Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney perform Twist and Shout – but fans recall ‘bizarre’ end

A live collaboration between music legends Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney received a “bizarre” ending.

The pair of music veterans have performed together on stage a handful of times, but a performance from The Boss in 2012 left fans feeling a little let down. It was not the fault of the Thunder Road performer, nor the Let It Be songwriter, but a problem with timings. Springsteen’s appearance at the Hard Rock Calling festival had him play out an inevitably lengthy set, with The Boss known for his staggering, three-hour sets. Even now on the Land of Hope and Dreams tour, Springsteen is performing lengthy, hits-heavy sets. It was the same for his performance at Hard Rock Calling, where McCartney joined the group for a performance of The Beatles’ classic song, Twist and Shout.

But a sudden end to the performance left listeners in the crowd wondering what had happened. A clip of the performance was uploaded to YouTube and shows the stunning collaboration on stage, with McCartney and Springsteen sharing a microphone for an all-time great moment.

Both rockers were plunged into darkness towards the end of the song, though, with those who attended the gig calling it a “bizarre” way to end the concert. Strict curfews for outdoor venues are often in place. Most recently, Neil Young was cut off during Rockin’ in the Free World at his BST Hyde Park show in London, England.

Springsteen had reportedly exceeded the time limit of his festival slot and was subsequently brought to a stop. Festival organisers seem to have turned off the microphones as the song was wrapping up, with neither legend given the chance to thank the fans in attendance.

BBC reporter Stephen Robb said at the time: “It made for a slightly bizarre, anti-climactic end to what had been a fantastic show. The band obviously couldn’t tell from on stage that the sound had been shut off. It just looked a bit like everyone was milling about on stage having forgotten how the show should end.”

It would lead to a furious reaction from guitarist Stevie Van Zandt, who took to Twitter and called England a “police state” for cutting off the show in its final moments. He wrote: “English cops may be the only individuals left on earth that wouldn’t want to hear one more from Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney!” He later said nobody was “blaming” England for the end of the show.

A spokesperson for Live Nation, the festival organisers, was released at the time. It reads: “It was unfortunate that the three-hour-plus performance by Bruce Springsteen was stopped right at the very end but the curfew is laid down by authorities in the interest of the public’s health and safety.” You can watch the Twist and Shout performance below.