The 45,000 fans who watched Bruce Springsteen play out of his skin at Hyde Park last night may have thought they had the night of their lives.

Too late: Jon Bon Jovi's planned duet with The Boss at Hard Rock Calling was axed

But the show could have gone on even longer had it not been for the health and safety kill joys.

Waiting in the wings at Hard Rock Calling was none other than Jon Bon Jovi, who was due to join The Boss and his E Street Band for a special encore.

But their duet had to be scrapped after Bruce ran over the 10.15pm curfew.

The pair are both from New Jersey and have sang together before. This time they had planned to perform Hungry Heart.

But our source said: “The show had run for three hours, and sadly had just nudged over the curfew limit when the organisers have to shut the sound off.

Jon was waiting at the side of the stage, ready to go, but when the plug was pulled it was just too late.

“It would have been an incredible ending to the show, and it's a huge shame it couldn't happen.

Bruce and Jon were gutted. It's probably just as well the crowd didn't know he was waiting on the side of the stage, as they would have been gutted as well.”

The London crowd were a little too polite for the first half an hour, prompting Bruce to ask: “Are you there London? Is anyone there?”

But he was soon left in no doubt that the crowd was behind him.

The boss wasn't too worried about the time at Glastonbury the night before, where he persevered and played through the curfew there — earning a £9,000 fine in the process.

We're a little surprised that Bruce didn't “stick it to the man” this time for the sake of his pal Jon. But, at 60, he's probably tired of being a rebel.

Neil Young headlined the Hyde Park event on Saturday night, and his guest Sir Paul McCartney did make it on stage for a rousing rendition of Beatles song A Day In The Life.

Highlights will be played on Absolute Radio 105.8FM all week.