Last night, Bruce Springsteen topped off his headlining performance at London’s Hard Rock Calling festival with a surprise appearance from Paul McCartney. “I’ve been trying to do this for 50 years,†Springsteen told the hyped-up crowd of 65,000, before the pair began a rendition of “I Saw Her Standing There,†backed by the E Street Band and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. Next up was a fireworks-accompanied version of “Twist and Shout,†which reached an epic anticlimax when the sound system suddenly went dead. The local council confirmed (via Twitter) that it had killed the power in order to adhere to the terms of the event’s license. Obviously, no one was very understanding about it.Â
Springsteen’s three-hour marathon set — complete with “Born in the USA†and “Badlands†— ended with an a-cappella sign-off for the front rows, after which the Boss merely shrugged and left the stage.