McCartney Rehearsals Draw Noise Complaints
Posted: May 13, 2004 4:55 pm
From Billboard.com:
http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/artic ... 1000510805
He may be one of the world's most famous musicians, but Paul McCartney failed to impress residents in a corner of east London when he began rehearsing nearby.
The former Beatle's raucous sessions in the Millennium Dome drew complaints from people living on the other side of the Thames River. Local officials have promised to monitor noise levels emanating from the site where McCartney, 61, is preparing for a short summer tour.
"I thought someone was listening to a ghetto blaster in one of the other flats," local resident Eric Pemberton, 67, said of the noise. "I had the windows closed and the front door just open enough to let the cat in and out.
"It took me a while to realize that this bass was coming from the Dome on the other side of the river," said Pemberton, who lives in the London district of Tower Hamlets. The Dome is situated in the district of Greenwich, south of the Thames.
"I rang up the environmental health officers at the council and they told me 'It's Paul McCartney,'" Pemberton said. "I said 'So what? He doesn't pay my [taxes], and if it was me that was doing this I would have been prosecuted.'"
A spokesperson for Greenwich council confirmed McCartney was using the Dome for rehearsals and that the council had received complaints from Tower Hamlets residents, although she didn't know how many. A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets said the authority would monitor the noise coming from the Dome to ensure it didn't exceed an agreed level of 92 decibels.
McCartney returns to the road beginning May 25 in Gijon, Spain. He will play 13 additional European dates, culminating June 26 at the U.K.'s annual Glastonbury Festival.
http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/artic ... 1000510805
He may be one of the world's most famous musicians, but Paul McCartney failed to impress residents in a corner of east London when he began rehearsing nearby.
The former Beatle's raucous sessions in the Millennium Dome drew complaints from people living on the other side of the Thames River. Local officials have promised to monitor noise levels emanating from the site where McCartney, 61, is preparing for a short summer tour.
"I thought someone was listening to a ghetto blaster in one of the other flats," local resident Eric Pemberton, 67, said of the noise. "I had the windows closed and the front door just open enough to let the cat in and out.
"It took me a while to realize that this bass was coming from the Dome on the other side of the river," said Pemberton, who lives in the London district of Tower Hamlets. The Dome is situated in the district of Greenwich, south of the Thames.
"I rang up the environmental health officers at the council and they told me 'It's Paul McCartney,'" Pemberton said. "I said 'So what? He doesn't pay my [taxes], and if it was me that was doing this I would have been prosecuted.'"
A spokesperson for Greenwich council confirmed McCartney was using the Dome for rehearsals and that the council had received complaints from Tower Hamlets residents, although she didn't know how many. A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets said the authority would monitor the noise coming from the Dome to ensure it didn't exceed an agreed level of 92 decibels.
McCartney returns to the road beginning May 25 in Gijon, Spain. He will play 13 additional European dates, culminating June 26 at the U.K.'s annual Glastonbury Festival.
