Madonna claims censorship as show cut short by curfew
Lights put on and sound cut as song exceeds 11pm cutoff set by council
MADONNA claims she was censored after falling foul of a curfew and having her London show shut down by officious concert staff.
The ever-evolving pop star, reinvented in recent years as Madame X, was performing for fans at the London Palladium when her set list was cut short.
A curfew has been blamed for the abrupt ending, which follows anger towards Westminster Council noise complaint rules that saw a show with Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul Mccartney brought to a sudden close in Hyde Park.
The 61-year-old singer was incensed when her own performance was interrupted, her sound was cut, and the house lights turned on. She claims that her final song of the night exceeded the 11pm cut-off by only five minutes, and the venue aimed to “censor” her set.
Madonna had previously said she was warned about exceeding the time limit.
The singer also claimed online that a metal fire curtain was lowered, which the Palladium strongly denies.
Madonna launched into an a cappella performance following the imposition of noise rules at the venue, with dancers joining the singer on the brightly-lit stage for a final number.
It is not the first time Westminster’s rules have come under scrutiny, with Sir Paul and Springsteen left without power during a 2012 concert.
Lucy Caldicott, one fan present at the latest concert, said: “The house lights went on and power was cut from stage and the curtains closed one song from the end.
“The audience started chanting ‘one more song, one more song’. Then Madonna and the singers and dancers came out from behind the curtain and sang I Rise with no power and we all sang along. It was amazing. I felt sad that the big crescendo of her show might not happen, but delighted that we all sang the song anyway and I Rise felt an appropriate one in the circumstances.
Madonna posted defiantly online: “The Palladium decided to censor us by pulling down the metal fire curtain that weighs nine tons. Fortunately they stopped it half way and no one was hurt. Many thanks to the entire audience who did not move and never left us. Power to The People.”
The singer had previously claimed “I’ve been warned by Westminster council,” and said an “iron curtain” would descend if she broke an 11pm curfew.
Staff at the Palladium have strongly denied that any such curtain was deployed during the show, but have not commented on the cutting of power and the turning on of the house lights.
A spokesman said: “Contrary to a number of reports, at no point during last night’s performance did staff at the London Palladium pull down, or attempt to pull down, the iron fire curtain.”
Westminster Council has not commented on its noise control policies, which venues have to apply as part of their licence.