Madonna 'will be cut off like Bruce' if she over-runs

Madonna performs at the Stade de France in Paris (Reuters)

With music-lovers still reeling over the plug being pulled on Bruce Springsteen's duet with Paul McCartney, Madonna has been warned that she too faces being cut off mid-song if she over-runs a strict curfew when performing at Hyde Park.

The 53-year-old singer has been told she must finish no later than 10.30pm when she plays for 50,000 fans tonight, despite the news that Westminster council has only received two complaints about Springsteen's sell-out concert on Saturday.

John Probyn, the chief operating officer of Live Nation, the promoters behind both the Springsteen and Madonna gigs, said: "It won't happen again. We've had lengthy conversations with Madonna's people. They contacted us. We've worked out with them what time she needs to go on stage to finish on time."

When asked whether the plug could be pulled on the "Queen of Pop" if she continued past the 10.30pm curfew, however, Mr Probyn said: "Yes. We'd have no choice. We are effectively breaking the law if we carry on. There's not a lot we can do."

Westminster council received one complaint about the noise from Springsteen's gig on the night itself, with a second being made yesterday. The council also said US rocker Springsteen had not breached its 75 decibel maximum.

Paul Simon also stayed within the sound limit at his concert on Sunday though fans at both gigs complained about music not being loud enough.

Those attending on Saturday were particularly disappointed, however, after the plug was pulled as Springsteen and McCartney were in the middle of singing "Twist and Shout".

Tweeting afterwards, Springsteen's guitarist, Steve Van Zandt, said: "Is there just too much fun in the world? We would have been off by 11pm if we'd done one more. On a Saturday night! Who were we disturbing?"

A spokeswoman for Westminster council said: "These time limits are a compromise between the interests of the organisers on the one hand and local residents on the other.

"They are put in place for a reason – to get people out safely and to minimise disruption for residents."