In June 1981, I caught the final show of
Bruce Springsteen's six night residency at
Wembley Arena, it was my first Springsteen
concert and much of the evening is still
vivid in my memory. The tiny drum kit sitting
in the middle of that vast stage, little more
than a snare, floor tom, bass drum and a
couple of cymbals. The opening song, 'Born to
Run'....
'Born to Run'! He
started with 'Born
to Run'! The joyous audience participation
during 'Hungry Heart' and the tears during a
whisper-to-a-scream-to-a-whisper 'Point
Blank'. Seven covers (if you count the
Detroit Medley as just one), a couple of
songs he wrote but gave away and nothing from
'Greetings...' or 'The Wild, The
Innocent...'. 31 songs in total, again
counting the Detroit Medley as one.
What's left of my ticket after I left it in my pocket and it was savaged by the twin-tub.
Elvis Presley's influence on proceedings was
particularly noticeable that evening.
Springsteen offered a sombre early reading of
his own 'Johnny Bye-Bye', which would remain
officially unreleased until 1985 and deals,
in part, with the death of Presley. In
addition, two of the aforementioned covers
were associated with Elvis. 'Can't Help
Falling in Love' came towards the end of the
final encore, but a largely re-written
'Follow That Dream' appeared early in the
set. Bruce has sporadically revisited the
song in subsequent years and here's a one-off
performance from a show in Switzerland,
during 1988's Tunnel of Love Express Tour.
Happy Birthday Boss.
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3 comments:
£6.00 for all of that from The Boss! It must have been amazing.
Sensational...staring of with Born to Run....straight in....that must have been somthing...only saw him the once at Crystal Palace I think but could be wrong it was in the nineties
I was there too Old Pa!
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