Art Garfunkel Walks Offstage Over Cell Phone Interruption

Folk legend __Art Garfunkel stormed offstage during a recent concert in New York after becoming annoyed by a gig-goer who was fiddling with his cell phone.

The singer/songwriter was performing an intimate show for specially-invited guests at the Great Neck _A_rts Center in Long Island earlier this month (Jun13), when he spotted local official Jon Kaiman playing with his mobile while sitting in the front row.

A source tells the New York Post's Page Six column, "_A_rt stormed offstage, only to return 10 minutes later to finish his set when Jon apologised."

Confirming the story, a representative for Kaiman, the Town of North Hempstead Supervisor, says, "_A_rt Garfunkel was brilliant and gracious, and his music sounds better without a buzzing cell phone."

The phone drama wasn't the only interruption Garfunkel had to endure during the 7 June (13) concert - one woman passed out during the gig and had to be wheeled out on a stretcher.

The 71 year old has been playing low-key shows to rebuild his confidence as he battles voice problems following a bout of vocal paresis in 2010, which forced him to embark on a lengthy silence and pull out of a Simon & Garfunkel tour with Paul Simon.