"The Late Great Johnny Ace" was interrupted when an audience member ran to the stage and shouted at Simon: "I need to talk to you!" The man was carried away by security, and Simon finished the song. The incident provoked associations to the song's lyrics, in which Simon speaks as a first-person narrator concerning the deaths of Johnny Ace, John F. Kennedy and John Lennon. Lennon's murder by an obsessed fan had taken place less than a year previously, not far from the concert site. Despite this association, Simon said that he was not afraid of any on-stage incidents. In May 1982 as a guest on "Late Night with David Letterman", he explained that while it is not unusual for fans, for example, to jump onto the stage with flowers, this action was new to him, but also felt that the man simply appeared intoxicated. His greater concern was that the song's premiere was ruined.