Promoters Pull Plug On Springsteen And McCartney Concert After Noise Curfew

July 16, 2012 By 10 Comments

In what may be the dumbest enforcement of a curfew in rock and roll history, organizers of a Bruce Springsteen concert in London literally pulled the plug on the show during an encore featuring special guest Paul McCartney.

“I gotta tell you, I’ve been trying to do this for 50 years,” Springsteen told the crowd of 76,000 while introducing McCartney. The pair–backed by the E Street Band and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello–launched into the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.” But Springsteen  had already exceeded the three-hour time limit set by London’s Westminster Council for the Hyde Park concert, according to the BBC. The sound was cut off at approximately 10:40 p.m. local time as the Springsteen and McCartney performed “Twist and Shout.”


During the band’s second song with McCartney, “a drably dressed man with sensible hair could be seen waving frantically at the back of the stage, indicating the rock legends’ time was drawing to a close,” CNN reported. “The sound suddenly dampened, and went quiet. At first, the Boss didn’t seem to notice. He attempted to address the crowd, apparently unaware that they couldn’t hear him. But as it became clear that there was no amplification, he and lead guitarist Stevie Van Zandt played what looked to be a brief a cappella goodnight for the benefit of the front rows, shrugged, and left the stage.”

After the show, Van Zandt slammed the decision: ”Seriously, when did England become a police state?” Van Zandt wrote on Twitter. “Is there just too much fun in the world? We would have been off by 11 if we’d done one more. On a Saturday night! Who were we disturbing?” Concertgoers agreed, to put it mildly.

On Sunday, the city council and concert organizers released separate statements, scrambling to deflect criticism: ”Concert organizers, not the council, ended last night’s concert in Hyde Park to comply with their license, which [allowed] them to run the concert until 10:30 p.m.,” the city council said in a statement on Sunday.

Should the promoters have allowed the Springsteen-McCartney pair to finish their number? Or, were they right to adhere strictly to London’s noise curfew? Share your thoughts in the comment box below!

Source: Yahoo News

Image: The Telegraph

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‘Family Feud’ Host Richard Dawson Dies At 79

June 4, 2012 By 166 Comments

Richard Dawson, the English actor-turned-game show host who seldom shied away from giving his kiss of approval to female contestants on Family Feud, has died. He was 79. Dawson died Saturday night at Los Angeles’s Ronald Reagan Memorial hospital due to complications related to his esophageal cancer, according to his son Gary, the Associated Press reports.

Gary also posted the information on his Facebook page, writing, “He was surrounded by his family. He was an amazing talent, a loving husband, a great dad, and a doting grandfather. He will be missed but always remembered.”


Born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, in 1932 (birth name: Colin Lionel Emm), his comedy career took off in 1965 when he was cast as pick-pocketing prisoner-of-war Corporal Peter Newkirk in Hogan’s Heroes, a role he played until 1971. Five years later, his television career took a turn when he began playing host on kin-against-kin competition Family Feud, in which contestants, everyday folks, try to gauge the most popular answers to poll questions.

Aside from his entertainment career, which also included appearances on the ’70s Match Game and in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Running Man, Dawson was a family man, who met wife Gretchen Johnson while she was a Feud contestant. The couple had one daughter together, Shannon, and he also had two sons, Mark and Gary, from his first marriage to actress Diana Dors.

Do you agree that Richard Dawson was among the best game hosts ever? Tell us your opinions!

Source: People

Image: Hollywood Reporter

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Robin Gibb Of ‘Bee Gees’ Dies At 62

May 21, 2012 By 28 Comments

Robin Gibb, one of three brothers who made up the group the Bee Gees behind “Saturday Night Fever” and other now-iconic sounds from the 1970s, died on Sunday, according to a statement on his website. He was 62.

Gibb “passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery,” said the statement, which was attributed to his family. He died in England at 10:47 a.m. (5:47 a.m. ET), according to a post on his official Twitter feed.

Diagnosed with colon and liver cancer, Gibb had been in a coma as he battled pneumonia earlier this spring, representative Doug Wright said. Doctors believe that Gibb had a secondary tumor, Wright said April 14, confirming a news account in the UK newspaper The Sun. Gibb had emergency surgery in 2010 for a blocked bowel and then had more surgery for a twisted bowel, Wright confirmed.


The only surviving member of the three Bee Gees is brother Barry, 65. Robin’s twin brother, Maurice, died in 2003 from a twisted bowel. And younger brother Andy Gibb — who was not part of the group — died at 30 from a heart infection.

While often more in the background, Robin Gibb was the lead singer on several of the Bee Gees’ top tunes including “I Started a Joke” and “I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You.” He also recorded several solo albums during his career. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, the Bee Gees sold more than 200 million albums, and their soundtrack album to “Saturday Night Fever” was the top-selling album until Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” claimed that distinction in the 1980s.

Gibb is survived by his wife, Dwina; his daughter, Melissa, and sons Spencer and Robin-John.

What is the most memorable Bee Gees song for you? Share your favorites with us!

Source: CNN

Image: KVAL

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Pippa Middleton Gets Involved in Gun Scandal

April 17, 2012 By 34 Comments

Photos of Pippa Middleton have made the sister-in-law of England’s presumptive future king a worldwide sensation, but nothing quite like the shot this weekend when she was snapped laughing as a male companion in a car pointed a gun at a photographer following them in Paris.

The image shows Middleton, the younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, looking back at the paparazzo and grinning as her friend, the driver, reaches down and aims what appears to be the gun. But now it appears that the excitement, which included reports that Pippa Middleton could face criminal charges, may have been overblown.


ABC News has learned that the photographer says he knew all along the gun was a fake and has been telling people he never felt scared. Even friends of one of the young fashionistas in the car told ABC News today that they have the toy gun in their possession. The Sun had reported that the Paris Judicial Police department is “poised” to launch a probe into the incident, but police told ABC News that there is no investigation, because no one has filed a complaint.

It was revealed in January that lawyers for Middleton sent a cease-and-desist letter around to six media agencies that distribute paparazzi photographs worldwide.  The letter was said to warn the agencies that unless their photographers stop following Middleton, she will pursue legal action, which could include an injunction and legal costs.

Buckingham Palace said it would not comment on the incident, since it does not officially represent Middleton because she is not a member of the royal family.

Do you think Pippa saw the incident as just a big joke for the paparazzo? Tell us your opinion!

Source: Yahoo News

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