"We honour our existing bookings to local acts," said Young. "The firebird Cherry wants is Jackson Firebird, not Lady Gaga."

On Cherry Bar's Facebook page, news that it had put the Jackson Firebird gig ahead of pop royalty had earned almost 400 'likes' by 4.30pm.

Young said Gaga's band and crew enjoyed "a great relationship with Cherry" over previous tours. He said many had toured Australia with other artists and were familiar with the bar.

"They've come in night after night, stayed very late and had a ball," he said. "So the band approached us about having a tour after-party here."

In this instance, however, the band also wanted to play. When Young asked that they have the stage cleared by 9pm, they said they would rather not move their gear, and instead have the stage for the night.