Bruce Springsteen

New Jersey rock legend Bruce Springsteen has lampooned his state's governor over his role in the recent bridge scandal.

Republican Chris Christie, such a big Springsteen fan that he cried when the singer acknowledged his efforts in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, is under fire after his staff ordered the closure of a bridge to cause traffic problems in an area controlled by a political rival.

Appearing on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon on NBC in the US, Springsteen and Fallon adapted his hit Born To Run to poke fun at the scandal and Christie's subsequent press conference, which was "longer than one of [his] own damn shows."

Could a set of traffic cones halt the New Jersey Governor's White House ambitions?

Leeds City Council has accepted that putting parking tickets on Bruce Springsteen's tour trucks ahead of a landmark gig by The Boss was "a little embarrassing".

A parking attendant stuck the tickets on the lorries as Springsteen prepared to play the first-ever gig at the brand new, £60 million Leeds Arena yesterday afternoon.

Bemused fans watched the council enforcement officer ticketing the huge articulated vehicles that were parked on double yellow lines outside the venue at the north end of the city centre.

And pictures of the over-zealous warden soon started circulating on social networks.

Today, the council, which had been heavily promoting the concert as the start of new era of music events for the city and the region, acknowledged it was embarrassing, even though the officer was only doing his job.

It said that, given the special circumstances, the ticket would not have to be paid.

Read: The Boss 'slapped with a parking ticket' in Leeds

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Bruce Springsteen was reportedly slapped with a parking ticket while he was playing a special concert in Leeds to open a new arena.

Witnesses said a lorry carrying equipment for The Boss' gig at the £60 million First Direct Arena in Leeds was hit with a fine.

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Organisers of Bruce Springsteen's Hyde Park show that was cut short have been criticised for suggesting the gig was brought to an early close onthe grounds of "health and safety".

Kevin Myers, the deputy chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive, said it was not true to blame the end of the show on those grounds.

Mr Myers - who was at the event - said: "The fans deserve the truth. There's no health and safety issues involved here.

"It's ironic that this excuse has been used in relation to Bruce Springsteen, who certainly knows what real health and safety is all about - look at the words of Factory from Darkness On The Edge Of Town referring to the toll that factory work can take on the health of blue-collar workers."

Boris Johnson waded into the row this morning, saying the musicians should have been allowed to continue their set.

Speaking to Kay Burley on LBC radio, he said:

• The number of concerts which can take place in Hyde Park will be reduced from 13 to nine from next year following recent complaints about noise
• The crowd limit will also fall from 80,000 to 65,000, and in some cases 50,000 from 2013

• The number of concerts came into question after residents in Knightsbridge and Belgravia complained about noise
• There were 109 complaints from residents in 2011, around twice as many as in 2010

Actor and musician Steven Van Zandt, who plays guitar in Springsteen's E-Street Band and stared in cult US drama series The Sopranos, voiced his frustration on Twitter at the gig's ending.

Amateur video footage shows Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney silenced on Saturday night at Hard Rock Calling when their microphones were cut off before they could address the crowds.