Macca lands festival in hot water

Sir Paul McCartney is not liable to pay the fine for running over time

Sir Paul McCartney may have landed the Coachella music festival in trouble with the authorities after his late night performance overran.

Sir Paul, 66, who was the headline act at the weekend's Californian event, played for an extra 54 minutes.

Under laws put in place by the area's local authority, promoters Goldenvoice are liable for a £1,000 fine for every minute of music played after midnight.

The exact penalty is expected to be announced in a few weeks.

Agreed time

The Killers and The Cure, who also played at the weekend festival, also overran their late night performances.

Police spokesman Ben Guitron confirmed The Killers had played an extra 30 minutes and The Cure overran by 33 minutes.

He explained it was up to the police to remind the promoter that the concert should wrap up at the agreed time, but they were not responsible for ending it.

There's nothing against the artists specifically, but someone has to be time-keeper Ben Guitron, police spokesman

"There's nothing against the artists specifically, but someone has to be time keeper," he said.

"In regards to Mr McCartney, the audience really applauded his performance and so he played encores."

The law has been in place for several years and was agreed to appease local residents who do not like loud music at night.

Mr Guitron said it was not the first time an artist at Coachella had overrun their set.

Last year Prince's performance ran over time, but Mr Guitron could not recall whether Goldenvoice had incurred a fine for it.