New York police showed Bruce Springsteen who the real "Boss" was after he angered them with a song about a controversial shooting.

Officers were so incensed by the song American Skin (41 shots) that they cancelled Springsteen's police escort out of Shea stadium last Wednesday.

The song refers to the 1999 killing of an unarmed African immigrant, Amadou Diallo, by New York police. Four officers fired 41 bullets, hitting him 19 times.

Springsteen performed the song on his opening night at the stadium, prompting the NYPD to scrap his Friday escort as punishment, the New York Daily News reports.

On Friday and Saturday, Springsteen did not play the song, and the security detail was restored for the Saturday night finale.

Springsteen's biographer Dave Marsh told the newspaper: "It is common around the world to allow performers at stadium concerts an escort before leaving, in order that they not be held inside the building for several hours while parking lots clear."

An NYPD spokesman said: "As a courtesy, we gave Mr Springsteen an escort to his boat at the World's Fair Marina following the concerts Wednesday and Saturday."

But he would not comment on the Friday night arrangements.

Springsteen first performed the song during his 2000 tour, prompting the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, which represents 27,000 police officers, to urge its members not to attend Springsteen concerts