Madonna, two hours late to her own gig? Believe me, I’ve seen far worse

Last week, news broke that Madonna was being sued by two fans in New York who had bought tickets to a show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn that didn’t begin until 10.30pm, two hours later than the advertised time, and didn’t end until about 1am.

The lawsuit from Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden included the argument that “many ticketholders who attended concerts on a weeknight had to get up early to go to work and/ or take care of their family responsibilities the next day”. The story was greeted with eye-rolling in many quarters, with the sense that this was merely an instance of those crazy litigious Americans taking “where there’s blame, there’s a claim” culture to an absurd extreme. But while it remains to be seen how this case shakes down in court, I think Fellows and Hadden may have a point.

Some musicians see their job as a lifelong holiday from responsibility. Such lowly, quotidian concerns as having to work the next day, getting home in the middle of the night, or sorting out childcare are for the little people, too banal for renegade superstars to worry about. Turning up on time doesn’t go with the lifestyle: punctual isn’t punk. (Full disclosure: my own punctuality is poor. I’m not proud of that, and I don’t think it makes me rock’n’roll.)

But there are limits to an audience’s tolerance of that. Seasoned gig-goers will know the unspoken rule that 15 minutes are generally added to a stage time to make sure all bums are in seats. When it stretches beyond an hour, however, it tips over from artistic waywardness into outright disrespect.

The Madonna story takes place against the backdrop of a changing culture regarding late nights. Students and young people don’t drink the way they used to, and nor do the old. The nightclub industry has been hit hard by a reluctance to stay out till stupid o’clock. Earlier curfews are a growing trend: London’s legendary LGBTQ