

Bruce Springsteen has returned to London BST Hyde Park for the first time since 2012 (Samir Hussein/WireImage)

The 73-year-old, whose hits include Born to Run, last played the Royal Park in 2012 as part of festival Hard Rock Calling, which was arranged by a different promoter.

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During the festival, Paul McCartney joined Springsteen and his E Street Band to play Beatles classics I Saw Her Standing There and Twist and Shout.

But as the stars appeared ready to launch into another number, their microphones were switched off. Westminster Council insists on a 10.30pm finish – which caused Steve Van Zandt, one of the E Street Band guitarists, to vent his fury at the “police state”.

And London’s then-mayor, Boris Johnson, criticised the move as “an excessively efficacious decision”, saying the band should have been allowed to “jam in the name of the Lord”.

But this time around show bosses didn’t need to pull the power as the show ended at 10pm this evening - a full 30 minutes before the curfew.

Bruce's epic return to London's Hyde Park saw tickets for the gig sell out, with 130,000 tickets for the two days disappearing in just minutes.

BST promoter Jim King said they could have sold out Hyde Park four times over as he said: "“He is as relevant today as ever and if you look at the artists who want to perform with him, and the fans who want to come out and the multi-generational aspect of both of those dynamics, it’s incredible.

“Those shows sold out in a heartbeat. We could have sold four out with him easily.

“One of world music’s few – and true – icons and incredibly relevant still.”

Tom Bryant