1981-05-26 Brighton Centre (The), Brighton, England

Scheduled: 19:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

Show was rescheduled from March 17. The first of two shows at the approximately 4,500 seat Brighton Centre. Roy plays "Once Upon A Time In The West" as a prelude to "Badlands". Clarence sings the opening lines to Lloyd Price's "Stagger Lee" as an introduction to "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)". "Detroit Medley" includes "I Hear A Train". Following the show Springsteen had a stroll along the Brighton seafront with Richard Williams, a journalist with the Sunday Times. Williams' interview in the Times was printed on May 31, 1981.

26.05.81 Brighton, England, intro to ´´Independence Day´´
´´This is, uh, this is called ´Independence Day´ (crowd cheers) thank you, I need, I need a little quiet for this song, please, thank you…..(music starts)….I grew up in this small town, was about 10,000 people and….as I got older, I, I was watching my friends….watching my old man….and I looked back and it didn´t seem that there was anyplace….anyplace to go or anyplace, any way to get out of there…..as I watched my Pop….and he, he´d worked in a plastics´ factory and I watched, looked back at his father and he worked in a rug-mill….and I tried to think what was the one thing that was, that we had in common….and that thing was that, was that we didn´t know enough about ourselves….we didn´t know….where we came from or how we ended up….how we ended up where we were….and in school it seemed like they were never able to teach you that stuff, they didn´t know how to get it, get it through to your heart….and a little while later I started reading this book, it was called ´History of the United States´….and….and in it I found out a little bit about the forces and things that shaped me and my father´s life and his father´s life and how ended up where we were and how without even knowing it you end up, you end up a victim, a victim of something that you don´t even know what it is….so….´´

26.05.81 Brighton, England, intro to ´´Johnny Bye Bye´´
´´(?)….in 1977 I tried to, to (someone yells) no, I´m gonna do that later, maybe (chuckles) I don´t know (chuckles) but….in 1977 I tried to (someone yells again) I need a little silence here for a second, I tried to get to see Elvis by going to his house at three in the morning and jumping over the wall….but I didn´t get to see him and it wasn´t long after that that, that he, that he died and it´s, it was hard to understand (says off-mike: ´I need that, that echo off now, ok?´) yeah, it was hard to understand how somebody that, that, that had so much and won, seemed to win so big could in the end lose so bad….so….this is, uh….Pete, this is for you….´´

26.05.81 Brighton, England, middle of ´´Rosalita´´
´´And now….it´s the most important part of the show….are you ready for the band introductions? (crowd cheers)….alright, always popular, beginning to the far left of the stage, the guy over there at the piano, that´s Professor Roy Bittan….(?) go ahead, Roy (Roy plays) and that´s only the first time….we got on the guitar….Mr. Miami Steve Van Zandt….on the bass, Mr. Garry W.Tallent….on the drums, the Mighty Max Weinberg….over there on the organ, guy over there on this side, that´s Phantom Dan Federici….now of course….last but not least….I don´t have to tell you who I´m talking ´bout now….I know you know who I´ll introduce next….let me see, around home, this buddy, we like to call him king of the world ….master of the universe….emperor of all things….the man´s faster than a speeding bullet…. more powerful than a roaring locomotive….able to leap tall women, I mean tall buildings in a single bound….is it a bird? (crowd: ´No´) is it a plane? (crowd: ´No´) what the hell is it?…. Clarence ´Big Man´ Clemons….´´

26.05.81 Brighton, England, intro to ´´Rockin´ All Over The World´´
´´I wanna thank everybody for coming down to the show tonight….thanks for being so quiet on the slow songs, thank you very much….I wanna, I wanna apologise for us having to cancel out on you the first time around….we´re gonna get you now….´´

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi

The River in Brighton

Greetings Facebonkers. An amazing 39 years ago this very day, I saw a gig by a visiting American rock star in my hometown that blew my mind and started me on the path to international travel and financial ruin. And I went back for more the next day.

I'd been aware of Bruce Springsteen's existence since 1975, when I heard "Born To Run" on the radio, but didn't actually see the light in a life-changing, tour-following way until July 1980, when I bought "Darkness On The Edge Of Town". In October, I bought "The River" in the week it was released. Soon after that came the first rumours of a UK tour in spring 1981. The first three dates were announced just before Christmas and eight more were added throughout January. I didn't have any luck, but eventually bought a pair of tickets to Bruce's second Wembley Arena gig via the small ads in the music papers. In early March, a last-minute, tour-opening 12th concert was added at the Brighton Centre. It was only announced locally and because my parents didn't buy the "Evening Argus" or listen to local radio, I was blissfully unaware of the gig until it was well and truly sold out. Not much more than a week later, the entire tour was postponed from March/April to May/June, due to Bruce's exhaustion. The Brighton gig moved from 17th March to 26th May. Four more shows were later added to the tour, bringing the final total to 16. These included a second night in Brighton on 27th May. Again, I only found out about this afterwards, but was still able to grab a decent seat from the box office.

On the day of the first show, still ticketless, I went down to the Brighton Centre to see what I could see, including the Edwin Shirley trucks parked round the back. I hung around for a while outside the nearby Metropole Hotel, where I saw Roy Bittan and Garry Tallent coming and going. Garry had obviously just raided Virgin Records. While wandering past the main entrance to the Centre, a guy offered me a ticket for £15, which was twice face value. That was my first experience of touts. Needless to say, I took it. Flash the cash, grab the ticket and don't look back was my modus operandi that afternoon. I worried that it might be a forgery but luckily it wasn't, otherwise I could be telling a very different story.

The Brighton concerts were generally considered to be the best of the tour by those who saw multiple nights. Heavy on material from "Born To Run", "Darkness" and "The River", with new material and a few covers thrown in, they were performed with an intensity that I hadn't seen before and lasted the best part of two and a half hours, not including the interval. They came midway through the UK tour after a five-day break, so Bruce was rested and raring to go. At that point, the tour was moving from theatres into arenas. Capacity at the Centre was around 4,500. (I wouldn't see Bruce play to a crowd that small for another 15 years). My seats were halfway back and very central on both nights, with a perfect unobstructed view. I can still remember the lights going down, the stage rush and the opening chords of "Prove It All Night" (26th) and "Born To Run" (27th) blasting out, and the sweat dripping off Bruce's arm as he strummed his guitar.

After the second show, I hung out with fans at the stage door and saw the E Street Band come out and board their bus. I also glimpsed an old black couple who turned out to be Clarence Clemons' parents. We waited. Security told us Bruce had gone. Some went home. We waited. This went on for a little while. The crowd thinned. We waited. Finally, a guy said "everybody form a line". We were taken down the street towards a nondescript white van or minibus, which had emerged unnoticed from the venue's underground car park. Bruce was sitting in the front passenger seat with the window rolled down. I didn't know it at the time, but this was a regular occurrence. He autographed the back of my ticket on the dashboard (I'd bought a programme the night before and taken it home) and stayed to meet and greet all the diehards. I remember him saying that the Brighton gigs were numbers 100 and 101 of the "River" tour. (I checked. He wasn't far out). It was raining a bit by then and I'd missed the last bus, but I walked home with a big grin on my face, my only regret being that I didn't bring my camera with me. I've lived in London for a long time now but still get back to Brighton and occasionally visit that spot. I certainly will on the 40th anniversary next year.

Saunders over and out.

^{By Mike Saunders via Facebook.com.}

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