Review, When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain, BBC2

The Herald Scotland

02-06-2025

****
Tony wasn't happy.
'Where the **** have you been? You're late.'
'Highway was jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive,' said Christopher.
'Aw you're gonna get ****ing cute now?'
It's a measure of Springsteen's fame that he needs no introduction, whether he's being quoted in The Sopranos, earning Trump's ire on social media ('This dried-out prune of a rocker ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT'), or having a night devoted to him on BBC2, of which this documentary was the highlight.
Springsteen's first visit to Britain, or 'the land of our gods and saviours' as the Beatles/Stones/Animals worshipper put it, was in 1975 to play the Hammersmith Odeon. The audience loved him but Springsteen thought he had been terrible. 'I had PTSD from it,' he joked. He couldn't bear to watch the film (shown as part of the night) for 30 years.
After that it was all gravy for Springsteen, and the documentary in general, as we heard from the man himself, plus friend and bandmate Steven Van Zandt, fans (celebrity and otherwise) and journalists.
Among the celebrities, Rob Brydon's devotion was writ large in a teenage scrapbook. Growing up near Port Talbot, Springsteen said more to him than The Jam singing about the Tube. Sting described his mate Bruce as 'a whirling dervish of benevolent male energy'. Tony Parsons said Britain needed Bruce as an antidote to the New Romantics.
The 'ordinary' fans shone brightest, including Hazel Wilkinson, who danced with Bruce onstage at the Manchester Apollo; the striking miners' wives handed a cheque for £20,000 in Newcastle; and the nine-year-old lad who sang Hungry Heart with the Boss in Coventry.
And what of the gigs in Scotland? We saw a ticket stub from the Edinburgh stop on the 1980-81 River tour, and Ravenscraig appeared in a miners' strike montage, but that seemed to be it. What, no Hampden, no Murrayfield? No excerpts from the glowing reviews in The Herald and other papers, or interviews with those who were there? Even the briefest of searches would have struck research gold.
It was the same for Wales and Northern Ireland.
Springsteen and young fan at Hampden. Colin Mearns (Image: Colin Mearns/The Herald)
Now, it is possible footage or stills from the Scottish gigs were featured, but were not captioned as such in the preview version I saw. Perhaps stuff hit the cutting room floor. Every concert can't be shown and maybe it was enough for some viewers to run a caption saying 'over 60' shows have been played in Britain since Bruce and The E Street Band got back together. Plus fans, Scottish or otherwise, go where they can get tickets.
My two cents: if you make a film titled When Bruce Springsteen Came to Britain - part of a series that includes Bob Marley, Blondie and ABBA - it seems only right to cover all parts of Britain.
It was an odd omission in an otherwise terrific hour that left no doubt about Springsteen's love for his UK fans and vice versa. He didn't need a fellowship of the Ivors Academy to prove he's always welcome here, but great that he got it, and from a Beatle as well. Now about that honorary knighthood …