“It is certainly an option for them to go on late, but that for me is just about disrespecting their fans. There isn't an option for them to carry on late, though,” Reading and Leeds Festival head Melvin Benn told NME prior to the weekend festivals.
“The police and the local authorities in particular have reaffirmed their position to me that the curfew has to be adhered to. It’s 11 p.m. at Leeds and it’s 11:30 p.m. at Reading. The truth is that I can't allow the performance to go on beyond that – it’s just that simple.”
On Friday Axl Rose and the gang started their Reading headline performance at Richfield Avenue over an hour late at 10:30 p.m. NME notes that by the time the band walked off the stage for their encore, it was roughly midnight. Because the band had already gone well past its set time, when Guns N’ Roses returned to the crowd to play “Paradise City” they found the sound had been switched off on all instruments but the drums.
On Sunday at Leeds at Bramham Park, Guns N’ Roses proved they hadn’t learned their lesson by starting their set half an hour late at 9:30 p.m.
At around 11:20 p.m., after already going over their set time, Rose told the crowd the performance was coming to an end. The singer claimed that festival organizers had previously promised the band could play until 11:58 p.m.
“We would like to play a few more songs for you tonight,” Rose said. “But someone is telling us the show’s over. This war ain’t over yet.”
The band once again closed with “Paradise City.” Rose then told fans, “Be safe getting out of here. And for the problems with the promoters, ‘F**k you.’”
Benn told NME that he never promised Guns N’ Roses could play until 11:58 p.m.
“I have no idea where that came from,” he said. “I was behind the sound equipment so I couldn’t actually hear what he said. Bands often say things like that when they are curtailed.”
Although the band didn’t toe the line, Benn said he’d “definitely book them again but I don’t know if they’d come and play.
“I doubt I’ll be getting a Christmas card from them, which is a shame because tonight was great. There are rules we have to abide by here in the UK, they’re very clear rules. It’s not personal, I think the band are great. Why would I make it personal?”
Rose later shared his thoughts on the “war” via his personal Twitter.
“In regard to Reading we feel at the very least the fans deserve an apology from those responsible for the nonsense,” he tweeted.
“So u know, we allegedly had a deal in place pre show w/the city at least at Leeds to do a bit longer performance that was either miscommunication, someone wasn't informed, changed their mind, didn't care or was a con. Regardless the nonsense just seems so unnecessary but w/out real management or industry presence is unfortunately beyond [our] control. We hope the fans feel they got at least what they could from us under the circumstances.”
Click here for the NME story.
Click here for Axl Rose’s Twitter page.