Sunday June 28, 2009

Rock legend Bruce Springsteen made his Glastonbury debut Saturday — but refused to play his biggest hit, Born in The USA.

“He was really alive and really energetic but he didn’t play Born in The USA and everyone was quite gutted about it. I don’t know why he chose to do that,” a concert-goer told The Times.

The 59-year-old American put in a lively performance in his first ever appearance at the British festival, making it extra special for his thousands of fans, rocking with his chart-topping 80s classics Dancing in the Dark and Born to Run.

One fan said the performance was “one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen,” adding that, “everyone else thought it was shit, but I f***ing loved it!”

It is true to say some fans felt his performance did not live up to expectation, not least because he wanted to play his newer, less successful tunes.

Understandably, some fans were left disappointed: “We were hoping to hear all the hits that we grew up with and we wanted to reminisce, so it was a shame.”

Nevertheless, Springsteen continued to wow a jigging crowd until well past midnight, which led to an enforced £3,000 fine for breaking the rules and going past the agreed 12:30am curfew.

Calling the performance “spectacular,” Glastonbury organizer Michael Eavis offered to pay the fine himself: “I gave him 10 minutes and he took nine. I’ll pay the fine 00 £3,000. Paul McCartney — 2004 headliner – paid me back. I’m going to pay the Bruce Springsteen one myself. It’s not a lot because it was fantastic. The last nine minutes were spectacular.”

Tags: bruce springsteen