LiveNation pull out of Hyde Park

LiveNation, who have held the contract for running gigs in Hyde Park, have pulled out of the bidding process to carry on. And they're not doing so with good grace:

Live Nation has written a formal letter of complaint about the tender and bid process for the new contract.

It is understood that the letter raises issues such as noise – in July Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney's microphones were switched off during a duet due to curfew issues. Other issues understood to have been highlighted by Live Nation include crowd safety considerations in shutting off Park Lane and unrealistic revenue assumptions.

It might just be that Hyde Park isn't a place where you can effectively put on concerts without causing so much disruption that it's impossible to do it well.

Hyde Park: Blur fall silent

While most of Britain was focusing on the terrible sound at the early part of the closing ceremony - was it awful or a kindness that Sugg's terrible voice was so hard to hear? - people over in Hyde Park were having a rotten time of a whole different stripe.

Or, rather, a similar stripe, as Blur's supposed farewell show suffered from rotten sound.

Some people got to hear the gig, but not most, as Hyde Park organisers tried to balance selling 40,000 tickets for a soundsystem turned down to serve 10,000.

Mark Beaumont is cracking on the NME blog:

Here is the news: the place is no longer fit for purpose. If you’re going to sell 40,000 tickets for an event, you HAVE to provide an event that’s capable of catering for 40,000 people, whether that’s sufficient toilets, food stalls or audible music. OK, so organisers legally have to pander to the seven-and-a-half uber-wealthy local residents who complain about the noise. Hyde Park’s sound levels are now fit for, say, 10,000-capacity events.

Of course, NME could help bring this about. They could refuse to promote, review or accept advertising from massive events at Hyde Park. Somehow I suspect they won't do that.

London shows why it's the perfect place to hold the Olympics

Obviously, there has to be some sort of compromise with gigs and noise levels. But pulling the plug on a McCartney/Springsteen hook-up in Hyde Park when it appeared to only have a minute or two left to run seems a bit extreme.

Still, the 'London pulls power on gig' cock-up story will help take some of the attention off the 'London security shambles' story for a while.

Yes, rules are rules, even for people who've sold a lot of records, but surely, if you don't feel you can let an event run past its scheduled end, you don't invite Bruce Springsteen? The man's live music overruns so badly he can't parp his car horn without it turning into a forty-minute jam.

The world could have been waking up to positive stories about the astonishing collaboration in Hyde Park last night; instead it's more knocking copy. Well done, everybody. Well done.

Stock, Aitken & Waterlogged: Hit Factory flooded out

The rain that has been falling has washed away the Hyde Park Hit Factory minifestival, carrying away with it the prospect of Jason Donovan reuniting with Kylie Minogue and - perhaps more significantly - the chance for Sonia to remind people that she used to exist.

Gordon in the morning: Madonna's five-ring circus

Gordon has news this morning of a planned appearance by Madonna:

Madonna is fit for Olympics

The 53-year-old singer is going to make her return with a massive gig in Hyde Park.

She is planning to win back her Queen Of Pop title by playing to 60,000 fans smack bang in the middle of the Olympics.

Smart is dressing this up as if it's part of the Olympics, although it's unlikely Madonna would, given that the supine UK government passed a law against that sort of thing.

There isn't actually an announcement - Gordon quotes "a source" and does some wild speculation:

Last month, Em — as her pals call her — said the follow-up to 2008 album Hard Candy will be "more good music" and out next spring.

That also ties in nicely with her rumoured Super Bowl performance at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis next February.

Nobody wants to see someone doing the new stuff at a Superbowl performance, surely? Especially given that the last couple of albums have been a bit patchy.

Still, you've got to love those "friends" - as Em calls them - who are obviously very close to Madonna operation with their insight of "more good music" being on the album. To be fair, I guess "good music" would represent a change of direction.

But how likely is that London - which clearly has started to panic about how the traffic is going to flow around during the running competition - would allow Madonna to clog up the other side of town at the same time?

Mandela birthday bash acts named

It's like this year's Diana Concert, or something: Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday party, which will be marked with a big concert in Hyde Park. Oddly, Queen are on the bill, despite having done their best to keep Mandela in prison by supporting the homelands policy of the apartheid regime when they played Sun City. Obviously, Mandela is a man with boundless powers of forgiveness, but you'd think that Brian May might have some sense of shame and would have turned down the invitation.

Razorlight are also due to play, and Annie Lennox, of course. They're promising "more" stars to be added (some stars to be added?) as the date gets closer, but Johnny Clegg and some children's choirs are definitely going to be there. At least they've actually invited some African acts this time, which somehow Bob Geldof failed to do for Live Aid and Live 8.

That 90th birthday, then...

So, does the 90th Birthday party for Nelson Mandela demand closer attention?

Brits RAZORLIGHT and KEANE have signed up to join QUEEN and ANNIE LENNOX on the bill.

U2, the SPICE GIRLS and SIR PAUL McCARTNEY have also been approached to perform.

That'd be a no, then.

Gordon in the morning: Location, location, location

Although his predictions of divorce and broken homes came to nothing, Gordon Smart has decided to continue banging away at the story, reporting this morning that, oh, anything really. Let's say she's insisting on moving house:

FURIOUS CHERYL COLE is insisting love-rat hubby ASHLEY buys them a new house — because she suspects he cheated on her in their marital bed.

There is something charmingly old-fashioned sounding about the phrase "marital bed" turning up in a trashy gossip column, isn't there?

But hang about a moment... those of us who have followed this story through Gordon's eyes will recall (as he keeps telling us) that Ashley is supposed to have had whatever sex he could manage between bouts of spewing in some sort of hotel, didn't he?

Didn't you say that, Gordon?

The Sun revealed in January how 27-year-old Ashley romped with blonde hairdresser Aimee Walton at a pal’s flat in North London.

So...?

But the source said Cheryl, 24, still feared he had cheated in their mansion in Oxshott, Surrey — and “ruined it forever”.

Really, Gordon? Or - if they are actually moving - could it just be that they want a new start?

Elsewhere, Gordon's turned in one of those I have read a magazine, I shall tell you what is in the magazine pieces, picking up Victoria Beckham's Vogue cover:

VICTORIA BECKHAM blows ’em away as she recreates the glamour of VIVIEN LEIGH in Gone With The Wind.

I'll be honest. I spent thirty seconds thinking that Gordon was confusing Dirty Harry with Gone With The Wind before I got the wind/blew pun. You might have thought something along the lines of "It's not just Atlanta that'll be set alight by Posh's new look" would have been sharper, but it turns out Gordon's not assuming his readership will have heard of the movie. He tries to prompt them:

The classic film is famed for the line: “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

But having thrown the damn into the pot, Gordon flounders slightly trying to take the thought on:

But Posh obviously does.

Um... yes. She clearly gives a damn about... um... anyhoo...

The announcement of Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday party for Hyde Park generates the headline

It's Nelson Bandela in Hyde Park

We read the story through, trying to work out what was going to be banned. Then we realised it was meant to be Band-ela. I can't decide if Gordon's working on a level too intellectually demanding for me, or if the puns are really so weak they're turning into something like a suduko puzzle when you try to work them out.