Boss, McCartney silenced by curfew

Mon., July 16, 2012

Concert organizers pulled the plug on rock stars Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney after the pair defied the sound curfew at London’s Hyde Park, silencing their microphones at the tail end of the show.

Springsteen had already exceeded the 10:30 p.m. curfew by half an hour Saturday night when he welcomed McCartney on stage and the pair sang the Beatles hits “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Twist and Shout.” But the microphones were turned off before they could thank the crowd, forcing them to leave the stage in silence.

A statement from concert organizer Live Nation said it was unfortunate that Springsteen’s three-hour-plus performance was stopped “right at the very end,” but it said that the curfew had been laid down by the authorities “in the interest of the public’s health and safety.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson said Sunday that the singers should have been allowed to keep going. “If they’d have called me, my answer would have been for them to jam in the name of the Lord!” he told London radio.

Madonna faces suit over swastika

France’s far-right National Front said Sunday that it plans to sue Madonna after the singer showed a video at a Paris concert that contained an image of the party’s leader with a swastika on her forehead.

National Front spokesman Alain Vizier said Sunday that the party would file a complaint in French court next week for “insults.”

Party leader Marine Le Pen is briefly pictured in the video during a montage in which famous faces – or parts of faces – morph one into the next. Soon after Le Pen’s face flashes up, Madonna’s face follows with Hitler’s mustache.

Le Pen, who inherited control of the party from her father, Jean-Marie, has tried to shed the National Front’s image as racist and anti-Semitic.

Meanwhile, anti-racism group SOS Racisme expressed its support for Madonna on Sunday, commending her for her “resolutely anti-racist and feminist discourse.”

The birthday bunch

Singer William Bell is 73. Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 64. Drummer Stewart Copeland (The Police) is 60. Dancer Michael Flatley (“Lord of the Dance”) is 54. Actress Phoebe Cates is 49. Actor Daryl “Chill” Mitchell (“Ed”) is 47. Actor Will Ferrell is 45. Actor Corey Feldman is 41. Actress Jayma Mays (“Glee”) is 33. Actor Mark Indelicato (“Ugly Betty”) is 18.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.