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Bruce Springsteen sits down for new BBC Two documentary

When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain will feature "a world-exclusive new interview with the American musician"
When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain will feature "a world-exclusive new interview with the American musician"

BBC Two has announced a new Bruce Springsteen documentary as part of a special night of programming next month to mark the 50th anniversary of the music legend's first UK concert.

When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain will feature "a world-exclusive new interview with the American musician".

The transmission date is yet to be announced.

"The one-hour film tells the story of how a 26-year-old Springsteen and the E Street Band first arrived in the UK in November 1975 for a sold-out performance at the Hammersmith Odeon (now the Eventim Apollo), giving his new album Born to Run its European premiere," said BBC Two.

"The concert was heavily hyped by Springsteen's record company, who were keen to sell him as the new Bob Dylan. On arriving at the venue, the New Jersey-born star was dismayed to see posters that proclaimed, 'Finally London is ready for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band'.

"In this new interview, which sees Bruce tell many never-heard-before stories, Springsteen reveals how he was so disappointed by his own performance that night that he couldn't watch the footage back for over 30 years.

Bruce Springsteen, pictured at The Hammersmith Odeon on 18 November 1975

"Bruce says: '[After the show]... I went to a party that was supposed to celebrate my triumph, but I felt I'd been terrible and so I was embarrassed to even go in... I went in for a few minutes, couldn't stand myself being there, went out, ran back to the hotel, sat in my lonely room under a big black cloud, ate whatever I had and went to bed... I had PTSD from the first Hammersmith show!'"

"Fortunately, a second concert at the same venue a week later was a personal triumph, but Springsteen did not return to the UK until 1981 for The River Tour, which took him around the country to venues including Edinburgh, Birmingham, Stafford, and six nights at London's Wembley Arena," BBC Two continued.

"We hear Springsteen talk about his vivid memories of first hearing a Beatles song and his love of all things British in the 1960s.

"The documentary also chronicles the Born in the USA tour of 1985, which saw Springsteen playing huge outdoor venues for the first time. The story is brought up to date with Springsteen's triumphant 2024 UK tour and his induction as the first-ever overseas songwriter to become a Fellow of The Ivors Academy."


Watch: The RTÉ News report on Bruce Springsteen's Slane concert in June 1985.

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Among the interviews in the documentary are guitarist and E Street Band member Stevie Van Zandt, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Michael Palin, "who wrote about the first Hammersmith gig in his famous diary"; Springsteen's manager and producer Jon Landau, promoter Harvey Goldsmith, and "Springsteen superfan" Rob Brydon, "who talks about the connection he has had with Bruce's music".

"Featuring archive from the 1970s to the 2020s, the film highlights the stories of 'ordinary' fans who recount how hearing - and meeting - Springsteen changed their lives, including Juliana Heron, the wife of a striking miner, who received a cheque from the rock star towards their struggling community's funds," BBC Two said.

As part of the special night of programming, BBC Two will screen the concert film Hammersmith Odeon, '75, Springsteen and the E Street Band's European concert debut.

"The night will also host a new episode of Bruce Springsteen at the BBC, featuring a compilation of performances from across TV shows including Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops, and BBC Four Sessions: Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band, spanning the past six decades," BBC Two added.

Last week, Springsteen released Rain in the River, the first song lifted from Tracks II: The Lost Albums, a new boxset of seven 'never-heard, full-length records' due this summer.

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